Review: Action Comics Vol. 5- Booster Shot
Quick Summary
Pros: The main narrative is exciting and contains several well-written emotional moments. Booster Gold is written well throughout the collection and steals the show in many places. The artwork is mostly positive.
Cons: There are a few moments where Superman is not written well.
Overall: This is a solid comic, especially if you are a fan of Booster Gold. The main narrative has plenty of action, drama, and emotion. Meanwhile, Booster Gold shines as a unique addition to the traditional Superman mix, particularly since the narrative allows him to partake in all of the volume’s positives. In the end, this is a solid book for Superman fans but an even better one for Superman fans who also like Booster Gold.
Story
Action Comics Vol. 5: Booster Shot, by Dan Jurgens, is a engaging adventure with a great cast of characters. The volume deals with time-travel shenanigans on one end and covert rescues on the other. The end result is a fun adventure that still finds time for some emotional moments. This collection works out particularly well for Booster Gold, who really steals the spotlight and reigns as the most interesting part of the narrative. Unfortunately, the spotlight is stolen a little too well and Superman ends up being poorly written in a few places. Overall though, the volume tells a great story that works on plenty of levels.
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The central narrative in Booster Shot revolves around Superman attempting to travel through time and Booster Gold attempting to stop him, while Lois Lane works toward saving her father’s life. This is exciting on both fronts, as significant levels of danger are present on both fronts. It also works from an emotional standpoint, with Superman learning to accept elements of his past while Lois reconnects with her estranged father.
The best part about Booster Shot is the successful and satisfying return of Booster Gold. Here, Booster is written by his creator once again and his status as the “greatest hero you’ve never heard of” is reaffirmed. Readers see Booster shine as a significant contributor to the DC universe, specifically within the realm of managing the timestream. Readers also have a chance to deal with Booster on a more emotional level, as he is more vulnerable here than usual and even reconnects with his mother. Though this is a “Superman” title, this particular volume effectively functions as a Booster Gold miniseries.
Unfortunately, in some places, positive writing for Booster Gold equates to negative writing for Superman. At several points in this collection, Superman acts uncharacteristically rash and illogical, particularly when he insists on staying in the past despite knowing he could revisit it at a less dangerous time. This is even more confusing since he is very level-headed and sensible at other points in the book, like when he resolves the dispute between Lois and her father.
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Art
The artwork in Booster Shot is mostly positive, despite the jumps in visuals styles. Each chapter in this book contains good-looking visuals from a talented artist. The opening chapters have some wonderfully heroic takes on Superman and Booster Gold from Dan Jurgens; later chapters have dynamic and gritty visuals that do particularly well in depicting Lois’ solo adventure from Brett Booth; and finally a few of the later chapters contain some realistic work that specifically highlights the collection’s villains from Will Conrad. Each of these chapters looks nice on its own and properly depicts the events of this book. The only downside is that the art styles here are very different so jumping from one chapter to the next can be a bit jarring. The overall appeal of the work, however, is still positive and is still an asset to the collection as a whole.
Continuity
Action Comics Vol. 5: Booster Shot continues the story from Superman- Action Comics: The Oz Effect (Review).
The story here continues in Action Comics #1000 and in The Man of Steel (Review).
This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:
- Superboy visited Apokolips across Superman #33-36, collected in Superman Vol. 6: Imperious Lex (Review).
- Lex Luthor stopped wearing Superman’s insignia in Superman #36, collected in Superman Vol. 6: Imperious Lex (Review).