Today marks the -426th birthday of Jon Michael "Booster" Carter, born this day in the year 2442.

Booster Gold cake by Annette Price

Congratulations, Booster! Here's to 426 more.

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Dick Giordano would have turned 84 years old today. If you don't know who he was, you should.

Giordano was the Managing/Executive Editor at DC Comics during the decade that saw Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Killing Joke, and Watchmen. Without him, there wouldn't have been a Booster Gold. Literally.

This is what Booster's creator, Dan Jurgens, had to say when I asked him about Booster's origin in 2010:

Boosterrific: You had not done a lot of work for DC prior to Booster Gold Volume 1. How was it that as a relatively inexperienced writer/artist, you were given such an opportunity as creating a new series for the mainstream DC Universe?

Dan Jurgens: Why was I allowed to do Booster? Well, I didn't make the decision but I do know this: When I first explained it to Dick Giordano and told him the basic idea of what the character could be and who he was, Dick saw him as someone who was entirely different than anyone else in the DCU. I think some of Dick's background as an editor, where he often handled somewhat offbeat characters, may have had something to do with that. But he was attracted to the book and as Managing Editor, gave me the thumbs up and approved the project. Sometimes younger, untested talent, will actually pay off with somewhat different ideas and concepts.

Giordano may have died in 2010, but his legacy lives on. Thank you, sir.

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Today is Dan Jurgens birthday, but I'm sure you don't need me to remind you of that. All Booster Gold fans already have Jurgens' birthday marked on their calendars every year, right? Right?

Jurgens was recently approached by fan blogger Chris Sheehan at the Phoenix ComicCon. Chris wrote this about their meeting.

I ambled on over, and introduced myself... you know that feeling when you think about meeting one of your heroes and totally being underwhelmed or disappointed... or maybe you just caught 'em on a bad day? Well, those fears vanished as soon as I shook his hand. He was super friendly, and made me feel like he was happy to be meeting me!

I totally relate to Chris' reaction to meeting Mr. Jurgens. I have to admit that I've never met him in person, but Jurgens has been nothing but gracious and engaging in our occasional email exchanges.

Chris goes on to give his review of Booster Gold #1 (spoiler alert: he liked it) on his blogspot blog Chris Is On Infinite Earths, which, if for no other reason, you should visit for its great title!

So thanks again to Dan Jurgens: making so many fans happy for so many years!

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Jon Michael "Booster" Carter was born on December 29, 2442, which makes today his -427th birthday.

Booster Gold cake by Annette Price

Congratulations, Booster! Here's to 427 more.

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If you followed the adventures of Booster Gold in the mid-90s, you must be familiar with the work of Dan Vado. Vado was the writer who gave Booster his first suit of bulky 20th-century power armor in Justice League America #80, cut off his arm and killed him (temporarily) in Justice League America #89, then restored what remained of the fortune Dirk Davis had stolen in Extreme Justice #6.

Vado's time writing the character is often overshadowed by the, um, "extreme" art of the era. That's a shame. Vado's writing strongly emphasized the troubles and personalities of the characters in the ensemble cast. Yes, it's all a bit melodramatic, but that was always a component of the International era of the Justice League. Extreme Justice might not have a sterling legacy, but it's really pretty good if you can read it with your eyes closed.

Happy 56th Birthday, Dan Vado. And thank you.

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