The Main Event Comic Book Reviews 7.11.08: Booster Gold One Million, Secret Invasion #4

Posted by Dennis Twigg on 07.12.2008

Its the crossover of today and the crossover of yesteryear's future (kinda)!

Booster Gold One Million
General: Technically, the twelfth and final issue of Geoff Johns and Michael Katz issue of Booster Gold, this issue sees Booster briefly revisit the DC One Million Crossover. A fun touching tale of time-travel that lacks a tight script, this still has enough great character moments to serve as a send off for a great run of comics.
Writing: Booster ends up in a lot of different places in times this issue and encounters a load of guest stars, but without much rhyme or reason behind them all. They all have a point in terms of moving a certain direction as a character, but considering the locations Booster ends up it seems a bit whimsical. That complaint aside, we really see Booster develop and mature in ways that you don't often see in comic books. Additionally, the use of Batman this issue is perfect in that encapsulates both his standing in the hero community and his essence as a character. The ending it touching and the nugget of information we receive about Rip Hunter is very cool indeed.
Art: Having review this comic many times, and having review Dan Jurgens work on the book, there's not much new to say other than that he really has a handle on the vibe of this book. Booster is always depicted well and Skeets, a flying robot, comes across as having a personality in his movements. The new costume designs that crop up this issue are nice as well.
Overall Score: B+. The quality of this Booster Gold run most certainly greater than the sum of its parts. With two Chuck Dixon fill in issues coming up followed by a new creative team, I hope that DC doesn't send this fun book down the same toilet they flushed Checkmate down.

Secret Invasion #4
General: At the end of this issue we will be halfway through the Secret Invasion. Earth seems suitably imperiled, but during the middle of the story does the Brian Michael Bendis keep the reader suitably interested. Sadly, the answer is fundamentally, no.
Writing: Stuff happens, but I can't help but feel that nothing really happened. We still have all of S.W.O.R.D. basically stuck in space. We still have S.H.I.E.L.D. being held hostage by Skrulls. The Thunderbolt's Norman Osborne is absent and presumably still chatting with Captain Marvel. All the Avengers are still mucking around the Savage Land. Plus, if Tony Stark is so smart why does he always come across as so easily duped? Sentry is still insane and angst-ridden. The Villains consider getting off their asses, the Howling Commandos do some Skrull-killing and reveal an interesting sleeper agent, but that's about it, but the cover is totally misleading, there is no awesome Young Avengers/Fury team up. And the story ends with another "here comes the cavalry" moment. Very underwhelming.
Art: A lot of times I am left scratching my head as to what is happening. I can't tell if the fault of the story or the artwork depicting story. I am still not sure what shrinking Yellowjacket with a possible Skrull is supposed to mean. The Skrulls facial expressions, necessarily alien, and their unreadable speaking (a writer's choice granted) means that I'm just left confused by the interactions. No suspense is built, I'm just confused.
Overall Score: C. I have the disadvantage of wanting a whole series, but if you don't care, read some spoilers for this issue, its mostly just treading water.