Time Masters: Vanishing Point

Rip Hunter, Time Master

by Dan Jurgens

With Batman lost in time, DC’s top heroes must search throughout history to find him - and keep time from tearing itself apart!

Vanishing Point - the place where time itself comes to an end - is tearing itself apart, and one of the keys to keeping reality from being torn asunder is finding exactly where Bruce Wayne is in the time stream! Rip Hunter puts together a high-powered band of Time Masters to travel throughout history in search of the World’s Greatest Detective, but can even the combined might and skill of Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold help the Time Master pinpoint where Batman went at the end of FINAL CRISIS? Collects TIME VANISHING POINT #1-6.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Batman

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vanishing Point is supposed to be the side of the Batman rescue attempt we didn't see in The Return of Bruce Wayne. We caught glimpses of Superman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, and Rip Hunter there, but not enough to get a clear idea of what they were doing. The problem with even attempting this series is that the Batman angle is covered and resolved in The Return of Bruce Wayne, so our heroes here end up being sidetracked, almost right away, but a much less interesting plot. And yet, still a fun read. The true star is Rip Hunter, who is given an interesting back story that ties him into Booster's continuing character development. I seem to be turning into a Booster Gold fan, and seeing him almost always makes me happy. Jurgens really had his hands tied with what he could do here, but I think he did about as well as he could with what he had to play with.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nunca voy a entender el orden en el que pusieron los tomos de esta colección. Este tomo se supone que va antes de Flashpoint, pero está acá, varios numeros después- En fin, para los que sigan esta colección es una historia muy similar a Booster Gold: Azul y Oro, aventuras en el tiempo con los personajes favoritos de Dan Jurgens, pero en este caso la historia es buscar a Batman, que está perdido en el tiempo. Esto es medio un spoiler pero al final hacen de todo menos buscar a Batman, para esa historia mejor leer The Return of Bruce Wayne. Asi y todo, es una historia muy entretenida y la disfruté mucho.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story hit so many of my soft points I can't avoid giving it a good review. Rip Hunter was one of my favorite characters when I growing u (well just about any sci-fi character was). Not only does this story include, I have to call it rebooted but logical Rip, but D level characters Claw and Starfire. I had fun seeing Jurgens use these almost forgotten characters, and he maintains the continued character evolution of his creation Michael Carter, aka Booster Gold. Whereas Booster always used to be annoying, now his annoying characteristics at least make sense and have a purpose. If anything Hunter now could give a certain Doctor a run for time traveling adventures, and while he is at it Hunter's actions make more sense than the Doctor's. The guest shots by Green Lantern and Superman were probably dictated by editorial as away to boost sales.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edición para Argentina impresa en España que aparentemente sólo se diferencia en el ISBN.
Tomo 72 de la Colección Novelas gráficas DC que además de la miniserie Vanishing Point incluye el primer capítulo de la serie de los Time Masters ochentosa, que también tengo en su respectivo taco de Zinco.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun, great mix of characters and great writing

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Time Masters Vanishing Point but it was neither really how it's described on the back nor is it much of a tie-in to Flashpoint (the tie-in is limited to one page). In Time Masters Vanishing Point, Rip Hunter recruits a group of heroes (Superman; Green Lantern - Hal Jordan; and Booster Gold) to find Bruce Wayne who has been thrown back in time by Darkseid's Omega Beams (see DC's Final Crisis). Batman wasn't killed in Final Crisis but sent back in time. For that reason I expected Vanishing Point to explain what was going on in Time and the Batman - to be the other half of that story. It's not, because Rip Hunter and company get distracted during their travels through time and are unable to accomplish their stated mission to rescue Bruce Wayne. Everyone remembers what they are supposed to be doing - but their time travel is about as unpredictable as the TARDIS and they end-up all over the place rather than finding Bruce. I expected a "chase through time" - what I got was actually an innovative time-travel story with characters occasionally saying, pretty much, "But I have another mission I have to get back to", so to speak.
This novel also includes a lot of background for Rip Hunter, including being raised by time-travelling parents who constantly move him not just from place to place but from time to time. And we learn a lot more about Booster Gold. Booster, in turns out, has hidden depths - he's not who you think he is. The novel also features a number of characters with ties to Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, or both, including Michelle Carter (Goldstar), Supernova, and Brainiac 5 (briefly). Time Master villains also show up including: Despero, Degaton, and two of the Linear Men (one of whom is a woman).
However, despite all the various characters who appear briefly, and sometimes disappear just as quickly (eg Reverse Flash) - the novel isn't confusing. Everyone is introduced by name at first appearance, which helps a lot (if nothing else one can always consult Google or Wikipedia to learn more), and it's clear who is a hero and who is a villain. Also, the plot, which could easily become confusing with so many characters coming and going is actually pretty clear and easy to understand, even with the time travel and the frequent flashbacks (and occasional flash forwards) that flesh out the characters and explain their motivations.
This novel is very much Rip Hunter's story - who he was, even as a child; who he is - as an adult and Time Master; and who he will be. It's also a story about Booster Gold. It doesn't fill in the other side of Time and the Batman unfortunately - we never really see Batman, despite his rescue being the McGuffin of the story. There is a brief one-page reference to Flashpoint but that's all - this story is not part of World of Flashpoint. I did enjoy it immensely and I wonder if there are any other graphic novels featuring these characters. Recommended to DC Comics fans, fans of time travel stories and science fiction, and also to anyone who saw CW's Legends of Tomorrow and wants to learn more about Rip Hunter and the Time Masters.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tardé bocha en terminarlo pero según recuerdo fue un viaje bastante divertido.

[Koen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story... Can't wait to see where this is leading :)

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 1 out of 5]

Joé, cuando he leído este tomo, no recordaba que fuera tan malo. Le pongo una estrella y porque no puedo restarle. Veamos.

Aprovechando la que estaba liando Morrison en Batman después de Crisis Final, DC decidió aprovechar el tirón y publicar esta serie limitada en la que veíamos en detalle lo ocurrido con los héroes que partían a buscar a Batman a través del tiempo, tal y como habíamos visto en Batman y Robin. Así que tenemos una historia protagonizada por Superman, Hal Jordan, Booster Gold y Rip Hunter, aprovechando también el tirón que estaba teniendo la serie de Booster, donde Rip era coprotagonista y al que Geoff Johns había vuelto a poner sobre la mesa tras los eventos de 52, y que ya en estos momentos estaba en mano de Dan Jurgens. Que ojo, no estaba haciendo un mal trabajo. Dan Jurgens es un escritor muy noventero, y dudo mucho que sea el favorito de nadie, pero en los 90 era la leche, y a día de hoy tiene cosas bastante solventes... pero La Búsqueda de Batman no es una de ellas.

Morrison ya había dejado atado todo lo relacionado con la búsqueda de Bruce Wayne, de modo que Jurgens no tuvo más remedio que buscar un hueco un poco extraño, además de una historia que no tiene nada que ver con buscar a Batman. Si bien el dibujo de Norm Rapmund no es malo, de verdad que lo que aquí duele leer es la historia. Los héroes viajan buscando a Batman, pero se encuentran dispersos por el tiempo en una especie de dimensión alternativa de espada y brujería (curiosamente recuperan también a Claw, personaje que había aparecido en la Wonder Woman de Gail Simone), mientras que los personajes secundarios de la serie de Booster Gold, Goldstar y Nova, se enfrentan a la coalición formada por Black Beetle, Despero, Per Degaton y el Ultrahumanita, debido a la destrucción del Punto de Fuga... Pues así igual hasta mola. Pero la verdad es que no. Para nada. Horrible.

Prescindible no, lo siguiente.

[Julian Dexter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll read anything with Booster Gold in it. Seeing him develop in this comic was enjoyable, and I like how his character is growing and changing. However, the overall plot was weird and convoluted. They set out to save Batman and get sidetracked the entire time. After I finished reading, it felt like nothing really significant happened. Everything was very easily resolved, too. Bad guys that came off as unstoppable forces (anyone who can incapacitate superman has gotta be tough) were easily defeated with what felt like little effort and not even with any creative plans. It felt more like a string of cameos. But the art was good, at least.

[Ahdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took a bit to get cooking, but the last couple of issues were a lot of fun. This volume had great artwork and was a fun romp with some lesser known characters. I read this as a part of my chronological Flashpoint reading, after wrapping up The Flash: The Road to Flashpoint. The next read on the list is Flashpoint and I'm looking forward to it!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was nice surprise; the concept had two strikes against it going in, being part of a reboot-recovery storyline and also being an adjunct story of what these guys were up to while the main story was happening in the Return of Bruce Wayne title. It's a well-written and nicely-illustrated self-contained story featuring Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, Superman, and Green Lantern with several interesting guest stars. The convoluted Hunter family is well portrayed, and it's an altogether enjoyable book.

[Austin · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Reading Flashpoint (Complete), Book 1 (Prelude)]

A mediocre volume, though that's not necessarily Jurgens fault. He's put into a tough space: writing a secondary, "other guys" side of a DC crossover (The Return of Bruce Wayne); and tasked with setting up the next crossover event (Flashpoint).

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, nothing to do with Batman. Don't get it twisted. This is another one of Dan Jurgens' pet projects, Booster Gold. That's not necessarily a bad thing but this was a bad book. Its a quick trip through time, doing nothing, interacting with people not from Earth for no reason and a couple random villains. Its pointlessness is mind-boggling. Jurgens' art is classic and fine but the issue is the boring, pointless, bland plot with a good handful of terrible dialogue. Overall, this was a giant waste of time, pun intended.

[glass.curtain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely something one should read before heading into Flashpoint, but quite honestly not the most interesting storyline until chapter 6 comes around. The rest feels like filler that didn't need to be there in the first place.
Booster Gold was awesome, the rest had a rather meh effect.

[Jaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally Booster Gold gets a back story!

[Trevor Dailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for Dan Jurgens, but this was just fine. You can skip this and just read the Return of Bruce Wayne trade and not miss a beat. I need to read more Booster Gold.

[Ribrarian Not · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro de historietas con ISBN propio. Forma parte de la Colección Novelas Gráficas DC Comics. Hubo al menos dos ediciones iguales con distinto ISBN.

[Guido · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viajes en el tiempo infructuosos a través del Universo DC.
Personajes pendientes.

[Scotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the Rip Hunrer and Booster Gold characters quite a bit. Story did start to drag and was hastily concluded. Still enjoyed it.

[Eric Klee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time Masters: Vanishing Point is the lesser-known companion piece to the concurrently released Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne mini-series. However, unlike the latter, the six-issue Time Masters: Vanishing Point mini-series was much better written and contained a more interesting (and easier to follow) storyline.

In Time Masters, time-traveling Rip Hunter, along with his father Booster Gold, Superman, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan journey back and forth in time in search of Batman who has been lost in time since the events of the Final Crisis/Batman R.I.P. storyline. Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold, wrote and drew Time Masters, and you can see that even after all these years, he hasn't lost his touch. His characterizations of Booster, Rip, and Skeets were fantastic, as usual. There were, however, some off-putting characterizations of Hal Jordan and Superman. Hal criticizes Booster throughout the series, as if he's the self-centered, self-serving narcissist that he was back in the 1980s. And Superman wants to intervene in situations they encounter during their time travels, despite being told that they can't change events in time because it could negatively alter the time continuum. I would think he'd be a bit more rational than that.

Each issue of Time Masters started with a two-page back story of Rip Hunter's up 'til now unknown past, showing him as a child learning about the timestream from his father, Booster Gold. This was something I looked forward to in every issue. Rip Hunter's past has been very secretive, but now we've been given a few glimpses. The mystery still remains, though: Who is Rip Hunter's mother? We catch a distant peek of the back of her in one scene, but she's dressed and looks like Michelle Carter (aka Goldstar), Booster's sister, and that's just wrong. I sincerely hope that Rip wasn't the result of some Carter inbreeding.

As the heroes travel through time, they encounter some DC Comics characters who haven't made appearances in a long time. There's Claw The Unconquered, whom I remember having a short-lived series back in the 1970s. More interestingly, there's also the appearance of the original Starfire (before Koriand'r made her appearance in the New Teen Titans), who also had a short-lived series back in the 1970s. Booster even makes a joke about Starfire copyrighting her name. I remember her well because I had a copy of her first issue in my earliest comic collection, so I was excited to see someone give her a chance at redemption.

Time Masters' connection to Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne is somewhat questionable and probably only mentionable for the purpose of driving sales. Even Superman comments on what readers are probably thinking: "I think we're supposed to be working to find Batman, yet all we've done is chase our own tails!" So if you're buying this mini-series for Batman, forget it. However, if you're buying it because you're interested in Booster Gold, Rip Hunter, and events leading up to Flashpoint (or even the return of Starfire!), then you're on the right track.

The final issue of Time Master: Vanishing Point was released three months after the five first monthly released issues. The ending cleverly leads into Booster Gold #44 and Flashpoint #1, both of which aren't scheduled for release for another couple of months. The final scene leaves you with Rip Hunter's mysterious chalkboard which, as always, gives readers clues to upcoming events in the DC Universe.

[John Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this story thinking that it was going to relate to Grant Morrison's "Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne". The comic was solicited that way and story starts out with that thesis, but it quickly derails into something else entirely. The original mission involves Superman, Green Lantern, Booster Gold, and Rip Hunter attempting to locate Batman in the time stream. Batman's adventures in time have irradiated him with omega energy that will destroy the fabric of time if he makes it back to his current time line. A cool premise, and one that I was excited about. But by issue 2, the story awkwardly shifts gear when our time heroes stumble into an alternate reality with wizards and sorceresses and strange aliens. They get caught up in this lackluster adventure for 3 issues. From there, they realize that other time travelers are out causing problems and messing with the time line, so they go after them, Black Beetle in particular. The Reverse Flash even shows up for a bit. At one point the heroes even comment, shouldn't we be looking for Batman? YES, YOU SHOULD! By issue 6 the story starts to come full circle and actually improves a bit. Some cool time travel ideas are explored and the ending sets up some interesting future story lines. Our heroes utterly fail in their mission to save Batman. In classic Batman style, he just saves himself and we learn that saving him was impossible from the start. I love time travel, I love Dan Jurgens, and I love Booster Gold... but this story was too schizophrenic and lacked focus.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually found a few spare moments to knock most of this back in one sitting which was a nice change. A little corny, but certainly provided some of the background I needed before diving into Flashpoint. Time travel is always a tricky business for any writer to manage well, so I don't spend too much time asking all those "yea, but what if...." questions; especially when you have situations like son helping young dad whose helped by older dad. This is one of those occasions where it's best to just accept it for what it has to offer.

This was my first introduction to many of these characters, although having just read The Road to Flashpoint, it was nice to see the Reverse Flash re-appear toward the end. So tapping into the Omega Energy seems to be Thawne's ultimate goal, but having Liri Lee now add the Waverider's power to the equation will surely bring on an epic disaster at some point...:) Kind of an anticlimax with the whole Batman thing, but having only read a couple of the classic Batman arcs this whole story line with Darkseid was news to me. Anyway, I'm sure my ignorance of the multiverse would have old school comic fans reeling, but I find dabbling in these story lines is such a great way for me to enjoy this world without getting too caught up in the details or digging in too deep. It really is an awesome art form that you can take as deep as you like.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised by how enjoyable I found this book. It's fairly disjointed and barely ties in to Return of Bruce Wayne at all (which was the main reason I read it), but its use of time travel is pure fun. There are no deep ideas at play here, it's pretty straightforward, but this is the first book I've read featuring Rip Hunter and Booster Gold, and their fairly complex relationship really appealed to me. It made me want to read 52 and Booster Gold's ongoing series to learn a little more about the stuff at play there.

The story here is very fundamental. Superheroes doing their individual superhero things, generally. But Dan Jurgens has been doing this a while and knows how to make that stuff interesting without feeling stale. The only issue I really had with the story is that Superman is SO devoted to doing "the right thing" that he blatantly disregards the fact that him saving a life in the past will possibly negatively affect the future. That's a pretty simple concept, and Superman's inability to grasp it in this story just made him seem like an idiot. Beyond that, though, this is a solid story with decent action and better-than-average art.

[Eskana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection comes after "Final Crisis" I guess (haven't read) where it looked like Batman died but he actually was thrown far into the past. Cue Rip Hunter, the time traveller, and his cohort Booster Gold teaming up to find him, aided by Superman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

Apparently, Batman's actual return is covered in another book, so even though this book is supposed to be about this team finding him, they actually do nothing of the kind, getting sidetracked by several smaller villain's attempts to screw up time/history. The real fun here is Booster and Rip Hunter... Rip goes into a bit of backstory with each issue that reveals his relation to Booster, and then seeing Booster interact with Green Lantern was quite entertaining. Also, seeing the whole team tangle with the Reverse Flash was fun as well. So, even though they did not do what they set out to do (at all really), I still enjoyed this book.

The art was good- I had absolutely no problems, and actually enjoyed it more than many other books' art. Nothing bad there.

Overall, a good read, and it leads right into Flashpoint, or maybe the Road to Flashpoint. Definitely a fun read, for just about anyone.

[C. John Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

In interesting book. Back in the 60s one of my favourite DC titles was Rip Hunter...Time Master. The Rip Hunter from back then wasn't quite the same guy as the current Rip Hunter. MIA in this series is the team he had then as well as the time bubble he used to travel in time. The reason Hunter assembles the team he does is to go in pursuit of Batman, who is lost in time. In the process they have a somewhat interesting adventure, with a few old characters tossed in for good measure (Claw I recall but the Starfire in this book I don't). However when they find Batman it is basically off-camera and we only know they do because Hunter mentions it as something that happened. Still this is a pretty good story and one worth picking up.

[Sami Naik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although not very popular but Time Masters: Vanishing Point is an important story arc after Final Crisis and Batman: Battle for the Cowl events when Batman was disappeared and temporarily didn't appear in comics for some time.

Here Rip Hunter assembles a team of Superman, Green Lantern and Booster Gold and search Batman in different timelines. While visiting different timelines, the Vanishing Point somehow destroys and becomes difficult for Supernova, LinearMen and MichelleCarter (BoosterGold's twin sister) to bring them back.

This story-line has 6 issues and by arranged order is readable after first 12 issues of GrantMorrison's Batman & Robin. Reading is not compulsory and can be ignored to proceed towards first 4 issues of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.

[Katelynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'd read issue 0 of Time Masters a while ago. The whole thing centres on Rip, Booster, Clark and Hal going back in time and trying to find Bruce--who wasn't shot with real bullets when Darkseid "killed" him. Wibbly-wobbly-timey-whimey, etc etc. Anyways, predictably, they get into more shenanigans than they can seemingly handle and have to figure how to get back on track. The disappointing part is that there isn't really any headway into finding Bruce in the timestream. Like, at all. We get to the end of issue 6 and we haven't moved forwards. Now, I'm not entirely sure how long the series runs, but an entire trade of basically filler? Ugh.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Companion mini-series to the 'Return of Bruce Wayne' story.
Fun, as a mix of super heroes are bounced through time and space as they try to find the time-lost Batman. The cosmic romp part, nice, clean art and two obscure DC guest stars make for a fun, fluffy read.

Unfortunately, the 'Return' mini isn't very good and the connections between the two stories are weak and it almost feels like why did they bother, as it feels like the two writers didn't bother to consult with each other before writing their stories.

Fun read, but bit of a fail as part of a bigger epic.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time Masters by Dan Jurgens was a fun, action-packed, time travel adventure. The art was clean, classic superhero fare. Jurgens threw in a tribute to Conan the Barbarian in the form of a character named Claw. In many ways the storyline reminded me of aspects of Doctor Who, with certain events being firmly set in time and others being in flux. The tale as whole isn't deep, but it's enjoyable throughout. The only irritation really was Green Lantern's loathing of Booster Gold which was perhaps overemphasized a bit much.