DC Co-Publisher Dan Didio has called it "probably my favorite comic of all things published in the last ten years." Comic book blogger Robby Reed has called it "staggeringly awful." Your response probably lies somewhere in between, depending on how much you care for DC continuity or the Blue Beetle.

This divisive comic book is Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1. Released 7 years ago today, this one-shot issue, officially titled DC Countdown in the legal indicia, kicked off the 4 separate mini-series leading to Infinite Crisis. It is more famous for re-introducing Justice League International supporting-character Maxwell Lord as a villain. And, of course, the related fate of Ted Kord.

While I still find this book to be an enjoyable read, I also believe that DC was short-sighted in choosing Ted Kord to be the sacrificial lamb to promote high sales of the Infinite Crisis crossover. The friendship of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle was unique in the DC pantheon: genuine but irreverent, lighthearted but sincere. Even when their misadventures strained plausibility, it was always worth going along for the ride just to bask in the reflected glow of their effervescent joy at being together. Simply put, their adventures were fun.

Booster Gold has enjoyed a career renaissance since the death of his best friend and business partner. However, the DC Universe is a smaller place without Ted Kord, and we have DC Countdown to Infinite Crisis to thank for it.

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Skeets as JLI administrator? Don't think of Skeets as the new L-Ron. Think of L-Ron as the old Skeets.

Last week's poll question: What role should Skeets be playing in the Justice League International? (37 votes)

All things being equal, Booster Gold fans were pretty fortunate in the post-Flashpoint reboot. Booster Gold is still the same character he was before. Other characters were not as lucky, sacrificing familiarity in the hopes of breathing new life into a tired concept.

Take, for example, Firestorm. Like Booster, Firestorm was a spotlight member of a top-selling, pre-reboot series in Brightest Day. But the powers-that-be at DC decided (probably justly, right, Shag?) that Firestorm didn't have what it took to generate and maintain a "modern" audience. So in the DCnU, Firestorm is now essentially two brand-new characters. Goodbye, character development; hello, artificial teen-aged angst and "fury."

Sure, that's frustrating to existing fans, but the point of comic book characters is to turn a profit. Characters must be popular to sell books, the more popular the better. Unpopular characters disappear, sometimes forever. Therefore, we Booster Gold fans should ask ourselves what risks we are willing to take to keep Booster Gold around.

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Fans of the 1990s rejoice! Dan Jurgens returns to writing Superman with issue #7 hitting stands today. For the entire decade, Jurgens either wrote or drew that series. It's good to have him back at the reigns, making the DCnU a little more familiar (even if Superman is still wearing that stupid armor).

Dan Jurgens' greatest creation, Booster Gold, also will appear in a book released today. Booster's cameo appearance in Justice League of America #47 is included the issues collected in Justice League of America: Dark Things. Despite its name, this collection also collects 2 issues of JSA and is chock full of characters that have yet to appear in the DCnU.

Skeets may still be unhappy not to appear in the DCnU, but there will be complain if you decide to support Dan Jurgens. (Making Dan Jurgens happy is the surest way to get Skeets back on panel.)

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I've always viewed Booster Gold as a uniquely American character. He is an American football player who chases his dream of celebrity and wealth by stealing and lying, believing that his intentions are justification enough for his boorish behavior. That's an unflattering description, but many both inside and outside the United States might suggest that it is a true mirror of modern American culture.

Following DC's recent declaration that Booster Gold is no longer American, I began to wonder if the character of Booster Gold could even be translated into foreign cultures. Could Michael Jon Carter be a hero anywhere outside the USA? Would other cultures respect him or despise him?

To investigate these questions, I've asked international citizens to provide a little perspective on how their culture might view Booster Gold. In future posts, I'll run their essays.

Booster-philes from Canada, Germany, and Switzerland are already working on explaining how Booster Gold relates to their cultural mores and philosophies. If you are living in a country other than the USA, and you would be interested in sharing how Booster Gold may relate to your culture, please send me an email at webmaster at Boosterrific.com. Together, let's truly take Booster Gold international.

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The following blog post has been brought to you by the Super Friends of DC Comics fan blogging: Shag of Firestorm fan site FirestormFan.com pointed out this weekend that Lia of Flash fan site SpeedForce.org posted a video last week from Cartoon Network's Mad that features Booster Gold. (Sometimes tracking Booster Gold, like life, is all about who you know.)

That song sounds to me like something you might hear on TMZ. That's probably fitting for a song including a part by the celebrity-seeking Booster Gold.

For the record, that video, posted to YouTube by Vitouliss, was broadcast in the MAD episode "Al Pacino and the Chipmunks / That's What Super Friends Are For" that originally aired February 27, 2012.

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