Posted in: Comics | Tagged: action, action comics, booster gold, clark kent, dan jurgens, dc comics, HRL, john michael carter, justice league, Kal-El, krypton, sci-fi, superhero, superman, The Flash, time travel

Action Comics #993 Review: The Team-up I Asked For

Superman has used the Flash's Cosmic Treadmill to return to the moment of Krypton's destruction. Mr. Oz claims to be Jor-El, Kal-El's deceased father, who got transported away from Krypton right before his death. Superman needs to know the truth. Upon his arrival, things start seeming wrong very quickly.

Booster Gold arrives in the Justice League Watchtower shortly after Clark's departure. He's worried about the catastrophic changes that could arise from Superman's self-appointed time-hopping mission. On top of that, the Flash is worried that Booster may be doing some meddling of his own. Things will only get more complicated from here.

Before I start, I would be remiss to not point you in the direction of my mighty Editor-in-Chief Rich Johnston's article about Action Comics #993, which, as you can see, is where this review got its headline.

Dan Jurgens has certainly put together quite the time-traveling epic in which to bring back his golden boy Booster into. Frankly, I'm not complaining. I love Booster Gold myself, and I'm always happy to see him return, if only briefly.

The story is undoubtedly interesting. A mysterious villain claiming to be the father of Superman. You could completely understand why Big Blue would go off half-cocked and reckless in his attempts to learn the truth. It also ties in nicely to the whole "time is messed up" theme of Rebirth and its potential Watchmen connections.

Krypton suddenly seeming off is a little predictable, but in its defense, the mystery and excitement usually comes from figuring out the specifics and details of what went wrong.

Booster Gold is his usual chatty, cocky, yet well-meaning self. I kind of like how they bring in his vanity. He really does mean well, but he likes the attention. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, even if it is a selfish impulse. But it does help set him apart from other heroes. Plus, Skeets is as cute as ever. I really hope these two get a resurrection in their own ongoing soon, if not a regular place in a team book.

Jurgens provides his artistic talents to this one, and it looks great. It's been a bit since I've seen his pencil on the paper of a comic. It is a great style, and it is quite similar to the great Mark Bagley. There is the same mixture of classic comic styling with modern comic sensibilities. Characters look strong and striking, and the environments looks great. Plus, Booster's costume looks great.

Hi-Fi's colors are bright and dazzling too, bringing even more life to this time-hopping cosmic epic. The blues and golds are appropriately strong.

Action Comics #993 gets a strong recommendation. Booster Gold is back and as great as ever. The Superman story is quite interesting, and the art team does some damn fine work. Give this one a read.

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