Dan Jurgens teams up with Ryan Sook to return to Booster Gold and take him and Blue Beetle on a freewheeling romp through the DCU.
While the DC Universe’s most iconic Dynamic Duo is Batman and Robin, one underrated pairing is Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. After teaming up on Justice League International, the two superheroes forged a long-lasting friendship that endured the JLI’s eventual dissolution and their perceived status as walking jokes in the DCU. As the Infinite Frontier era continues to expand into new directions for the DC Multiverse, Booster and the Silver Age Blue Beetle Ted Kord reunite for an eight-issue miniseries from the creative minds of Ryan Sook, Dan Jurgens, and Rob Leigh. Overall, Blue and Gold #1 is a rollicking good time.
As Booster Gold attempts to regain the adoration of the general public, he finds that the social media crowd is a lot less forgiving than earlier audiences in his superhero career. As Booster’s attempts to become a superhero influencer flounder, Ted reaches his own fateful decision about reclaiming the mantle of Blue Beetle to rejoin his friend in action. With Blue and Gold reunited, they stumble into a cosmic plot, with the fate of the Justice League and DCU falling on their unlikely shoulders as the two unassuming heroes are tasked with saving the world.
With this year marking the 35th anniversary of Booster Gold’s debut, and Jurgens having worked with the character extensively across that time span, there’s no other writer more qualified to helm this miniseries. Jurgens maintains a strong grasp on Booster’s voice while juxtaposing it against social media scrutiny; but, as the premise suggests, the story truly fires on all cylinders when Booster is playing off Blue Beetle rather than flying solo. While the stakes for Booster and Beetle are high, Jurgens keeps the tone light. This tale is a romp starring DC’s most under-appreciated and quietly comical heroes and its story reflects that.
Sook, who provides pencils, inks, and colors on this title, keeps the mood effervescently light. His choice of color palettes effectively captures the story’s sense of vibrancy and fun. Letterer Rob Leigh deserves special recognition for the social media captions that punctuate many of the panels — often to comedic effect. Sook excels during the issue’s high-flying action, with the only noticeable hiccup in the artwork being some inconsistent facial work. This is most apparent in the occasional talking head sequence towards the end of the issue but, fortunately, this is does not throw off the overall flow of narrative action.
With Booster Gold and Blue Beetle separated for so long, either by revisions to the DCU’s reality or Ted’s temporary death, Blue and Gold #1 is a strong reminder of why the two superheroes work so well together. With its freewheeling, lightweight fun, the opening issue of Jurgens and Sook’s miniseries works best when it makes the most of its two protagonists’ natural chemistry. This is a superhero comic that’s self-aware enough to have fun with its premise, leans into ludicrous comedy, but never loses sight of its characters’ genuine hearts.
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