I recently got an email from Travis Bickle, and although he was clearly "talkin' to me," I think it's best if I just pass along exactly what he said:

We certainly are in a heavy Booster dry spell right now, which is why I was pathetically exuberant upon finding the news I'm about to share. HBO just updated its streaming service to be called simply "Max" instead of "HBO Max" (really clever change), and with this came some slight adjustments to other aspects of the experience as well, including allowing HBO's userbase to more options for their avatars in-app. Now, a user's profile can be represented by none other than Booster Gold, utilizing his look from the JLU animated series. Previously the options were a lot more limited.

Just last week, Warner Bros. Discovery put out a press release announcing new avatars were coming to their retooled app. Booster was nowhere to be seen. I'm very glad to see that oversight has been corrected.

Thanks for the news, Travis, but don't stay up all night watching movies. Lack of sleep is bad for your mental health.

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The third Booster Gold comic released on September 15, 1987 was Justice League International #9, which contained events explicitly taking place immediately after Millennium #1 (also released on September 15).

As it happens, for several reasons, not the least of which was limited funding, I didn't buy every Justice League International comic the week it was released. But it happens that I did buy this one because it tied into Millennium #1. (So I'm living proof that major crossover events sell books, I guess.)

I mention that because at the time, page 3 was my favorite page simply for the reason that I always thought it was cool that Blue Beetle was able to put out a cry for help with his breath on a window.

But my tastes have changed. These days, I have a different favorite page... for two specific reasons. One of those reasons will be immediately self-evident to all Booster boosters who lay eyes on it:

See? Booster Gold is just the coolest. (Golly, I love those panels 3-6 of reaction shots zooming in closer and closer to the eyes before the big reveal that it was Booster Gold who saved the day.... just in time for Blue Beetle to bring our arrogant hero back down to Earth! What a wonderful sequence.)

The second — and considerably nerdier — reason I love this page is how wrong it is.

What you see above is the page as it appeared in more modern reprints on higher quality paper. You can see that the re-colorist (presumably using the original color master?) maintained the coloring mistakes that the late, great Gene D'Angelo unintentionally made in the original newsprint publication, such as Booster's flesh-colored star and Martian Manhunter wearing Booster's pants.

When the same issue was republished just a few years ago in Justice League International: Born Again, the page coloring was corrected, but washing out the existing color from scans of the original resulted in thinner blacks. The overall effect is a page that actually looks worse despite the "correction." (Leave D'Angelo's work alone!)

And both of those reprints have eliminated one of my favorite details: the page number! In the original publication, this is clearly marked "14" in the lower left corner. Why did it go away when other pages have maintained their in-art numbering?

(Side note: As a chronicler, I love page numbers! Please, please, please, bring back page numbers, DC!)

All of these little idiosyncrasies plus a badass Booster Gold moment add up to make page 14 (numbered or not) my favorite page of the issue.

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I was sitting at my computer on Friday minding my own business when I got this email from Jake:

I'm praying I didn't miss this on the site, or I'd be awful embarrassed, but Booster appears in the Justice League Action animated shorts "Lasso of Lies", "Selfie Help!", and "Special Delivery"... (these episodes of Justice League Action were shared only as internet webisodes).

No need to be embarrassed, Jake. You're right, those 2017 Justice League Action shorts have not appeared on the site before... because I didn't know they existed! (Or did I? I have a hunch I'm not the only person on this planet who thinks 2017 feels like several lifetimes ago.)

Anyway, now that I know I know better, follow any of these links to watch these 2-minute cartoons on YouTube.

For future reference, the Boosterrific! Other Media: Television page has also been updated with brief descriptions of each webisode.

And while I'm on the topic of the Boosterrific! Other Media page, I should mention that over the weekend, Booster booster Doug sent me a different email pointing out that it was missing the recent McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Blue Beetle and Booster Gold 2-pack. Oops. I can't pretend that I didn't know about that. The oversight has now been corrected.

My thanks to both Jake and Doug for helping to ensure that Boosterrific is the best site it can be.

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Last week's "favorite page" subject was Action Comics #594, which ended on a cliffhanger. But today's featured comic isn't the continuation of that story. No, we'll get to Booster Gold #23 later.

Released a week before BG #23 was was the unrelated, standalone Justice League International #8, perhaps best known as the first appearance of what would become the JLI's signature catchphrase: "bwah-ha-ha!"

Even more significantly, it's also the dawn of what will become the DC Universe's greatest comedy double act. Do you know who I'm talking about?

Although Booster Gold and Blue Beetle had both been members of the JLI for a couple of months, this issue is where the bromance really begins. As you can see, their relationship was built on a foundation of mutual respect.

Bwah-ha-ha, indeed.

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As Brandon has accurately pointed out in comments on other entries in this series, Booster Gold #22 is indeed a downer. Bad things happen to Our Hero, and worse things happen to his family. But that drama actually makes for a pretty good comic book.

One of those bad things is a large gray monster more powerful than the assembled might of the entire Justice League International.

In hindsight, especially under the direction of Dan Jurgens, this feels more than a little like a Doomsday scenario, don't you think?

Page 10 above is certainly a lot of fun, but it's hardly the only great page. Page 13 is also a blast — or perhaps I should say a "ba thooomm"? — and pages 18, 19, and 22, though less fun, are masterfully delivered full-page compositions. If you chose any of those as your favorite page of the issue, I certainly wouldn't argue.

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