And so at last we reach the end of Booster Gold Volume 1. It is, without a doubt, the ugliest of all 25 original issues.

Robert Campanella's inks are not a good fit for Dan Jurgens' pencils, and even most of Jurgens' layouts are subpar. Either this issue was rushed through editorial to fit the aggressive Millennium publishing schedule, or all the visual artists involved were in a hurry to move on to greener pastures. Maybe both.

(In my opinion, this issue is the only one in volume one that I think looks definitively superior in the often careless recolored digital reprints over the original newsprint publication.)

It's really a shame about the art, because the Dan Jurgens' script deserves better. It hits all the right notes as it forces Booster to face the down-side of publicity (in an American fast food restaurant) with a Communist providing outside perspective.

It also cleverly draws in the Justice League characters Booster is closest to while setting our hero up for a triumphant come-back in the future. Both of those latter elements factor into my favorite page of Booster Gold #25 (especially Beetle's lecture in panel 2):

Yeah! What Beetle said!

That's what I like so much about Booster Gold. His path meanders, but he always gets to the right place in the end.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: black canary blue beetle dan jurgens favorite pages martian manhunter robert campanella skeets

Every time I read Justice League #6, I'm surprised that I like it as much as I do.

For some reason, I always think it is going to disappoint me. I'm not sure why. Maybe that's because I know Booster plays a diminished role. Maybe it's because The Creeper annoys me.

What I am sure of is that page 6 is my favorite page, explicitly because of the Batman joke in those three panels in the middle of the page (which inexplicably mirror-images the punchline-panel — Booster's hair should be parted his left and Canary's on her right).

Is it just me, or does it seem like DeMatteis and Giffen were originally trying to pair Black Canary and Booster before the Blue/Gold team developed? Ah, well. Canary was too cool for Booster anyway (no matter where her hair was parted).

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: batman black canary favorite pages justice league

DC chose not to release any comic featuring Booster Gold appearances this week. I like to think that's because they'd rather you spend some time re-reading classic Booster Gold adventures.

May I suggest Justice League Annual #1, released 34 years ago today?

This 48-page issue, essentially a zombie story titled "Germ Warfare," is Booster's first adventure as an accepted member of the Justice League. (And you don't have to take my word for it. The editor's note on page 4 explicitly places the story immediately after Booster's JL audition in Justice League #4 (which also happens to be the single best Booster Gold story ever).

The action unfolds in the traditional Justice League style. To combat a global menace, the team splits in to pairs. Interestingly, Booster Gold's first Justice League partner isn't Blue Beetle but another legacy character with origins in the Golden Age of comics: Black Canary.

With rapport like that, it's no surprise that the "Black and Gold" team didn't outlast Canary's oft-maligned 1980s aerobics instructor-inspired costume.

As might be expected of such a new member, Booster plays a relatively minor role in the issue's resolution. And though it may come as a surprise to modern audiences, neither does Batman. The honors go to the Martian Manhunter, a true hero who will go on to teach many an up-and-comer a thing or two about the relationship between great power and great responsibility.

As I said, if you're looking for something to read today, you could do much worse than the first Justice League Annual.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: annual black canary covers justice league martian manhunter

Back before the DCU was overwritten by the DCnU, and before "The Arrowverse" was a thing on TV, Green Arrow and Black Canary got married in the appropriately titled Green Arrow and Black Canary Wedding Special in 2007. Everyone who was anyone was there, which means that of course Booster Gold was there — in a strictly non-speaking cameo appearance.

Ok, well, technically, as we now know (but Booster didn't at the time), Booster didn't really attend the marriage as there wasn't any actual marriage in that issue. In follow-up issues of Green Arrow/Black Canary, it was soon revealed that the Green Lantern who exchanged vows in The Wedding Special was an imposter. But that's sort of par for the course in the star-crossed Arrow/Canary relationship.

Someone at DC must love doomed weddings, because this week The Wedding Special, previously collected in The Wedding Album, is getting collected for a second time in Green Arrow/Black Canary: Till Death Do They Part.

As you can see, even if the unions don't last, memories of weddings are eternal. That's why you should get yourself in as many wedding photos as possible. Consider it another good lesson learned from Booster Gold comics.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: black canary collections green arrow new releases reprints wedding

Believe it or not, once upon a time, Booster Gold was such a big star that he could sell comics he wasn't in just by appearing on the cover! Backwards!

Take, for example, Secret Origins #32, released 29 years ago today.

art by Eric Shanower

This issue presents the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths origin of the Justice League of America (which was differentiated from the original origin by the substitution of Black Canary for Wonder Woman).

The Justice League International was super hot at the time, so although the only links between the two teams were Canary and Martian Manhunter, the JLI was still given prime cover real estate to sell the story to new readers unfamiliar with DCU history.

There's no reason this strategy couldn't be used to sell old stories to a modern audience today. I speak only for myself, but I'd be much happier buying a comic showcasing Damian Wayne (Robin V) if he appeared only on the cover.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: black canary blue beetle eric shanower justice league international martian manhunter secret origins