A Rip In Time

By Beau Smith

I grew up reading most every comic book that I could get my hands on. In the beginning, I had no real favorites. I was just happy to own and read whatever comics I could get. Usually, the wilder the cover, the better I liked it.

DC Comics were the ones that I guess you could call my "first love". For whatever reason, they were always at my local drug store, supermarket and various gas stations. They must have had better distribution in our little area. I was always attracted to the wild and varied characters that they had. It seemed that nothing was too far out there to be a DC Comic. Tomahawk, the early frontiersman that fought Indians, bad guys and sometimes giant purple apes, dinosaurs and aliens. Cave Carson, scientist and adventurer that dug up more dirt that the National Enquirer on a good Britney Spears day. He ran into everything from giant prehistoric moles to lava creatures.

To round it out there were The Sea Devils, Blackhawk and the Challengers Of The Unknown. So much to choose from and always a fun read. One of my favorites was Rip Hunter-Time Master. Oh, man! Now there was some far out fun and adventure.

Rip Hunter first showed up on the scene in Showcase #20 in 1959. This was time travel at it’s best because they never bothered to try and make the science real. Rip and his crew traveled in a big, round sphere and they were never short on action. They could talk to any person in any time without wasting time explaining how. It was like the TV series The Outer Limits where you just suspended all reality and just had fun. Is that asking too much? Nope.

Rip Hunter has had three great cycles in comics. His first one that I just mentioned to you, his second one in 1990, Time Masters, and his current status in Booster Gold. Each cycle has its own charm and fun. I’m very happy to say that DC Comics has finally collected Time Masters into a nice 220 page trade paperback. The original series came out in 1990. It was written by Bob Wayne, (Former retailer and current VP of Sales for DC) great sci-fi novelist, Lewis Shiner with art by Art Thibert and Jose Marzan, Jr.

I’ve been waiting for this series (8 issues) to be collected for quite a while. It’s a wonderfully written series that has equal amount of action and story. There are no heavy blocks of needless text and it’s loaded with all kinds of great DC guest stars that leaves you wanting more. It’s a smart read and one that you’ll truly enjoy. It’ll make you appreciate the great work that Geoff Johns is doing in the current Booster Gold series even more. Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner make a very good sci-fi writing team that have a natural way with pacing.

Take my word for it all. Go find some old issues of Rip Hunter-Time Master. Buy the new trade paperback Time Masters. Put Booster Gold on your personal pull list. Drop some of those crummy books you’re buying right now. (and you KNOW which ones I’m talking about) Remember, I give this advice away for free and I shouldn’t.

Art by Enrique Villagran