Review: BLUE & GOLD #4
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund
Colors: Ryan Sook
Letters: Rob Leigh
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
Blue & Gold #4: Bros over heroes no more! Booster Gold and Blue Beetle find running a superhero business together more difficult than it looks when these inseparable friends end up on the verge of a breakup! What could be the cause of such a schism? Enter Blackguard, looking to destroy this dysfunctional duo for good!
Positives
In Blue & Gold #4, Beetle and Booster sit for an interview to promote their new superhero business, Blue & Gold Restoration. During that interview, they tell the story of how they first became friends when Booster first joined the Justice League International. This happened during an encounter with the villain Blackguard. However, it seems that each of them remembers the adventure differently.
Dan Jurgens delivers two parallel versions of the same story, each favoring the hero that is talking. It’s amusing that the friends aren’t above embellishing the story, even at the expense of making each other look bad. For example, Beetle states that the reason they were paired for that mission was for him to show new JLI recruit Booster the ropes. However, Booster insists that the reason was for Booster to give Ted training in tactical fighting.
I love that the story is set in the early days of Keith Giffen’s Justice League International title. There really seems to be a recent resurgence of that era at the moment. Besides this title, there’s also Tom King’s excellent miniseries The Human Target. And One Star Squadron, while not strictly a JLI story, seems much in the same spirit. In fact, that title’s Heroz4U sounds very similar to Blue & Gold Restoration. I wonder if this similarity was planned or just coincidental. Perhaps a crossover between the titles might be in the offing.
Positives Cont.
I loved that Jurgens brought in Guy Gardner of all people to set the story straight. Personally, I wouldn’t trust Guy’s account either, especially as it paints him as the true hero of the encounter. However, given that both heroes acknowledge Guy’s version of events, it probably is close to the truth. If Guy was making it up, I’m sure both would have objected.
It was also amusing to see Buggles and Skeets taking sides in the disagreement. Buggles jumps to Ted’s defense, telling Booster, “Put your hand on my master again and you will suffer”. Skeets immediately puts himself between Buggles and Booster. And I liked Skeets indignant response to the word “master”. Clearly, Skeets has issues with Buggles’ subservience to Ted. I wonder if Skeets will try to convince Buggles to free himself from this master-slave relationship.
I loved the art in this issue, especially the brief appearances of the JLI. And it was great to see a group shot of the team by original artist JLI artist Kevin Maguire. I also like the little details put into the art, like how Blue Beetle’s bug is a sleek technological wonder in Ted’s version of the story, but a barely-functioning, broken-down mess in Booster’s tale.
Negatives
The only negative I can see is that some readers might not appreciate the lighter, more humorous approach Jurgens takes with this title. Admittedly, it can be hard for a writer to know just how much humor to put into a story without overdoing it. But I don’t think Jurgens has come anywhere close to that point yet. But not all comics have to be dead serious. There is plenty of room for superhero comics that are funny.
Verdict
Blue & Gold #4 is a fantastically fun comic that brings back memories of Keith Giffen’s Justice League. Dan Jurgens has done a terrific job of recapturing the feel of that iteration of the League in this issue’s story. Perhaps Jurgens might consider tackling a full JLI story after this series concludes.
