Booster Gold #39

[bwhahahabeck]

Four pages from the latest issue of Booster Gold.

Booster is feeling nostalgic about his JLI days. After an incident with Rani and Michelle's Goldstar suit, he flies off to patrol Ted's old neighborhood. He runs into a jewel thief who claims to be a modern day Robin Hood. Booster flips.





Booster spends some time thinking to himself before visiting Ted's grave. He asks Skeets what happens after they die.



Needless to say he has a breakdown complete with dramatic soundless NO! and tears.

The issue concludes with an adorable scene with Rani and this page--cue the waterworks.



I understand that there are friendships that run deep and I value and love the Blue and Gold relationship, but sometimes, I honestly think Booster was in love with this man. I mean, that last page--if that's not love on some level, I don't know what it is anymore.

Comments

[taggerung301]

:'(

[bwhahahabeck]

I need a big hug after this issue.

[angelophile]

"...sometimes, I honestly think Booster was in love with this man."

I don't personally feel like this was in any doubt.

[bwhahahabeck]

Some people get a bit tiffy about the romantic implications in Ted and Booster's friendship since theirs is one pure~ and strong~. If anything, I'd strongly consider Booster having unrequited feelings for Ted canon.

[almogv]

People seem to forget that romantic love isn't the only kind out there. Whether it was romantic feelings for Ted or if it was just a very deep friendship it doesn't diminish that they cared for each other.

Makes me think of Ben Stiller's Starsky & Hutch

[pervymax]

"the story of two straight men in love"

[turtlefu]

Here is how I feel:
Our society is a homophobic one, and one that thinks any extreme friendship with men as gay, and thus wrong.
But we only have one concept of "love" the Greeks had so many.
I think they were in love with eachother, but not a sexual "love" or even a romantic "love", but a "love" that exists between two people bonded so perfectly it's basically the same.
I don't know why, socially, people can't accept romantic friendships (or even extremely close friendships) between men.
Do I think they would ever knock boots? Were they both completely straight? No, and yes. That's just how it is.
I think construing romantic friendships between men as gay is incredibly harmful to social relationships between men.

[aaron_bourque]

Even without the romantic implications many people go towards, Ted was the guy who taught Mike what being a hero was all about.

[kingrockwell]

[cypherfdp]

What emotion is this?

[mullon]

Over in Generation Lost Booster says that the future is malleable. And here Booster warns Ted years in advance that he is going to die.

This is why writers need to coordinate better on time travel stories.

[bwhahahabeck]

Booster never warns Ted he's going to die since the whole 1,000,000,000 fiasco. He just warns him not to look into the Book of Destiny since it can mess up the future.

[badficwriter]

Sorry for the inappropriateness, but..

That is one GLOWING shiny golden ass.

[red_menace]

But is that ever really an inappropriate observation?

[pyrotwilight]

John Stewart had Xanshi.

Michael had Ted.

:_;

[morgana006]

Oh Booster.

I was on the subway reading this and trying very hard not to tear up and get weird looks. I may have made quite the "BAWWW" face though.

[cuntfucius]

While there are different kinds of love, there are also different kinds that are not just the three separate categories of "Familial, Platonic, Romantic." There are different types of romantic love, ones that don't necessarily need to be sexual, ones that have limerence regardless, and that is DEFINITELY what Micheal has for Ted and had for him. Limerence!

Anyway he is in love with him so w/e. But I think Rani is honestly sooo good for Michael, it's giving him purpose and teaching him that he can make someone else smile and laugh just as well as he could with Ted.

[darklorelei]

*adds to vocabulary list* Don't know when I'll use it, but I like it!

[misterbug]

...Apparently no-one else's grave was important enough.

[musexmoirai.livejournal.com]

Fridge Logic rears its ugly head.

I was more bothered that Booster seems to have confused the tombstone for the grave.

[icon_uk]

This is very touching, but I find the last page to be almost a turn off. The tombstone being protected from ALL incursion for millennia just doesn't seem right, it feels like Booster isn't letting go, which would be healthy, but clinging on to a reminder that he doesn't need, and the future won't appreciate.

[red_menace]

It does sort of stray into self-parody, doesn't it?

[polarisnorth]

On the one hand this is amazing and oh Booster, and I wholeheartedly believe in their love (and that it was romantic at least on Booster's side, and certainly very strong on Ted's in any case). On the other hand, this is also like a giant placard saying "WE ARE NEVER BRINGING TED BACK EVER, GET OVER IT."

[bwhahahabeck]

Giffen and De Matteis love the glory days. They're pretty pissed about what happened to their characters. If anything, this was a love letter to their friendship and that despite everything, Booster is never going to get over Ted and he's okay with that, since FORGETTING TED KORD BLUE BEETLE (HINT HINT) is just Not Right by Booster.

And you know, the more Booster angst, the more I wonder what the DC Editorial is thinking about this shiz.

[fleur_de_liz]

Oh God, this issue made me cry into my pot roast.

And then it makes me wonder what will happen to Booster if when Ted comes back, now that he's finally accepted his death? I'm thinking DELICIOUS MAN PAIN.

teeeeeeeed when you died so did our special meadoooooow

[mad]

TEEEEEEED WHEN YOU DIED SO DID OUR SPECIAL MEADOW!

(I was just quoting that a few comments up, I still love that and I usually end up saying it every time I read a new Booster Gold comic.)

[retro_nouveau]

I like how Skeets looks kind of sad there, the way he tilts down a bit from the previous panel.

Please never, ever give up, Booster!

[punishermax]

[fifthie]

Angry rants by Booster about how dumb it is that Ted is still dead are okay, but Ted just not being dead anymore would be, you know, more okay.

[glprime]

How many different iterations of Ted's grave does this make? Five, six?

[lieut_kettch]

I know. Didn't Babs commission this huge statue-laden mausoleum for Ted? The one in front of which she admitted "Cyber-doing" Ted? Within earshot of Sin?

[thokstar]

MY PARENTS ARE TED!!!