I.M.O. Review: Booster Gold #20 (DC Comics) By Eddie R.

Just Killing time.

Sometimes there are issues of a comic book which are basically filler for changing story arcs. Most of the time, these small stories are just something to basically kill the passage of time, not having any real effect on anything of major importance. But there are some fill in the blank stories which actually do what they say. And this issue of Booster Gold #20 does just that.




What starts off as Booster wanting to go back and experience the “Happier days” of 1950’s America, while waiting for Rip Hunter to fix a stalled time sphere, turns into a much more serious adventure.

Ending up in 1952, just after the disbandment of the Justice Society of America, Booster sets in motion a series of events which allows readers to glimpse at what happened in the DCU during this time period. What’s even more amazing is how Booster manages to run into a certain secret governmental group, which only Rip Hunter knew to exist. After being captured and questioned by this “task force”, Booster gets blackmailed into helping them deal with a threat towards national security. Now the leader of this group will be familiar to alot of readers of DC’s War themed comics. I am not going to ruin the surprise, but yes, it is him.

As the story progresses, we learn the reasons behind this threat to national security. I must admit the plot is very well suited for this time period, mixing elements of both the space race and the cold war, as well as tying it all together with Booster own timeline. This story is also very straight forward and concise. It could have easily been extended to last another issue or two, but thankfully it wasn’t. I especially enjoyed the twist on the crew who exit the rocket, which Booster prevents from being launched. If you look closely, they appear to look like another super team who got their start by being launched into space, especially when one of the crew makes the comment he feels really burnt up about the experience.

Of course at the end of the issue, when Booster returns to the Time Sphere and Rip, we learn how this trip has played out and affected the current timeline. Booster mentioned earlier in the story how he always winds up where he is most needed, whether he likes it or not. And this story is no exception.

8/10

Eddie R.
Review Editor.