So I checked, but there's no thread for this one yet? Anyone else reading?

I just finished Booster Gold #1. I've got to say, it was quite excellent. Geoff John's at his finest. And Dan Jurgen's art hasn't been this good and dynamic in YEARS! Sometimes Jurgens comes off as flat in his art, but here it really was pleasing on the eyes.

Booster and his post-52 attitude are really appealing and I'm glad the character has gotten this far. I love Rip Hunter especially, so his major role in this series is welcome. In fact, the entire idea of the 'Greatest Hero the World has Never Known' and how Booster's idiocy is a purposeful plan is really awesome. And really shines on Booster's heroism, which is long overdue.

I like the underlying mystery that's building, and I like love the set-up for future characters to be showing up.

Rip's blackboard was great to see again, with obvious clues to Geoff's other titles, specifically Green Lantern (Red Lanters? Cool!) and JSA (Earth-2!), and also, Final Crisis (1985 + 2006 = 2008???). Geoff's involvement ensures that Booster Gold will be a crucial title to watch in regards to what's happening in the DCU proper.

The final pages, like the Justice Soceity relaunch #1, give us sneak peaks at what's to come and that looks awesome. Especially Brainiac 5, whose costume suggests he's the *real* Brainy from pre-crisis, (or at least the 'Lightning Saga Legion' to you nitpickers ). And the Blue Beetle references and previews look great. I'm looking forward to Booster seeing Ted and Dan Garrett eventually.

This looks like it'll be a super-hero time travel comic the way it *should* be done, and I'm can't wait to go on the ride with Booster & Rip.

Also, Skeets rocks as always!

Cobalt, I agree it was great. The humor, the action, etc. Booster has to pretend to be that shallow hero while he saves the universe day in and day out.

I love Booster. The conflict with his desire to be a famous celebrity and his new role as a time cop hero is going to be great.

I also like his supporting cast. Skeets and the hints about his information no longer being current. Rip and his blackboards. Dan and his future wife seem to be set up nicely to be part of the cast.

I've never really liked Jurgens art but it looks really good in this issue. Up there with his best stuff from the early 90s.

This issue was awesome! A character not dripping with pretension, humour in the dialogue, a DC-wide mystery, fantastic side-characters (Skeets!!!)... What's not to like?

Go. Buy. You'll enjoy it.

Haven't gotten it yet but I'm glad to see Rip Hunter is in the story. He was one of my favourite 52 characters, even though we didn't see him in the series that much. It sounds like they've given Booster a positive spin. It's usually the alter-ego that's the buffoon - like the old versions of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent - not the hero playing the buffoon himself. Interesting.

This was a fun ride all the way through, and I think the added element of Booster having to play the fool in order to save the world on the sly is awesome!!! This is definitely a "must buy" for me!

I hate myself because I've always hated Booster Gold, but... I actually liked the ending of 52-- all the revelations about his story, anyway. (Some of the others, meh.) And the new series? Yeah, I loved it. Batman and Booster-- golden.

God, sometimes I wish Geoff wasn't so darn talented, so I could keep ignoring characters I don't care about. Between Hal's GL, Superman and Booster, how will I fit in the mediocre books about characters I actually like?!

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

This is the DCU that I fondly remember.

Jamie

Holy Smokes! Hi Jamie! Long time no see!

And yeah, #1 of the new BG was awesome. I love Booster having to play down to everyone's expectations, all the while being possibly THE biggest hero in the multiverse.

sign me up as another fan of GEOFF's new book !!

i'm looking forward to seeing which BRAINY that's gonna be !!

and i'd still really love to see Geoff writing the main LSH book !!

Matthew.

I've been waiting for this book the moment I found out it was going to come out. It did not disappoint. I loved it.

Unfortunately, the closest comic store is 8 miles away from me and I don't think Waldenbooks carry this title, so I'll only have the first individual issue. If there are trades, I am so there.

Thanks Pov. Was working two full time contracts for a while and I've been really busy. I have some downtime right now, so I popped in to see everyone.

I've waited years for this book...pretty much since the last was cancelled and unlike most books I'm hyped about, this one did not disappoint.

On a related note, the family presented me with the Blue and Gold Minimates and the Kevin Maguire Modern Masters for my B-day. It was Boosterific!

Jamie

Based on this thread, I called the CBS and had them reserve me a copy. It better be good!

Ya gots ta trust us, Lancer! It's Boosterific!!

If it isn't, I'm coming after you, Craig. I'll read your comics and dog-ear the pages!

First you'll have to figure out the combination to the holo-lock on my comic book room...

It was really good.

I admit the hook for me was the whole "go back in time and save Blue Beetle" subplot.

See, my ONLY exposure to Booster was through the Bwah-Ha-Ha JLA, so I adore the whole Booster/Beetle hetero life-partners thing.

This book seems poised to be a breakout hit.

Lash, you should check out Booster's last series, just to see what it was like. It was only 25 issues, and you can probably find most of them in 25 cent bins. The best 2 issues by far was the 2 part Legion crossover (issues 7 and 8), when Brainiac 5, Ultra Boy and Chameleon Boy show up to see why this loser has a Legion ring and Brainy's force field belt, 1000 years before there was a Legion.

The BHH JLA was "okay", and by far the finest part of it was the friendship Booster and Ted developed. I was always disappointed the "Blue and Gold" series (mini or otherwise) was never made...

Actually, I thought the whole Booster Gold series was pretty good - except for the abominable "Manhunter" bits, which didn't seem to work in any book. Craig is correct; the original series should be available cheap (I would check for a set on ebay) and is certainly worth a read.

Now, where did I leave that holo-lock descrambler...

Yeah lance, the Manhunter stuff was garbage (pretty much across the board). It was one of those "epic" DC crossovers that stunk up the regular books, and even the Millenium mini itself had some lousy story and art!! And isn't that when we got the "New Guardians"??? Bleah!!!!

I just read it Craig, and your comics are safe. For the time being. (insert evil laugh here.) Gotta agree, this was quite good. Anybody actually believe they are gonna bring back Ted?

We'll get Ted back after Final Crisis. I'd bet Cobie's bottom dollar.

I knew they would be safe. I actually liked it better than Booster's first series. I'm actually torn on the whole "saving" Ted thing. It really cheapens things to bring people back...(much as I'd love to have him).

I think it's become cheaper to kill them off. They should resurrect every character whose been killed off in some lame crossover event.

HelLOOoo!! Didn't I just say "Final Crisis"??? :rolleyes:

I think that Ted's best chance of coming back is as the mysterious member of Checkmate that Giffen was hinting about in his Four Horsemen interview.

Newsarama Interview with Giffen

One would think that Michael would to try resurrect his dead twin before Ted tho'.

Jamie

Bump for the new issue.

In it you find out that:

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">- Booster is responsible for the creation of the Sinestro Corps
- Booster is the reason that Hal Jordan was closer to Abin Sur than Guy
- Guy and Booster have a moment of bonding, and John's used the similarities in the two characters backgrounds to great effect.
- Dr. Thirteen and Co.!!!</span></span>

In other words, this series is a love fest of the DCU and if you're not getting this series, shame on you!

Jamie

I did enjoy this issue. The characterization of Sinestro was brilliant and we see that Booster does have some intelligence and is not just a joke.

I was wary of this series based upon how much of a joke Booster & Blue Beetle became in Griffin's JLA.

Just read it. First comic I read out of the new ones. That's a good sign for this title.

Anybody else catch Rip Hunter say "Sprock?". I still think he's from the 31st century. And my guess is one of the Ranzz twins. (Garth & Imra's twins that is)

Jurgens art is the best I've ever seen him do.

I really liked the issue too. I saw the "Sprock!", and it has me thinking future too. Great theroy Jorge, I hadn't even thought of that! I was thinking maybe Rip Hunter IS Booster Gold, but later in his life. Maybe? I mean, really, a janitor able to work a force field belt, a time machine, and steal a robot to become a hero? Maybe if he had some sort of time manipulation power in his genetic make up. Whatever the case, I'm a big fan. Was of the first series too.

The funny thing about the 'Sprock' line is that it went totally under my radar as it just seems like something he would say.

Jamie

Hey thor2168, a couple of us were throwing around the "Rip is Booster" idea during 52! I'd say I'm less inclined to believe it now that 52 has passed, but it's still an interesting theory!!

Another good issue, but comics with Infectious Lass usually are!

Got the first two issues and really enjoyed them.

Glad to see Booster back.

Yes this is a good book! I fear it might get confusing (considering it deals with time travel...), but right now, I can fully enjoy it. I especially like the tiny panels from the past like the infamous Phantasm/Pantha Teen Titans. Makes the DCU feel more consistent.

Seeing Booster get hammered with Jonah Hex was great! Don't drink and drive in the time-stream!

No comments from issue 4 yet? It was great to see Barry and Wally teamed up again, but I wish there had been a Legion appearance again.

I was slightly disappointed with issue number 4. I was starting to get used to Infectious Lass' one panel appearances.

So this issue, as mentioned on a couple of other threads, we get "Lightning Saga(s) Strike Twice? 3000+8" on Rip Hunter's chalkboards, and he tells Rex Hunter his lab is complete with Brainiac 5's 31st century computer tech. That's about all the Legion-y goodness tied to #5.

However, we do find out the evil time trio (Ultra-Humanite, Despero, & Per Degaton) are behind the space-time continuum disruptions. I'm sure they are leading us back to the next Lightning Saga, seeing as how they made a few cameos during the first one (that didn't seem to tie in there at the time...).

Gotta love a big tapestry. Next issue, Booster and Beetle, back together. Tragically, I'm sure the reunion is destined to be brief, as this very issue Rip tries to demonstrate to Michael that some things are absolute.

Still enjoying this book quite a bit!

As a huge Barbara Gordon fan, this issue punched me in the gut... Booster's repeated attempts to right the percieved wrong of her crippling at the hands of the Joker, in vain... His frustration was mine, even though I have the outsider's knowledge of Babs doing much more good as Oracle than she did as Batgirl.

Great issue.

Yes it was... Booster Gold has been a really good read since the relaunch. I'm especially digging the "done in 1"-- sorta-- approach. Very refreshing!

Still DC's best ongoing comic, beating out even JSA, Green Lantern and Jonah Hex!

Not much praise I can add that hasn't already been added, other than Jurgen's art hasn't looked this good since his Superman run with Brett Breeding inks.

Blue(s) and Gold, together again!!!!

I'm stoked, I don't know about the rest of you! Booster 6 was quite a treat, although I don't trust the "future" Blue Beetle (from the 27th century). I feel like he's got an ulterior, sinister motive that hasn't reared it's head yet. Rip doesn't like what Booster and the Beetles are trying to do, and his paranoias are usually dead on! I think this issue, while I enjoyed the end very much, is going to ultimately go the route of "be careful what you wish for"... (like the Return of Barry Allen twist, etc.)

Whatever! I'm along for the ride!

Future Beetle is totally evil!

I'm also loving the time-travel fun that gives us the 'Beetles'. Ted & Booster together again is a treat.

I read # 0, and 7-8 last night, they were GREAT... love how Booster is apparently getting retroactive ZERO HOUR and DC 1 MILLION issues, and the upcoming JLI issue will be a must-get.

Beetle's sort-of death-wish seems to be some pretty heavy foreshadowing... and yeah, I can't recall Jurgen's art looking this good since Perez inked it.

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">MR. MIND?!</span></span>

Whoa-- did NOT see that coming. It makes sense, though. Booster's father isn't smart enough to organize the Time Breakers himself.

And I -love- Ted's taking the mastermind out. I kept hoping there was a way for Booster to energize his forcefield like a bug zapper...

I read that Johns and Katz are leaving after this arc-- is Jurgens sticking around?

Hopefully Jurgens will, and yeah, you-know-who was quite a nice symmetrical surprise as villain of the arc!

I still have the feeling Blue Beetle is going to survive all this, somehow.

I hope Beetle survives. The DCU is much more fun with him in it!

As for Jurgens, I read somewhere that he's staying on. I'm not sure how long...at least for the Dixon arc, I think. Actually, I'm crossing my fingers that he stays on as artist and writer!

We'll see...

FYI, I noticed at my CBS a SHOWCASE for Booster Gold, I'm assuming it contains all of his appearances pre-JLI. It def. contains 1-25 of his first series.

Yup, plus ACTION #594 (a cross-over with BOOSTER #23) and his origin story in SECRET ORIGINS #35. Good stuff.

Dude! I'm definitely putting that on my next In-Stock trades order! I wish they had one for New Teen Titans...

Spoiler-free!

Just read Booster Gold One Million. It was a really, really nice coda to the Johns/Katz run and contained several nice surprises in it, two in particular.

I'm definitely staying onboard this title for the forseeable future to give [whoever the new regular writer will be] a chance. The last page was a preview of the next year's worth of stories like was done earlier in the series (and in JSA), and it looks like we're in for some fun stories, including one that may be of particular interest to fans from this site.

The most important thing is that the book's concept and overall lighthearted tone will apparently remain consistent with what Johns has established. And, hopefully, Jurgens will be around for a good while longer. I know Geoff is hard to replace, but I hope everyone who's been enjoying the book and the character will give the new writer a chance.

anything happens to Brainiac 5?

"Not in the story proper," he says cryptically.

GOLDSTAR's BAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!

surprise revelation on Rip Hunter's "connection" to Booster Gold. Interesting!

Just want to drop one little spoiler - that's it. good read by the way.

Forgot to post that Dan was announced by Geoff to be taking up the writing chores (as well as continuing on art), as I'd hoped. YAY--I'm stoked!

Nice article today at CBR.

I finally got to read BG 1,000,000 today. Excellent as always. I had the Rip reveal spoiled for me elsewhere, but there were a lot of other nice surprises, Batman's guest spot being my favorite.

Thanks for the link to that article, Lardy. Two 2-issue guest writing stops by Dixon and Remender, then we get Jurgens running the whole show? I can live with that...

#11 was a fun time-travel adventure. I'm looking forward to the next issue. BG as Batman? That should be worth a read.

Well, the end of John's run was magnificent. His brief Booster run is some of the best work he's ever done, right down to his last(?) adventure with Ted, Goldstar's return, Rip's revelation, Batman's scene with Booster and all around just setting up a Booster Gold ongoing that could potentially be as cool and important to the DCU as Flash or Green Lantern.

And Dixon's two-parter has thus far been pretty awesome. As always, Dixon delivers a solid story that is fun, interesting and enjoyable.

And Jurgen's art hasn't looked this good since the mid-90's.

A fun, smart strait-up super-hero comic? With time-travel? People have asked for years and well, here it is.

So, post Johns for about a year now, and I've got to say, I'm pretty impressed by what Dan Jurgens has done thus far! Its the best writing he's done in ages, and the artwork remains consistently great.

The Booster / Rip / Skeets / Goldstar dynamic remains a very tight core to the series and a fun read. And the adventures remain quirky and unique enough from everything else on the market.

Regarding the latest issues:

#20 - Keith Giffen drops by for a really great one-off story with Booster in 1952 with the original Task Force X / Suicide Squad. Pat Oliffe provides the art, and he's been excellent since 52, specifically with Keith guiding him. The story contains Giffen's usual witty and funny dialogue but is not an outright comical story. Really cool to see Keith further explore the DCU of the 1950's with Task Force X. Some fans may not realize that the Frank Rock post-WWII is not actually SGT Rock. SGT Rock died in WWII...this Frank Rock is the Unknown Soldier pretending to be SGT Rock and infiltrating the US spy world at the highest levels.

#21 - Jurgens and Rapmund do a nice job of having Booster meet the new Batman, and also continue to build on the mystery of Black Beetle from John's run.

#21 Blue Beetle Back-up - provides a pretty good way to introduce Jamie to new readers but its not exactly the most exciting story in the world. I wonder if adding Blue Beetle as a back-up to Booster Gold will help either series? Only time will tell, I guess.

I think I somehow missed #20. I'll have to check and see if I accidentally bagged and filed it without reading... ). No danger of me dropping it as long as Jurgens stays with Booster, but I'm just sayin...

Read #22 earlier today and again I'm impressed by another Jurgens outing. I think Jurgens has hit his stride here on Booster and the title has remained as good as it was under Geoff. You wouldn't know Geoff was no longer here by the quality.

Here Booster deals with the classic Deathstroke / Teen Titans first meeting from Teen Titans #2, which is a lot of fun. It also continues the mystery of Black Beetle, whom I'm finding to be a good nemesis for Booster. No word on Goldstar yet, so that plotline is still perculating, but Skeets is awesome as usual and Rip is doing something that we'll see play out next issue.

The art is fantastic--Jurgens is dong a great job and when he's teamed with Rapmund on inks, who has worked with him in the past, the end result is usually A+.

The Blue Beetle back-up is a little better in the second outing but writer Matt Sturges still can't seem to grasp using the back-up format. He's writing as if it was a single issue broken up over the course of a few; instead he should be approaching it as several short periodicals. We do get some additional scenes with Paco and Brenda, and there is definately a Harry Potter-esque vibe going on with Jamie caught in the middle of his two best friends who are now dating. That's welcome, and they should have more of that rather than Blue Beetle fighting some nameless flying robots / thugs / etc. that no one cares about.

I'm actually enjoying the Blue Beetle backup quite a bit, even though I've had very little exposure to Jaime's character. It's fun and well-drawn and well-written, a perfect companion to Booster Gold.

As for issue 22, I couldn't help but wonder how close the story followed how TT #2 was written, since I've never read that comic (nor most of the classic Wolfman/Perez run ). Did Grant attack Cyborg first before attacking the rest at the Dayton mansion? If anyone feels like filling me in on the beats of the original comic, I'd appreciate it! That's one pitfall Jurgens fell into with a reader like me unfamiliar with the original: wondering if the story's more enjoyable to someone who's read the original or not.

In any case it's great to see classic Titans characters and costumnes, and Dan drew a jaw-droppingly gorgeous Kory in a bikini! The concept of the series gives Dan unlimited opportunities to indulge our nostalgia for bygone eras. A continued healthy mix between those stories and more progressive ones will keep this on my pull list.

Well, I didn't buy Blue Beetle with Jamie, so I just have the three issues to go on, but I have the original Booster run and I have to say that I am enjoying this run.

Unfortunately, the sales figures aren't great, so please, talk the book up folks, if you care to. Jurgens has been dong some great stuff. They are getting to visit all the high points of DC over the last few decades.

I would love to see him hitting some real high points, though. A visit to the beginning of time and Hal facing off against Krona. Even the biggie of biggie's, Superman's arrival on earth or his leaving of Krypton.

Having just read the second part of the BN tie-in, something hit me as I read it: this story was really unnecessary! Don't get me wrong--it makes perfect sense for Booster to be confronted by the Black Lantern Ted Kord. But, really, the whole thing amounted to an extended eulogy of Ted.

The problem with this is we already got this last year with the extended "Blue and Gold" storyline that ended Geoff Johns's run on this title. Seriously! Isn't that the main thing that story accomplished? This one felt like a retread with the added twist that Ted's body was reanimated to confront Booster and pals. Yeah, Jurgens had the plot point in there that Booster had been hiding out in time and hadn't been aware of the BN crisis and so was off balance early in the encounter. But once that was out of the way, this Black Lantern was dispatched rather easily.

Then, we're left with an extended Ted tribute at the end with the time portal flashbacks and putting Ted back to rest. It was kinda nice, yeah, but what was nicer was seeing Ted face his fate a year ago when he realized he had to die. Much nicer and more moving than anything in the past two issues.

Not that anything here was offensive; it was just unnecessary. I can see the value of heroes confronting their beloved dead in many other titles, but here it wasn't needed. If he was shown among the JLAer Black Lanterns that attacked current JLAers in the main series and Booster was among those fighting them (like Zatara/Zatanna, Vibe/Gypsy, etc.) those few panels in a larger story would have sufficed. Two thirty page issues a year after a superior story appeared were just overkill.

But I guess there were LOADS of people who picked up these issues who never bothered with that first year of this series, so I guess it was more for them than for us. In that vein I guess I can forgive what I deem unecessary.

(Of course there's the matter of one panel calling back something we saw at the end of Johns's run in addition to rampant specualtion about mass resurrections at BN's conclusion that makes this eulogy seem particularly excessive--but I digress..... )

Giffen & DeMatteis Back to BOOSTER GOLD; ft. Ted Kord?

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Giffen-DeMatteis-Booster-Gold-100114.html

Should be interesting. Might get me back on this book...although I have to catch up on the issues I missed.

I've really loved Booster Gold post-Johns so in a way I'm dissapointed that Jurgens is leaving the title. While Geoff really did a great job, Jurgens kept the title's quality just as high and without all the praise Geoff got.

On the other hand, Giffen & DeMatteis have always been great and the artist will be Chris Batista, whom I love. I hope its less humor oriented though than what you'd expect and keeps the level of adventure up.

Having caught up on the latest Booster Gold story, in which Jurgens has Booster revisit the Cyborg Superman/Destruction of Coast City era, and I have to say: I think I've actually liked and preferred Dan Jurgens extended run more than Geoff John's initial, more brief run. Jurgens has really done a terrific job on this title. With Jurgens leaving the title soon, its nice to look back at his run in hindsight and see all he did with Booster over the course of the last two years. Booster Gold has been one of the most entertaining, solid comic book series by any company for quite awhile now.

I'm actually going to miss Jurgen's touch here and am fearful for what Giffen has planned. I truly hope this does not revert to a comedy-driven title; that would be a real disappointment to me. In Jurgen's hands, he took what Johns started and helped establish Booster Gold as a sort-of "Fringe" like series dealing with time-travel issues, while including heavy doses of super-heroics. Rip, Skeets and Michelle helped round out the series to give it a team book feel while ensuring Booster was the lead.

And the artwork by Jurgens has been nothing short of spectacular, probably his best in years. The series has been colorful, and with clean pencils and inks, and it's just been a real visual pleasure.

Booster Gold doesn't seem to get a lot of praise and isn't as trendy as Flash and GL are these days, but it ranks right up there with a solid sci-fi superhero series. I wish it could continue indefinitely.

As for the Blue Beetle back-up, I think its another case of the writers not using the limited page count to their advantage. The last few installments saw them finally kind of get a sense of the pacing they needed to keep but it wasn't really enough. It all seemed kind of cutsey and beside the point with no real tension. That's too bad, as it could have been a nice compliment to Booster's series if the sci-fi / space connections were played up more.

I think of every single "new" series DC has launched or relaunched within the past 5 years the biggest success since GL has been Booster Gold from a quality perspective. It flies below many people's radars yet is as good if not better than almost all other superhero series out there.

Last night I read the first issue of the ‘new era’ of Booster Gold, following Jurgen’s exit and the entrance of Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis, whose usage of the character redefined him the first time Jurgens left Booster. On the art is Chris Batista who Legion fans know well.

I’ll begin with what I liked and work backwards.

First, Legion fans into AR appearances will absolutely have to pick this up as it takes place on Daxam during the Great Darkness Saga! I was actually pretty surprised by that and thought it was cool. Even more, the Emerald Empress is revealed to be there, and she’s pretty damn vicious as well.

Second, Chris Batista is an artist I liked a lot on the Legion but really fell in love with his work on 52, which showcased his incredible talent. Giffen obviously had an influence on him (and still does), as he’s become a much more dynamic penciller & inker in terms of composition, action and pacing. Really well done.

In terms of the new writing team, I have to admit, I’m not totally into yet. I really liked what Geoff did and I really thought Jurgens was able to build on that and keep Booster an “A” level quality comic book (despite not getting the accolades that Geoff got). To see a new team come on and shift the ‘spirit’ of the comic is a little disconcerting. Now, I admit, that after only one issue, I can’t really make that judgment. But I’m wary. The Booster bwahahahaha era was great and I loved it, but the character has moved on and I really don’t want to retread old territory. I want a terrific little sci-fi superhero comic with a focus on time travel. Hopefully it will be exactly that, as its not really clear yet.

Giff & DeMatteis do inject some humor into the dialogue and I don’t mind it so much as I like humor as much as the rest. Booster’s snappy dialogue with the other characters was great. I did think the girl having to go to the bathroom bit though was a bit of a yawner though—like when a comedian bombs and you hear crickets in the audience. Man, I hope we don’t get ‘forced’ humor, but let it be natural, which I assume will happen give these two creators (whose solo work is often deadly serious).

All in all though, the new team still has Booster time traveling, Rip Hunter up to important, secret missions, Skeets being awesome and other things from the earlier two runs that I’m glad are continuing. I realized that now I’m going to really miss Goldstar and the series will be lacking something without her. Hopefully another supporting character can fill the void; the little girl Booster saved looks like she could but I have to say, so far I find her annoying. (Digression: you’d think as a new parent I’d be glad to see kids in comics but between her and Damien in Batman, and Wally’s kids as well, I’m rolling my eyes at them all).

To summarize: first issue was a solid effort and worth the purchase. While it didn’t prove to be as rough as I thought it’d be, I’m still wary. I’m hoping the thin line they walked in this issue continues to be walked throughout and we see more adventure focused stories supplemented by some humor and witty dialogue than the other way around.

I’m curious as to what others thought. I realize if I hated the run prior to Giff & J.M. taking over, I probably would be ecstatic right now with their arrival. But alas, that is not the case.

Giff and De-M are on BOOSTER GOLD now?!?!?

And BATISTA on art!?!?!?!?!?

WHY was I not pre-informed!!!

You were in the shower! You need a copy ASAP!

Sure do... hope the CBS still has one Weds.

Sounds like you're not jumping for joy yet OR overly worried about their first issue, Cobie...

I'll be honest... I liked BG under Johns and still enjoyed it under Jurgens, but a couple issues into the $4 price jump, I bailed.

BG will have to provide me no less than 2 LOL moments and 1 solid smile for me to justify the $4 price. I figure Giff/Dematteis are good for that. We'll see...

hmmm... the girl having to go to the bathroom bit sounds like my own "Tiffany Spiffany eats at the space-truckstop and gets bad gas" joke in MEL:TS, which I thought would be funny but wasn't.

I got # 32 today! LOVED the cover, of course.

Added it to my pull based on my love of the Giff/Dematteis team, and the price now being $2.99 again certainly did NOT hurt.

Looking forward to reading it!

"I came to Daxam for a singles retreat! The food was awful, the men were all gay... and now THIS?"

Okay, I am reaLLLLLy looking forward to it now!

Read 32. LOVED IT.

A definite keep after the price hike based on this issue.

Batista's art was of course great.

The Emerald Empress... SO vicious. I was actually surprised by HOW vicious.

I'm curious about the little girl, I am sure she will bring comic relief... she certainly did this issue.

This story actually gave added depth to a segment of the Great Darkness saga that wasn't touched on as much as it could have been.

And I got at least 3 LOL moments out of it.

I'm back onboard without reservations.

One other thing I think is important to note about BG 32, and (IMO) the Giffen/Dematteis team in general-- this ain't no read in 5 minutes comic. They have always excelled in providing more bang for the buck dialoguewise.

agreed ... I'm curious where they go with BG being a 'daddy,' but the whole "I gotta poop!" rant made me groan ...

loved the portrayal of the Emerald Empress as a real psycho ...

Loved the portrayal of the Empress as well. She is an out and out A class villain with or without the eye.

One thing slightly grated on me and that was for what was a pretty serious subject, the humour seemed out of pace and forced. We have a story involving planetary destruction, a mad “new God” and daxamites on the rampage, we have a psychopathic killer who murders survivors for no real reason other than she wants to, leading to a character becoming so traumatised by what she has seen that she kills herself. And into all this we get poop jokes???

I'll agree its a very fine line... but this is a little girl and Booster Gold here.

It worked a lot better for me than it did for others.

"I gotta poop too!"

"Heeey... did you just pee on me?"

"Maybe a little."

I admit, while overall the potty humor was iffy, that exchange made me

I look at it this way, without her nd the potty humor, this book could have easily been massively depressing.

Agreed; we're on the same wavelength Dev.

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=35823

I'm gonna get the next issue. Preview is good, and I loove that kid. "Boppy" = Bwahahahahahaha

Read #33, and really liked it. Nice to see Booster standing up for himself and his former JLI teammates.

The whole ridicule thing for that team is growing old though, and I hope they leave it behind for good soon.

Read the second issue of the Giffen & DeMatteis run and I enjoyed it a bit more than the first though I see its not really that different. I liked seeing Booster return to the JLI glory days which we all knew was going to happen sooner or later. I feel both relief that it was lightly entertaining and didn't drag and also glad to get it out of the way. That era is one of my favorites so I fear the 'can't go home again' syndrome.

What I found especially nice was Giff & DeMatt focused on the fact that Max Lord was once a likable guy and good friend to the JLIers. It's something no one brings up anymore and I had begun to think DC simply said Max was always a bastard, he just hid it well. Here, it felt like perhaps that wasn't the case. I'd prefer if it wasn't and that Max became that way because of misguided intentions. We haven't seen that in Generation Lost yet and I've complained a few times that I simply don't give a shit about Max Lord anyjmore, and that is mainly because the Max that killed Ted Kord is not someone I want to read about. But if they start focusing on how Max used to be and a reason for the shift, then that's another story.

I also love the way Giff & DeMatt are writing Skeets. That's a lot of fun.

Glad to see continued focus on how heroic Booster is these days compared to then. He's come a long way through 52 and his own series.

And of course, Batista's art deserves a post of its own but there isn't much to say I haven't already said elsewhere. I like it quite a bit and he's better than ever. He's also shown a knack for drawing great facial expressions just like Giff/DeMatt's other partner in crime, Kevin MaGuire does so well.

33 rocked. I think I am going to really enojy this run and hope it lasts a nice long while.

Rani was -much- more bearable this ish... between drawing on Rip's blackboard and picking up Booster's cussing, she was alot cuter than last issue's Potty Girl.

Booster going up one side and down the other on Cyborg over his disdain for the JLI team was beautiful.

34 ROCKED!!!

Not only does it contain several pages of Giffen art, but it's also a story starring Blue, Gold, Barda and Mr. Miracle.

It was love.

I guess this is as good a place as any to talk about Vanishing Point: Timemasters, which is essentially a continuation of Dan Jurgen’s Booster Gold series, which I personally loved. We get to see Jurgens keep his characterization and larger story of Rip, Booster and their cast going, while adding his favorites Superman and Green Lantern to the mix. (Interestingly, while Dan has never been an artist on GL for an extended period of time that I can remember, he’s drawn Green Lanterns in an enormous amount of his Superman and JLA stories).

I’m finding the artwork by Jurgens to be pure pleasure to look at. He’s really come back full circle and is doing the best stuff of his career.

The plotline I think is really fun and interesting, while serving as a nice supplement to both the Return of Bruce Wayne story and the Booster Gold comic. I’m incredibly fascinated by Rip Hunter and glimpses of his origin and history are very welcome. I was also glad to see Goldstar as well as the Despero / Per Degaton team-up.

I’m also putting my theory out there now on Supernova: here he is a young Rip Hunter in his days between being trained by an older Booster and becoming the Time Master we know him as now.

I'll be catching up on Booster's own comic in the coming weeks...

The latest story-arc, with Booster back in time hanging with Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle and Big Barda has been...surprisingly, pretty fun! Whereas the first few issues of Giff & DeMatt's run were enjoyable but left me with a few worries, I've found this arc to be worry-free and just an all around great read. The major reasons? (A) It is actually pretty hilarious in places and (B) every scene with the four of them has a lot of heart. I think the writers have found a great balance in providing the 'fun romp' type comic they want to do while keeping with the type of character Booster is these days.

I like the idea of Booster and Ted having had numerous un-chronicled adventures where Booster went back and time to hang with Ted. Like of like a buddy version of the Time Traveler's Wife.

Anyone else wondering if this planet they're on is Sorcerer's World? The Queen sure looks a lot like Mysa.

I am wondering if there is a little trouble on Batista's part to keep the schedule. Giffen pinched in one issue and then Pat Oliffe the next. I like both's art quite a bit so it didn't distract but I'd rather get a complete Batista story.

Above all else, this story is making me miss Mr. Miracle.

I'm curious about that "Ted Kord - Chipmunk" thing.

Issue #36 was good. Beetle is a chipmunk. Booster takes a side trip to JLI:GL during the issue. Nice use of showing us how this all fits together.

Loving this book. I lived it under Johns, Jurgens and now Giffen. Skeets is the best "straight man" in comics.

36: missed Batista's art a bit but who can complain about Oliffe??

It was yet another winner.

37 kicked mucho ass, as usual!

Estrogina was a trip and a half.

Long live the Giffen/DeMatteis team! Oh and that Batista guy? MmmmHmmm. That.

I really liked how in #37 Booster left the action to quickly visit Ted in Ted's future to make sure everything ends okay; it showcased the enjoyable complicity of tine-travel while also showing Booster finally having enough and "cheating" a little to check. Great moment!

I forgot to comment after 38 but I remember enjoying it too...

General Glory and Ernie? That was win. Or in Ernie's case, whine.

I read Booster Gold 39 last night. I'd classify it as the best issue yet of the current Giffen/DeMatteis/Batista run!

This issue is pretty light on action, and in this case, that's a good thing. After the multi-issue adventure in the past with the JLI-era Ted Kord, Booster takes a moment to reflect on his friend and the fresh hurt he still feels over it. This message is delivered in fine manner by the terrific Batista cover of Booster at Ted's grave as a spectral image of Booster and Beetle lies in the background.

Now, we've had at least two other "catharsis"-type stories in the current Booster series alone where he deals with Ted's passing, the end of Johns' run and the conclusion of the Blackest Night crossover. But this one really hits the mark and feels naturally placed in the wake of the just-concluded multi-parter and with Booster's ongoing struggles with Max Lord with the outcast JLIers. The scene where Booster just lets go with a scream and then tears up is just perfect.

I think Giff and DeMatteis are showing the potential here to put together an even better run than either Johns or Jurgens did. Here, other than some banter with Skeets, they subsume all the goofy antics and just tell a heartfelt story that really shows they understand how far Booster has come in recent years. Anyone who was afraid G&D would throw away all that development can rest assured. I suppose, though, that if you have no real affinity for Blue and Gold that this issue wouldn't resonate as much.

I like especially how Booster's confrontation with a wannabe Robin Hood escalates to the cathartic moment. It starts out as a funny back-and-forth between the two until Booster's feelings turn it into something else.

Chris Batista's art here really reminds me of Chris Sprouse's art more than it has before. That's meant to be a compliment mostly, but both artists share a problem in really conveying drama and emotion. In an issue like this one, that aspect was definitely missed. I know that if Jurgens had drawn the issue, for example, he really would have nailed those aspects. But generally Batista is perfect for this, a generally light and fast-paced book. This issue's more emotional core highlighted his weaknesses with such material.

If I'm reading this right, the story is meant to put Beetle to rest once and for all, so that Booster can go forward. If that's so, I'm surprisingly okay with it. The issue shows that Beetle will always live on as long as Booster does. As long as Booster continues to survive, so will Ted. After an issue like this, Ted returning at some point would seem cheap. Hopefully, DC will stick to their guns for once. Ted's death was meaningful and the repercussions have been very powerful. Ironic that Ted's role in the DCU had diminished so greatly before he was killed when he has become so resonant in the aftermath.

The ending with the gravestone persisting through the ages was absolutely perfect!

Lardy's rating for Booster Gold #39: 4.5 donuts (out of five)!

Lardy, I just read this issue as well, and absolutely loved it. You hit on all the main reasons...I will say that I felt Booster scream (it kinda reminded me of the Superman scream during Crisis on Infinite Earths),and it took me by surprise. Wasn't really expecting an issue like this based on what we had seen with the creative team, and am that much more impressed by it because of that fact.

The only other thing I'll tousch on was the fact that it's implied that Booster keeps Ted's final resting place intact to the apparant end of time.

Definitely felt the scream as well, AB. Also loved how the lecture to the would-be Robin Hood transitioned suddenly into one with Ted.

I have yet to read this particular issue, but count me in as someone who is really enjoying this creative team's run on Booster Gold.

Lardy, you hit on the most important part, that the creative team is not relying on just humor, but also give us a series with some real heart to it (not to mention, lots of excitement and action). They've had a good balance on hitting all the right notes.

I have to say, from Johns to Jurgen to the current guys, every creator who has touched Booster's series has done an excellent job. Booster Gold has consistently been one of comicdom's best superhero series for a few years now.

Do you own the issue yet, Cobie? If so, hurry up and read it! I'm dying to hear how much you totally agree with my review!

Seriously, I'm curious to see what you think! I personally think it may have been the best issue of any comic I've read recently, up there with Chew 15, anyway.

Caught up on Booster Gold #38 & #39 last night, after I put it towards the front of my reading pile because of Lardy’s review (see LW—a solid review may garner some efforts in others to respond!).

Booster Gold #38 was a WWII story in which Booster met back up with General Glory from the Justice League International run. Personally, I always thought General Glory was more annoying than funny, but for some reason, I find the whole Ernie shtick to be hilarious. I’ll admit when I saw the General my immediate thought was “ooooh boy…” (not in a good way) but I actually found the issue to be quite hilarious! So much of it comes from Skeets & Booster’s interaction, which is done wonderfully by G&D.

Following that, Booster #39 is the above-referenced story Lardy mentions in which Booster deals with the pain of having just had an adventure with Blue Beetle and then returning to the present and recognizing he is dead. I expected it to be good—but wow, I didn’t realize how powerful it would be! What really nails the issue is the way the emotions build up throughout the course of the first 20 pages or so—it’s masterfully done! Things start off with some subplots, humor, science, etc., and quickly move to Booster getting out on his own. From panel #1 it’s all very subtly leading towards Booster’s emotional moment towards the end, but the creative team actually don’t even hint that is where it’s going until mid-comic. By the time Booster arrives at the grave of Ted Kord, the emotional build-up is very powerful and then there is an enormous release. I thought it was very powerful stuff. Those are all emotions most of us have had when dealing with the death of a loved one and I thought it was handling very well. I’m impressed.

Batista’s artwork continues to be hugely pleasing on the eye. He has really emerged as a premiere “superhero artist” in my mind. It’s a very timeless style that fits right in today, could have fit in the 80’s and could have fit in the Silver Age. Lardy's above Sprouse-comparison is a good one I think; both have taken their styles to new levels.

The coloring on Booster Gold also really feels superior to many other comics. It just ‘pops’ really well. It’s done by “Hi-Fi colors” which of course, makes me lose any interest in knowing who that is.

A character I loved that is quintessential Giff/DeMatt: the Booster! I expect we’ll see more of him.

All in all, I agree that this was the best of the Booster-dealing-with-Ted's-death issues, of which we've had a few. I think it's a turning point for Booster, though I do expect more Ted Kord at some point in the future.

It sure was!

*CHOKE!!!!* No way this issue can't grip at the old heart-strings.

Booster reminds me of a twin who has lost his brother... which I imagine would be particularly devestating.

You guys mention Sprouse, but I was seeing hints of influence from Giffen's current style as well in Mr. Batista's art this issue.

I am loving it.

This is certainly one of my "CURRENT TOP 5", which I will update at the end of the month!

I'll re-emphasize here something I said elsewhere: the best two comics I've read since early November were Chew 15 and Booster 39!

In an effort to get out of my comfort zone and to momentarily take a break from the oldies, I've borrowed the first two BG trades from the library.

Booster has always been a character I despise, but since the idea behind this series seems to be that he matures and redeems himself from his despicable behavior in the past, and since Geoff Johns can (sometimes) be great, I decided to give these a go.

So far I've just read the first issue and looked at the comments in this thread about it. I have to say, I didn't like it as much as the rest of you. I found the set-up too derivative of Marvel's Exiles, and the idea that he has to keep pretending to be the selfish, incompetent jerk did not appeal to me, although FC put it into perspective quite nicely with this observation:

Jurgens' art (I've always liked him as an artist, but never as a writer) is quite nice, and issue #2 deals with a young Katma Tui, one of my favorite heroines, so I'll definitely read #2 and share my thoughts on it in this thread.

So I just finished #2. It wasn't about Katma at all. It was about Sinestro and Guy Gardner.

But the Gardner stuff was unexpectedly moving, and the subplots are enough to get me to keep reading the trade.

Just finished #3, #4, and #5.

Did we have to have Rip torturing Rex with items from the Marquis DeSade's collection? Even if it was off-panel?

Did we have to be reminded of "The Killing Joke?"

I'm losing patience, but it's not completely exhausted yet.

Well, somehow I got all the way through both trades.

What a dreary, depressing, ugly piece of dirt that "rescue Blue Beetle and accidentally make things even worse" arc was.

Yet another peek into Johns' mind.

The armchair analyst in me speculates that he's a neurotic manic-depressive who embodies all the worst things about the fan-child mentality.

I will never read another thing he writes again.

This time it's really over.

Interesting view of the trades Fanfie. Whikle I am in no way trying to put aside your opinion of the books, they are after all your opinions. I have to wonder if you looked for the bad in this to cement your reasons for disliking Geoff's writing. It's an easy thing to say that you're going into something with an open mind...but if you cannot stand a character, easily dismiss the premise for the book as being a rip-off (which I will not argue as it is similiar...yet different on it's own) and have a "thing" against one of the writers to begin with...it begs to wonder of there was an open mind going into it.

You seemed to like the Guy stuff and found som eof the sub-plots interesting at first...but then only cite the things that you dislike. Was there nothing else in the run collected that was decent to you?

There were points to everything that happened...such as revisiting "The Killing Joke." Thre is not a hero out there that would not do anything they could to hellp Babs through what she wentthrough, and it was a lesson in never being able to change the past.

It is a hero's journey to fully becoming a true hero...even one that has to do his thing behind the scenes. As the series has progressed, and to the current issues, Booster is coming into his own. Dealing with the loss of his best friend. Finding joy in having his sister back for however much time they have together...and realizing that things are not always what they seem.

I know I am not going to change your mind about these stories, but I wonder if you truly gave them a fair chance given the amount of things they had going against them from your personal opinions.

I appreciate what you're saying, Dev. And I really did go into this wanting to like it, as I love the concept of travelling through time and visiting alternate realities. The things you pointed out have helped me to realize that perhaps the extended arc was best appreciated by readers who were already fans of Booster and Beetle, which I was not. Without any emotional investment, there could be no real impact. As for Johns, I don't completely understand why I feel so let down by him on such a personal level (in the Random Review thread, I compared my reader/author relationship to him to a love affair gone sour), but I did go in hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Instead, I got gratutious turn-offs such as the alternate-timeline version of Beatriz being burned to death and Rip Hunter with a torture fetish. That is sick stuff which sits uneasily beside the gee-whiz sense of wonder that Johns is simultaneously going for. In fairness to Johns, it could also be that somebody (DiDio, probably) has been egging him on over the years to come up with greater gross-outs each time and Johns has gotten trapped in a private hell. I'm very upset with where DC has gone over the past five years, and I want it to stop, and I know the only way I can do my part to make it stop is to not give them my money.

I've always thought of Booster as a "light" book and don't recall offhand any of Geoff's more bloodthirsty tendencies coming out during his run (with Katz as co-writer, let's remember). All I remember was some violence with the Joker and maybe a recurring emphasis on Beetle's death scene.

But to each his or her own. I do believe it helps to have a love for the JLI era generally and the Booster & Beetle pairing particularly to be in the proper mindset, though. I don't know if most people who go into the book with either no predisposition or a negative one would ever really connect to the character and his book.

FL, I personally thought the Jurgens written stuff that followed surpassed Johns in a big way, so I hope you check that out too. I liked Geoff's stuff but I *loved* Dan's.

Review: Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5

This mini has been a bit of a mixed bag, supposedly filling in an adventure that occured between the pages of the Return of Bruce Wayne with Booster, Superman, GL and Rip Hunter out looking for him. Oh, remember that series? It ended a coupla months ago! This one won't end 'til next week! Good timing, huh?

The series has mostly been a fun, if inessential and fluffy, story since it began. Problem is, it's a fluffy, inessential story that's been priced at $3.99 a pop with only 22 pages per issue, so it hasn't felt like I got my money's worth.

This issue particularly feels like the fluffiest of the series yet with pretty much nothing of consequence happening. We continue to get a scene of future Booster's life with from Rip's perspective from Rip's youth. (Spoiler: If you didn't know, it turns out Booster is Rip's dad--yes, it's complicated!) We have an extended amount of pages to dismounting our group from Claw and the obscure pre-Koriand'r Starfire heroine from the '70s. Then, they pursue the two sorceror baddies they've fought the last coupla issues and defeat them before they can steal an atom bomb. And then there's a cliffhanger with the Reverse Flash suddenly showing up. It's choppy and feels kinda slapped together at best.

The best sequences are the interludes, the one involve young Rip/old Booster and the pages with the Black Beetle, Liri Lee, Richard Rider and Supernova and how it all ties somehow to Waverider.

Honestly, with all this left untied and with Reverse Flash still looming, I'm skeptical we'll get a satisfying ending next week. Jurgens is either gonna leave some threads unresolved, or we're gonna get it all dumped on us in a haphazard manner.

I can't help but feel Jurgens could have cut a lot of filler in this series and put out a more satisfying product without all the side trips and detours. I feel like the purpose of this series is to tie up dangling threads from his runs on Booster Gold and Superman. If that's true, I don't think he's telling the best story possible to achieve that goal.

The art by Jurgens is very good as always, though I detect places where it may have been rushed. With the delays in publication this is very likely. But it's Jurgens, and fans of his will get a reliable though unexceptional example of his stuff.

At this point I have a hard time recommending this series to the unitiated. Its continuity-heavy and meandering at the same time. And the price is definitely not right.

Lardy's Rating for Time Masters Vanishing Point #5: 1.5 Donuts (out of five)!

I caught up on Time Masters #5 and I think I like it a bit more than Lardy does. From an artwork perspective it’s simply gorgeous to behold (with really great coloring) which makes it a lot of fun to read. From a story-telling perspective, well, there isn’t too much of a story there and it obviously doesn’t relate to Bruce Wayne in anyway, so it kind of makes it hard to recommend anyone buying this comic for $3.99.

What’s happened here is Jurgens obviously took his favorites (Superman, Booster and Green Lantern) and then created a story that (A) continues his plotlines involving Rip and Booster from his Booster Gold run and (B) restores his creation, the Linear Men. So it’s really for his fans as well as self-serving for himself. I happen to be a fan, so I can see why I’m enjoying it.

The Reverse Flash coming into the series with one issue to go seems pretty pointless and I wish Jurgens hadn’t gone there. I wonder if an editorial edict came down with “doing a time travel story? Put in the Reverse Flash because the Flash is a hot property right now!”. I personally kind of want to get this story over with already—the whole point of the series still seems be in question. I think this could have probably been a solid 4 issue miniseries but DC felt they had to go the full 6 for a trade.

I’m enjoying it, but like I said, I can’t really make a recommendation to anyone who isn’t already a major Jurgens fan willing to accept his self-indulgence.

Not reading Time Masters, but I can almost guarentee that Reverse Flash showing up is tying the whole thing into Flashpoint.

Well this run of BOOSTER is over.

Giff & DeMatteis brought me back but I am glad I stuck around for the rest of it. I have NOT followed any other FLASHPOINT book except this one, and I have liked what I've been reading.

I do hope a version of Alex can be seen again, post-nottaboot. maybe in JLI, which I assume is taking Booster Gold's slot in the new 52.

I recently read the final issue of Booster Gold, issue 47. I was actually pretty disappointed. the ending to the Flashpoint storyline seemed rushed as did the guest art of Rick Leonardi. I understand that Dan Jurgens probably needed the lead time for Green Arrow, but I would have preferred more than a couple of Jurgens pages. Leonardi is usually very good, but I'm sure he was asked to fill in pretty late. Leonardi also is what I'd qualify as a better "street-level" artist than one suited for Booster's more "sci-fi" bent.

I was kinda hoping Dan would reveal Alex as Booster's future wife and Rip's mom, but no such luck. She's given what appears to be a quick death scene but apparently survives to write on Rip's chalkboard at the end.

I was just hoping for more of a sense of closure on what has been one of my favorite DCU books from start to finish. Hopefully, Dan will make up for this in JLI....

New Blue & Gold mini by Jurgens!

I've been without a good Booster Gold fix for too long a while. That he's back with Ted and Jurgens means I am THERE!

8 issue mini... Sook can (hopefully) handle the full run!

At least it's by Jurgens which is infinitely better than whatever Tom King did to Booster.

There better not be any fat shaming jokes though.

So... I don't know if it's worth mentioning here instead of the FLASH thread, but Wally's trapped in the Speed Force and travelling through time trying to repair it... He's currently stuck in Bart's body and teamed up with a female mash-up of the Blue and Gold team, as the Gold Beetle. Her version of Skeets is Beets, who has to keep admonishing her not to tell Wally things she knows about his future, but she keeps dropping tantalizing hints at things... 5 more Crises...?? She's a hoot, in the BWAHAHA tradition. Not a book I buy, but I enjoy reading my buddy Mike's copy when I get our orders in from DCBS.

5 MORE Crises, soon it will be an annual thing!

Sounds like fun, POV! Gold Beetle sounds like a winner. thanks for sharing.

LOL at the whole "stuck in someone else's body" thing. I would be horrified if I were stuck in any of my younger male cousin's bodies...