In his superlative blog at ProgressiveRuin.com, the Internet's foremost Swamp Thing fan, Mike Sterling, has spent much of the past week discussing his definition of "completist" and what that means in regard to his Swamp Thing comic book collecting habit. As a completionist collector myself, I found it interesting.

I noticed two things in Sterling's posts and the responses from his commenters:

1. Each collector has his own definition of what "complete" means.
2. Most "completionist" collections appear to have begun in childhood.

Both of those apply to me, which is no doubt why I noticed them. In the first case, the Boosterrific.com database arbitrarily draws the line at depictions of the character of Booster Gold himself; dialogue references don't count. In the second case, I first discovered Booster Gold on a gas station magazine rack when I was 10 years old — can you even imagine finding comic books in a gas station in 2019? — and have been collecting ever since.

But in addition to being a completionist, I'm also a contrarian, which plays no small part in why I would gravitate to an upstart super hero like Booster Gold. I have to wonder whether my observations were skewed by my perception bias. Do I think all completionist collectors start young just because I did? Let's gather some data!

This week's poll question: How old were you when you bought your first Booster Gold comic book?

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Newsarama.com has DC Comics' December solicitations, and I'm sorry to report that Booster Gold continues to be the one character from Heroes in Crisis who hasn't gotten his own title. What's up with that, DC?

It's not all bad news, however. DC has confirmed a new reprint of the early Justice League International issues.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL BOOK ONE: BORN AGAIN TP
written by KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS, and JOHN OSTRANDER
art by KEVIN MaGUIRE, KEITH GIFFEN, LUKE McDONNELL and others
cover by KEVIN MAGUIRE and TERRY AUSTIN
In these 1980s tales, find out what happens when Batman, Superman, and the Justice League face a galactic invasion fleet known as the Cluster, exchange harsh words with Lobo, track Mister Miracle back to Apokolips, and then battle yet another invasion fleet! Collects Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-17, Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International Annual #2, and Suicide Squad #13.
ON SALE January 15, $39.99 US, 552 PAGES

Those are a lot of great comics. If you haven't read these issues — and even if you have — you should consider picking up this collection using modern printing techniques. Despite what Dan DiDio says, those early Justice League International stories are great comics.

Speaking of Heroes in Crisis spin-offs, Booster booster Logan alerts us to an appearance in today's releases.

I was afforded a sneak-peak of Flash Forward #1 at my store, and I can report that Booster makes an appearance in the issue. It's a brief one, but it's Booster! :)

Always good to know Booster's coming. Thanks, Logan.

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The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Michelle Carter, Michael Jon "Booster" Carter's twin sister.

Fraternal twins Michael and Michelle Carter were born into a state of poverty in 25th-century Gotham City. Abandoned by their ne'er-do-well father abandoned them family, and the twins were raised by their mother. With Michael absorbed in athletic pursuits, Michelle was the more responsible sibling, taking multiple jobs to support their ailing mother. The news of Michael's illegal gambling shattered the family, and the twins would not speak for years afterwards.

Eventually, Michael was captured and sentenced to execution for the theft of a time machine. His friends came to his rescue in Booster Gold #15 (1987). They only escaped thanks to the timely intervention of Michelle. She had forgiven her brother (thanks in part to the intervention of Skeets) and risked her own life to ensure that Booster Gold was safely returned to the 20th century.

To repay his sister, Booster bankrolled her adventures across 20th-century America, which she considered "the best idea" she'd ever had (Booster Gold #19). Interested in exploring what it was like to be a hero, she took the Goldstar power suit with her. That proved to be a mistake.

Interdimensional aliens sought to use the Goldstar costume for their own nefarious purposes, and kidnapped Michelle to get it (Booster Gold #20). Booster Gold and the Justice League repelled the alien invasion, but Michelle payed the ultimate price while escaping from Dimension X (Booster Gold #22).

Booster would grieve the loss of his sister for many years until Time Master Rip Hunter bent the laws of time and space to reunite the Carter twins in Booster Gold, v2, #1,000,000 (2008). For a short time, Michelle would use the Goldstar power suit to aid Booster and Rip Hunter in their self-appointed task of policing history. But when Rip's former protege, Rex, revealed to her how history had been changed so that she could cheat death (Booster Gold, v2, #18), she rebelled and sought her own path in life.

Michelle returned to the 20th century and found a partner, Drew. Fate had other plans. The happy couple unwittingly visited Coast City at the moment of its destruction (in Booster Gold, v2, #30) and would have shared its fate if not for the intervention of another time traveler — this time a much older Booster Gold. Drew did not survive, and the twins were forced to accept that some things were outside a Time Master's control.

From that point forward, Michelle would become a valuable ally in Time Master operations, assisting in the search for a time-lost Batman (in Time Masters: Vanishing Point) helping to raise the orphan Rani (beginning Booster Gold #34), and joining the quest to resolve the "Convergence" crisis (Booster Gold: Future's End).

Michelle's whereabouts in the wake of the DC Universe "Rebirth" remain unknown, but don't worry. History has proven that not even death can't keep the Carter twins apart for long.

Interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Get to know Trixie Collins, Daniel Carter, Jack Soo, Rani, Dirk Davis, Skeets, Mackenzie Garrison, and Rip Hunter.

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the best comics DC is printing these days are Wonder Comics. If you aren't reading them, you don't know what you're missing. Like this panel from this week's Young Justice #8.

art by John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb, Wes Abbott

"Buster Gold" chips? Yum!

As all Booster boosters know, "Buster Gold" is the derisive nickname most often used by those misguided fools who remain unimpressed by our hero's exploits. That totally fits this story.

Young Justice #8, written by Brian Michael Bendis, takes place on Earth-3, home of the infamous Crime Syndicate. On Earth-3, most familiar heroes are villains, which means that whatever those Buster Gold snacks are made of, they're probably horrible for your health.

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Newsarama.com reports that the previously solicited Booster Gold: The Big Fall hardcover reprinting the first twelve issues of Booster Gold will be delayed.

It was originally scheduled to ship at the end of this month, but apparently it won't show up in your Local Comic Shop until the day before Thanksgiving, November 27. We'll go ahead and give thanks that the only thing that appears to have changed is the shipping date. The content is still advertised as 320 pages for $39.99, including "design material, unpublished story pages and more."

If you haven't already told your LCS to order a copy for you, what are you waiting for? There's no time like the present!

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