Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. Blue steals the spotlight from Gold and we finally find out why Tim thinks Bruce Wayne is alive. Hint: It’s so easy, a caveman could do it. Reviews for Booster Gold #24 and Red Robin #4 are ahead. Also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!

BOOSTER GOLD #24

I haven’t reviewed Booster Gold in a while. It’s not that it hasn’t been good, there have been some fun stories, but it’s sort of just been coasting along. Out of all the books with second features I think this one has been showing the most interconnectivity (through the Black Beetle’s appearances) but this is the first time for me that a second feature has stolen the show.

This is one of DC’s books that, so far, has not shown signs of anything Blackest Night or New Krypton related. It’s tough when you have a main character that can travel through time, changing the course of events (or putting them right). You either have to submerse him entirely in the major event or keep him completely separate. Currently, Booster has been trying to fix an alternate timeline that was created when the Black Beetle caused the destruction of the Teen Titans, in turn allowing Trigon to take over Earth. Hardened versions of Zatanna, Kyle Rayner and Green Arrow along with a Raven who’s pretty much the same, are helping Booster and Rex Hunter. They eventually manage to do so but in the process realize the entire escapade was a giant diversion by the Black Beetle to gain a Red Scarab (please tell me the colors stop here) which is far more powerful.

Meanwhile, in the second feature, poor Jaime Reyes is trying to figure out what’s wrong with his Blue Scarab. It used to crack jokes with him (I had to laugh out loud at “Oh hamburgers!”) but since it was forced to shutdown and reboot after the Khaji-Da invasion it’s been rather violent in it’s suggestions to Jaime. He’s practically had to reprimand it for suggesting nuclear solutions to their problems so when the Black Beetle shows up and attacks Jaime’s friends and family while they’re out on a hike the Scarab recommends a similar route. It’s Jaime’s reaction that differs this time around. When his sister Milagro is hurt, it awakens something in Jaime and opens him up to the Scarab’s violent ideas. He disables the safeties and the Scarab turns on “extreme combat mode,” causing not only a physical change in his armor but a mental change as well. I believe the word “kill” was used several times.

Lately, Booster has seemed like a giant pawn. Someone always seems to be directing his missions for their own agenda. Considering the dramatic change the character has undergone in the last few years, from loser to the greatest hero the world will never know, it’s surprising writer Dan Jurgens hasn’t shown more of a frustration in him. I’d like to see Booster take more control of his life. On the other hand, Matthew Sturges work on Blue Beetle is just proving once again that the character and stories to be told about him are dynamic and exciting. The team of Blue and Gold is a time-honored tradition but in my opinion, Blue Beetle is worthy of equal, not lesser page time than Booster Gold.

RED ROBIN #4

I’ve expressed my frustrations about this before. I don’t like Tim as Red Robin. If it were just a simple costume change I wouldn’t really mind but it’s not, it’s an entire personality change as well. Yes, I know he’s been through a lot but if he’s so sure Bruce is alive, then why exactly is he so upset?

While making his way through Baghdad, Tim is stopped by U.S. troops on suspicion of the museum job he pulled last issue. Luckily Ra’s Al Ghul’s three assassins are still watching over Tim and effortlessly get him out of trouble. As much as he hates it, Ra’s has really been helping him. In Tim’s hilarious own words, “Ra’s Al Ghul is my new Alfred. Butler of the Damned.” The artifact Tim pulled from the museum looks like a fossilized batarang. And that’s when I realized the answer to, why does Tim think Bruce is alive, is going to be a let down.

We see that previously in Gotham, things were not so happy in the Bat family. Dick, already warm in his Batman suit, tries to reach out to Tim but he refuses to open up. Tim feels betrayed that Dick made Damian the new Robin, but is that really a cause to stop trusting one of your oldest friends? Tim finds the proof he was looking for. It’s the cave drawing of the Bat symbol that we originally saw in Final Crisis. Shortly after the discovery, the trip of assassins are assassinated themselves by someone called the Widower from the Council of Spiders. And just when I was starting to like them too. He leaves Tim bleeding to death.

This issue was by far stronger in the writing department than the previous three. Even though I’m still frustrated by it, Chris Yost had some excellent moments here. The aforementioned Alfred/Ra’s comparison, Z’s brief backstory and the assassins joking around were particularly enjoyable. The problem with Red Robin isn’t the writing though, it’s the delivery of the story itself. Tim standing in front of the cave drawing could have been page one of issue one and hit the ground running. Instead, Tim’s been cryptic with everyone he used to trust, not to mention the reader and putting his many talents to poor use.

ADVENTURE COMICS #2 – Just plain cute! Krypto is such a hopeless romantic.

BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN #2 (OF 3) – Well, the parents finally made their appearance but I feel like it should have happened much earlier.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40 – Salaak lays down the law, Kryb has a heart and Bzzd breaks mine.

SECRET SIX #13 – Scandal went through a gauntlet ala Xena, but at like 10 years old. No wonder she’s so badass.

SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #7 (OF 12) – Kal-El as General? I’m very interested to see how that affects him in the long run.

WEDNESDAY COMICS #10 (OF 12) – Hawkman telling a T-Rex, “Bet you wish you could touch your nose,” is probably one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a while.

My pull list for this week:

ACTION COMICS #881
BATGIRL #2
BATMAN AND ROBIN #4
BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #4
BLACKEST NIGHT #3 (OF 8 )
THE OUTSIDERS #22
WEDNESDAY COMICS #11 (OF 12)

Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #26?

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• DoubleDCoverage #26