Happy Halloween! To celebrate the holiday, we DC comic book bloggers are banding together to give you what you want most: reviews of DC's "Ghosts" annuals from 1998! (What's that you say, you'd rather see more pics of hot chicks cosplaying? Hey, it wouldn't really be Halloween if we gave you what you really wanted, now would it?)

While Booster doesn't actually appear in any of the 1998 annuals, that's not going to stop me from joining in the ghoulish fun. Booster has encountered spiritual apparitions of the undead, including the time he led the Super Buddies to Hell to recover Ice in 2005's JLA Classified #6 and 7!

Ok, so it wasn't actually Booster's intention to rescue Ice from Hell. In fact, it hadn't been Booster's intention to go to Hell at all. Booster was just blowing off some steam when things got out of hand, and he accidentally wished the team to Hell. It wasn't Booster's finest moment.

Arguably, nothing about his time with the Super Buddies represents any of Booster's finest moments. Because Blue Beetle had something of a makeover in recent appearances in L.A.W. and Birds of Prey, Booster is used as comic relief and scapegoat for the duo. We Booster-philes may chafe at seeing Booster playing the fool, our raw feelings should be salved by the fact that he's doing it in support of his best friend.

Booster himself is surprisingly resilient to finding himself in Hell. This could be a psychological defense, or perhaps Booster is truly an atheist (as he himself stated as part of a punchline in 1988's Justice League International Annual #2). In any event, he remains skeptical when his friends encounter the apparition of their long-dead teammate, Ice (who died in 1994's Justice League Task Force #14).

Is she Ice, or isn't she? Is the team in Hell, or isn't it? The answers to these questions aren't immediately clear, and that very uncertainty is key to the psychological insecurity at the heart of this ghost story. No matter how you think about it, you don't have the answers. That's not a very comfortable position for anyone, much less heroes who are required to make split-second decisions with lives in the balance.

Published over a decade after their best work on Justice League International , this issue's mix of humor, action, and psychological drama is indicative of the best works of co-writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. If you like your super-hero comics not to fit within any easily definable genre, you'll find something to love in this issue.

If you're looking for something else spooky to pass the time on today, try something from one of these 17 other scary DC bloggers:

• "Ghosts" @ The Aquaman Shrine
• "Bough Breaks" @ Batman: Gotham Knights Online
• "Swamp Thing's Ghost Dance" @ The BLOG from the BOG - Swamp Thing
• "Life Itself" @ Captain's JLA Homepage
• "Ghosts' - The Corpse Corps!" @ Corps Conjecture
• "What Creeps Out The Creeper?" @ DC Bloodlines
• "The Distance Gone" @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• "Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead" @ Firestorm Fan
• "The Death Sentence" @ Great Krypton!
• "Happy Halloween" @ I Am The Phantom Stranger
• "Heart's Afire" @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• "Legend of Driq" @ Indigo Tribe
• "Role Model" @ Justice League Detroit
• "Ghosts" @ Power of the Atom
• "Zor" @ Siegel & Shuster: Mythmakers
• "High-Speed Hauntings" @ Speed Force
• "Ragman - Ripped to Shreds!" @ The Suit of Souls

Thanks to Chad Bokelman of corpsconjecture.blogspot.com for putting this crossover together.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle chad bokelman corpsconjecture.blogspot.com crossovers ghosts halloween holidays ice

DragonCon 2012, the "world's largest fantasy/sci-fi convention," was held Labor Day weekend in Atlanta. In celebration of all the hard work that went into having so much fun at DragonCon, my fellow DC fan bloggers and I are sharing some DragonCon 2012 photos of our heroes. Of course, the photos of Booster Gold are the best.

The Booster Gal above is Shelley, and the pic comes to us courtesy The Iredeemable Shag! of FirestromFan.com. Shag normally has some great pictures of DragonCon, and this year was no exception. Better still, this year Shag introduced us to The Superhero Costuming Forum, which leads to some other great cosplay photos.

The fellow above has been cosplaying Booster Gold in his spiffy metallic costume for a few years. I guess by now he's earned enough cred to join the prestigious Legion of Super Heroes. Although, if they are going to swear in Matter Eater Lad, it looks like they'll take anybody.(Photo by KalelKara at The Superhero Costuming Forum.)

I'm not going to lie: some of these cosplayers can make the New 52 costumes look pretty good. The same cannot be said for the poor fellow who came dressed as Booster Gold. Sorry, buster, but there's just no way to make that costume shine. (Photo by KalelKara at The Superhero Costuming Forum.)

UPDATE 09/14/12: Ooops! There was at least one other Booster Gold at Dragon Con that I failed to include. Pyynk brings me to task for leaving him out of the fun. My apologies, sir. Your costume, now pictured above, is far too good to be ignored. (Photo by Bryan Humphrey.)

If you like what you've seen here, check out more cosplaying photos at these other fine sites:

Aquaman at Aquaman Shrine
Atom at Power of the Atom
Doctor Fate at Tower of Fate
Doom Patrol at My Greatest Adventure 80
Firestorm at Firestorm Fan
Flash at Speed Force
Hawkman/Hawkgirl at Being Carter Hall
Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Wonder Woman at Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
Vixen and Zatanna at Justice League Detroit
and many more obscure DC heroes at DC Bloodlines

Our thanks to Shag and the great cosplayers at The Superhero Costume Forum for sharing your pics.

Comments (5) | Add a Comment | Tags: bryan humphrey conventions cosplay costumes crossovers dragoncon firestormfan.com kalelkara pyynk shag shelley thesuperherocostumeforum.com

A bunch of my fellow DC fan bloggers have decided to celebrate their various obsessions' television shows today. It's true that our Corporate Crusader has never had his own show, but in the true spirit of Booster Gold, I plan to crash this party! Introducing "Booster Gold: The Animated Series":

Obviously, this show intro has been remixed by YouTube poster VladGLX primarily from the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told." But isn't it great to imagine what could be?

To see some licensed animated show intros, visit these other fine bloggers.

Aquaman at The Aquaman Shrine
Atom at Power of the Atom
Doctor Fate at Tower of Fate
Firestorm at Firestorm Fan
Flash at Speed Force
Green Lantern at The Indigo Tribe
Hawkman at Being Carter Hall
Martian Manhunter at The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Supergirl at Supergirl Comic Box Commentary
Superman at Fortress of Baileytude
Swamp Thing at The BLOG from the BOG
Vixen at Justice League Detroit
Wonder Woman at Diana Prince
Miscellaneous others at DC Bloodlines

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: blog crossover vladglx youtube.com

Mayfairstivus concludes as Booster Gold #39 and Justice League: Generation Lost #15 are scheduled to hit stands today. You could buy them both and make Skeets happy, but don't worry if your busy schedule prevents you from reaching your favorite Local Comic Shop today. Mayfair Games already has you covered:

Thanks to all these fine DC blogs who celebrated Mayfairstivus season along with Boosterrific:

The Anti-Didio League of America
The Aquaman Shrine
Comics Make Me Happy!
The Continuity Blog
DC Bloodlines
Diana Prince as The New Wonder Woman
Doom Patrol: My Greatest Adventure #80
Firestorm Fan
Flash: Speed Force
Girls Gone Geek
Green Lantern Corps: The Indigo Tribe
Hawkman: Being Carter Hall
Justice League Detroit
Martian Manhunter vs. The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Once Upon A Geek
Power of the Atom
Subject: Suicide Squad [Task Force X]
Supergirl Comic Box Commentary

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blog crossover generation lost justice league mayfairstivus

Boosterrific.com welcomes you to the first day of Mayfairstivus, an 8-day celebration of Mayfair Games' DC Heroes Role-Playing Game from the 1980s. (Before you ask: yes, the timing of Myfairstivus to coincide with Hanukkah is entirely intentional.)

The DC Heroes Role-Playing Game was first released in 1985. The game proved popular, and a second, expanded edition was printed in 1989 that incorporated changes to the DC Universe following the Crisis on Infinite Earths. This second edition added significantly to the rules of play as well as updating the pre-constructed licensed characters, including Booster Gold who received his own "illustrated character card" as one of the 75 included in the second edition box set.

As Mayfair Games changed ownership over the years, the rights to the game have become a tangled mess, harder to unravel than Hawkman continuity. While the game may be lost to time, it is certainly not forgotten. We will be exploring Booster Gold's role within the game in coming days during this grand Mayfairstivus holiday!

More Booster Gold Mayfairstivus goodness to come tomorrow. Meanwhile, celebrate Mayfairstivus season with these other fine DC blogs:

The Anti-Didio League of America
The Aquaman Shrine
Comics Make Me Happy!
The Continuity Blog
DC Bloodlines
Diana Prince as The New Wonder Woman
Doom Patrol: My Greatest Adventure #80
Firestorm Fan
Flash: Speed Force
Girls Gone Geek
Green Lantern Corps: The Indigo Tribe
Hawkman: Being Carter Hall 
Justice League Detroit
Martian Manhunter vs. The Idol-Head of Diabolu
Once Upon A Geek
Power of the Atom
Subject: Suicide Squad [Task Force X]
Supergirl Comic Box Commentary

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: blog crossover dc heroes rpg hanukkah mayfair games mayfairstivus rpg