Earlier this month, Timothy Donohoo recapped the Extreme Justice team for the CBR.com article "Booster Gold, Blue Beetle & Captain Atom Formed the Most Extreme Justice League."

I'm not sure from the article whether Donohoo ever actually read any of the Extreme Justice issues (half of his history is based on the not very accurate 2001 JLA: Incarnations mini-series produced five years after Extreme Justice got the axe) , but at the very least it's nice to see someone saying nice things about one of my personal favorite (but widely forgotten) comic series:

Also fitting the team name was the art, which redesigned many classic characters to fit in with the growing popularity of books at Image Comics. It was one of the few DC books that attempted to ride this wave, and it was rather obvious in its methods. Scowls and gritted teeth are a constant sight, with muscles and breasts being more emphasized. Booster Gold got a ridiculous-looking armor that made him look like Valiant's X-O Manowar crossed with a football player, while Blue Beetle was rather blatantly drawn to resemble Todd McFarlane's take on Spider-Man.

No, really, that's about as nice a thing as anyone ever says about Extreme Justice.

And he's not wrong:

Ah, the good, old nineteen-nineties. Some days, I really do miss you.

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If you read Boosterrific.com (which I know you do because you are reading this), you know that Blue and Gold #1 was released last week, 33 years after being first announced. And it's pretty good. You have been rewarded for your patience, Booster boosters!

Of course you probably already bought the standard cover by Ryan Sook. And maybe you picked up the cardstock variant by Dave Johnson. But if you go back to your Local Comic Shop this week, perhaps you'll consider buying *another* copy, the one I'm calling the Kevin Maguire variant:

"That's a picture of the Dave Johnson cover!" you say. And you're right. But what else do you see on there?

That phone case cover isn't Dave Johnson's work. It's Kevin Maguire's. Maguire drew that image in 2014 for a DC Comics print (as confirmed by the artist himself via Twitter.com).

How often do we get comic books where two different artists have drawn Booster Gold on the same cover? Just this once. I think that's pretty Boosterrific.

But if you think that's the last we'll see of Kevin Maguire in Blue and Gold, think again. Here's DC's solicitation for October's issue 4 (from CBR.com):

BLUE & GOLD #4
Writer: DAN JURGENS
Artists: RYAN SOOK, DAN JURGENS and KEVIN MAGUIRE
Cover: RYAN SOOK
$3.99 US ON SALE October 19

Bros over heroes no more!
Booster Gold and Blue Beetle find running a superhero business together more difficult than it looks when these inseparable friends end up on the verge of a breakup! What could be the cause of such a schism? Enter Blackguard, looking to destroy this dysfunctional duo for good!

Three artists? Clearly this series has some surprises in store. Something to look forward to this October.

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You know who's excited about next week's Blue and Gold comic? CBR.com, judging by the number of times Booster and Beetle have been included in recent listicles.

Here is my list of ten "top 10" Booster Gold lists from CBR.com released in the past month. And yes, I had more than 10 to choose from.

10. "10 Superheroes Who Wasted Their Potential" by David Harth
#1 Booster Gold Has Saved Time And Space But Is A Buffoon

9. "10 DC Heroes Who Don't Have Super Powers (But Get By On Gadgets)" by David Harth
#3 Booster Gold's Armor Gives Him All Kinds Of Powers

8. "10 Most Balanced DC Heroes, Ranked" by David Harth
#2 Booster Gold Wins In Spite Of Himself Because Of His Variety Of Skills

As you can see, Mr. Harth doesn't much care for Booster Gold. I assume he was forced to include Booster in his lists by his corporate overlords who require 2 pints of blood and/or a 10 point list every day.

7. "The 10 Most Villainous Things DC Heroes Ever Did" by Jerry Stanford
#5 Booster Gold Stole Everything He Used To Make His Costume

Sure, theft is bad. But DC once had an entire "event" series about heroes selling their souls to the devil.

6. "10 American Superheroes Who Should Receive An Anime Treatment" by Richard Keller
#10 Blue Beetle And Booster Gold Are Ripe For A Fish Out Of Water Anime

5. "Legends Of Tomorrow: 10 DC Characters Who Should Join The Team" by Derek Faraci
#10 Booster Gold Seems Like A No Brainer

4. "10 Characters That Still Need DC Showcase Animated Shorts" By Cole Albinder
#9 Booster Gold Should Get More Of The Spotlight He Craves

Who could argue with the premise that Booster Gold should be in all media all the time? Not me.

3. "The 10 Best Uses Of Time Travel In The Comics" by Derek Faraci
#10 Booster Gold Decides To Be Famous

That list doesn't go for the obvious choices. I respect that even when I disagree with it.

2. "10 Funny Comic Characters That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud" by Scoot Allan
#1 Booster Gold And Blue Beetle Were DC's Comedy Duo For Years

They still are!

And the number one list from CBR.com to feature Booster Gold in the past month is

1. "10 Things To Know About Blue and Gold Before Their Miniseries" by Richard Keller
#1 They're More Admired Than They Think

Don't read too much this weekend, everybody. You'll want your eyeballs well rested for Blue and Gold #1 coming to a Local Comic Shop near you this Tuesday, July 20!

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I try to ignore CBR most of the time. (Are they primarily an entertainment tabloid with a little comic book news or a clickbait farm? Both?) But every once in a while they get my eyeballs, as they did with this article titled "The Justice League's Silliest Member Almost Took Down a Classic Team by Himself" by Nabeel Gaber.

The article is a recap of the events of Justice League #4, which is indubitably the best of the best Booster Gold comics ever. And for the most part, it's actually very positive. But it's not entirely accurate.

I might personally quibble with the description of the Royal Flush Gang as "a classic team" — the "team" is based on a costume gimmick and all the original members are dead, so isn't that a bit like saying that "classic" Gwar is still touring? — but my real complaint comes from this:

It's also significant that Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, two of the goofiest members of the Justice League, were the ones to defeat Ace. Even though these two worked well together in a comedic context, they were also a formidable fighting team.

What Gaber fails to make clear is that Justice League #4 is the *first* team-up between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Neither one was ever "goofy" without the other; all the comedy would come later. At the time, this was just powerhouse Booster Gold proving he could work with a team, something that had not been clear in his solo appearances to date.

The "Blue and Gold" paring actually begins in Justice League International #8's "Moving Day," which is the first time the two characters were featured away from the team. (Justice League became Justice League International with issue #7.) The humor developed naturally out of the relationship between the two JLI members who shared the unusual superhero problem of having lost great personal wealth. Comedy is just tragedy plus time.

It's nice that CBR can help modern readers enjoy the great comics of yesteryear. (Justice League #4 came out on May 5, 1987, thirty-four years ago!) But, c'mon. Booster Gold is hardly the Justice League's "silliest" member. Plastic Man is.

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DC released solicitations for May 2021 at the tail end of last week, and there's not much in there to excite Booster boosters.

The only overt mention of Booster Gold (and Dan Jurgens) is this one:

DC COMICS: GENERATIONS HC
written by DAN JURGENS, ANDY SCHMIDT, and ROBERT VENDITTI
art by IVAN REIS, BRYAN HITCH, YANICK PAQUETTE, JOHN ROMITA JR., KEVIN NOWLAN, DOUG BRAITHWAITE, RAGS MORALES, EMANUELA LUPACCINO, and others
cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO
ON SALE June 8, 2021
$29.99 US · 184 PAGES
ISBN: 978-1-77951-009-9

In these tales, a threat of cosmic proportions to DC’s newest (and oldest) universe compels one of the most unusual groups of heroes ever assembled to take on the most mysterious foe they have ever encountered. Join the original Batman, Kamandi, Starfire, Sinestro, Booster Gold, Dr. Light, Steel, and Sinestro in their quest to save the universe before time runs out…
Collects Generations Shattered #1, Generations Forged #1, and the story “Generations Fractured” from Detective Comics #1027.

Of course, by June, we'll all have read everything in that.

We've also already seen all of Booster's appearances in the solicited Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse II hardcover collection (also due on June 8), which will reprint Booster's participation in Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #1 (and the very tiny cameo from Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1).

(And while we're here, I should probably add that the solicitations also omit any hint about the future of Gold Beetle, who goes unmentioned in the tease for Flash #770.)

So where will Booster be seen next? Your guess is as good as mine.

A full list of solicitations can be found at CBR.com.

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