Time Masters: Vanishing Point #2

Rip Hunter and his skeleton crew of Time Masters stumble through an increasingly hostile procession of futuristic characters like Claw as they search for Batman in the past. 
 

The Good   

I've criticized other books for being too old fashioned, but it'd actually be a complement, here. This is a simple story, but it never insults your intelligence. Jurgens seems to have the best handle on Booster Gold out of anybody. The added dimension of him putting on the airs of being a shallow gloryhog, and fooling fellow heroes like Green Lantern with those airs, makes his secret selflessness all the more heroic. Plus, Jurgens art, along with Rapmund finishes, produces a book that read so well, it just flows.  I especially liked the opening scene with BG and his son watching Superman's arrival on Earth.

The Bad   

This could really use a recap page at the beginning.  Even as seasoned as I am when it comes the DCU, I was still a little lost as to how this factored in to the broad scheme of things. It'd definitely help to have a brief explanation of who Claw is, as well as the other future-flung characters. It's even more of an issue since the only bad parts of this are when the characters starting getting into some forced exposition - - like for Supernova's introduction - - which could be easily remedied with a recap.

The Verdict - 4/5  

Anybody who was disappointed by Jurgens departing the proper Booster Gold title needs to pick this up, because he's really just picking up where he left off there as if nothing ever happened. Honestly, even if you don't give a lick about Batman, this is still a good old fashioned romp through the DCU that takes itself just seriously enough to still enjoy it as a drama.