Media: trading cards

Starting in 1987, DC Comics began printing trading cards on the backing boards packaged in bagged 3-comic sets sold in retail outlets. Eight cards were printed on each board, each card showcasing a DC heroes or comic book cover. A second set of these cards was printed in 1989, this time including Booster Gold as #57 in the set of 120. The back of the card includes a brief biographical entry. Art on the card uses work included in the 1987 Mayfair DC Heroes Role Playing Game.

More information about this and other DC trading card sets can be found at www.cosmicteams.com. Thanks to Micheal Kooiman for the card image.

This large set of 180 trading cards published by Impel (later known as Skybox) features many of the more prominent heroes and villains of the DC Universe. Booster Gold appears on cards 38 and 165 in this set. Art on card #38, "Booster Gold," is credited to Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding. Card #165, though uncredited, appears to have been drawn by Dan Jurgens.

Booster Gold appears occasionally in this 100-count trading card set from SkyBox. Card images were taken directly from comic book issues in the "Death of Superman" and "Funeral for a Friend" storylines. Artists whose work was included in the set include Jon Bogdanove, Brett Breeding, Rick Burchett, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Doug Hazlewood, Dan Jurgens, Denis Rodier, and Art Thibert. Booster Gold appears on cards 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, and the Funeral For a Friend subset card 1.

Skybox followed up the DC Cosmic Cards trading card set with a 150 card set of Cosmic Teams. Booster Gold appears on cards 1, 39, and 125 of the set, illustrated by Dan Jurgens, Rick Burchett, and Bart Sears.

Hoping to cash in on the mid-90s fad of collectible bottle caps, better known as "pogs," DC and Skybox partnered to release this set of 54 "SkyCaps" caps. Booster Gold appears on pog #25, which uses art from the earlier 1991 Impel card set (Impel Marketing having changed its name to SkyBox International in 1992). Art is by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding

More information about this and other DC trading card sets can be found at www.cosmicteams.com. Thanks to Micheal Kooiman for the pog image.

Each of the 90 card DC Master Series trading cards published by SkyBox was painted instead of drawn, producing some beautiful images of DC's enduring characters. This set includes Booster Gold in his football-inspired Mark IV armor and paired him with Blue Beetle on his only card in the set. "Blue Beetle & Booster Gold," illustrated by Cathleen Thole, is card number 86 in the set.

SkyBox's DC Stars trading cards were available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. The 54 card set included some new art, but also borrowed heavily from the earlier Impel/SkyBox produced DC Cosmic Cards set. Booster Gold appears on card 18 exactly as he did in the DC Cosmic Card set, illustrated by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding.

The 150 card DC Legends 95 Power Chrome trading card set from SkyBox borrowed a mid-1990s comic book gimmick, the chromium cover, to decorate the embossed cards. Booster Gold, in his Mark IV armor, appears on card 66 of the set. The card is credited to Marc Campos, Ken Branch, and P. Martin. Jeff Alexander's House of Checklists credits the overall card designs to Arnie Sawyer Studios and card text to Barbara and Karl Kessel.

Fleer bought SkyBox in 1995, but released the 80 card DC Outburst: Firepower trading card set under a joint name in 1996. Outburst: Firepower combined traditional hand-drawn art with dynamic computer-enhanced backgrounds. Booster Gold appears on card 20 of the set, wearing his Mark X power suit. His card is credited to R. Whigham, J. Nyberg, and S. Suchit.

Select blister packs of the 2005 line of Mattel's Justice League Unlimited action figures included one of 19 "exclusive" collectable trading cards featuring the characters as seen in the television show. Art for Booster Gold's card was taken from "The Greatest Story Never Told." Cards were numbered by adding "-700" to the product number of the action figure associated with the character on the card (not necessarily the character they were packaged with); the Booster Gold figure was H2588, so the card is numbered H2588-700. Card noted by FZ.

To promote the launch of the "New 52" universe, DC Comics and Cryptozoic Entertainment released this set of cards. There are 63 cards in the base set, and inexplicably, none of them include Booster Gold. However, the set also includes an unknown number of chase "hand-drawn artist sketch" cards. These are packaged at a ratio of 1 in 24 packs, and some of them do picture Booster Gold, as shown by the Jonathan Wayshak shown at right.

Cryptozoic Entertainment's 2016 set of trading cards once again had 63 cards in the base set, and unlike in 2012, one of those 63 is Booster Gold. Card number 61 is Booster Gold in his New 52 costume. This card is one of nine that fit together to make a composite image of the New 52 incarnation of the Justice League International. Card art is by Alejandro Germánico Benit.