In addition to being the final issue of Justice League International volume 1 (next issue the team will be downsized to just Justice League America), Justice League International #25 is also the first book-length team-up between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Historic!

My favorite page comes early, which is probably not a surprise to those of you who know that Ty Templeton is one of my favorite artists. He only drew the intro and outro pages of this issue (over Keith Giffen's layouts), with the rest handled by Mike McKone (also over Giffen).

But it's not just the art I love; almost every panel on page 3 has its own punchline!

Despite the early (and often) jokes, the main plot of this team-up issue is a vampire hunt that turns into an overt criticism of Western consumer culture which, in Twilight Zone style, questions who the real monsters are on plane Earth. As Booster and Beetle (and the reader) will eventually realize, it just might be our heroes.

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Yes, that banner up there says "one page at a time," but today you're getting two!

In 1989, a three-part story written by Cary Bates in Captain Atom #26 , #27, and #28 that more-or-less resolved the messiest parts of the backstory of why Captain Atom lied to the Justice League about his personal history.

(Turns out the adventures of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Captain Atom were just a government cover story to disguise how Atom was really blackmailed into participating in the weapons test that gave him his powers by a criminal conspiracy of Vietnam vets in a plot stolen directly from Lethal Weapon. Like I said, it's messy.)

Anyway, the point here is that Booster Gold was one of the three Leaguers who confronted the good Captain with evidence of his mounting lies. Since Booster played a significant role in only the first two chapters of this story, appearing only on the first page of the third, I figured I might as well present my favorite pages from those two issues at the same time.

First is Captain Atom #26. As my favorite page, I could have chosen a sequence earlier in the book in which Booster, Blue Beetle, and Mister Miracle clasp hands then go undercover... by wearing sunglasses. But for full-page goodness, I'm going with page 22, in which a thief from the future living under an assumed name unironically demands "no more secrets"!

Yeah, the posed figures are stiff, but I'm enamored by the layout. Note how the top of the page is a separate panel presenting an establishing shot of the city skyline, and the tail on Booster's speech balloon acts like a pointer showing where they are, as well as allowing Booster to speak first despite being in the center of the page. I assume the balloons were all created by letterer Carrie Spiegel on top of Pat Broderick's art. Well done.

In the very next issue, Captain Atom #27, my favorite page is also based mostly on what Booster has to say. Despite never having been seen wearing a deerstalker cap or skis, our hero is suddenly an amateur detective and an expert skier!

And he flies faster than the Blue Beetle's bug? Oh, Booster, is there anything you can't do?

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I've been teasing you this was coming for weeks, and now it's time:

A preview of Blue Beetle #7 is available online at AIPTComics.com, but I'm sure you don't need it.

Buy this comic and make Skeets happy.

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Booster booster Rob Snow points us to the interview of Josh Trujillo, writer of next week's Keith Giffen-inspired Blue Beetle #7, by David Brooke for AIPTComics.com.

AIPT: Blue Beetle #7 features Booster Gold. On a scale of one to 10, how fun is it to write Booster?!

Josh Trujillo: Umm, like a 12 on that scale? Booster is one of the most ridiculous and perfect good boys in comics. He has such an incredible hook and SO MANY good stories! A huge ego and also a huge heart for his friends! I really can't get enough of him.

It took a lot of restraint not to let him completely take over the book, but this story is about Jaime's journey in helping save his mentor and friend, our beloved Ted Kord. And Booster is there helping him every step of the way.

AIPT: This is a time travel issue. How hard is it to avoid retcons?

JT: I'll leave that for the wiki editors to answer!

In all seriousness, I pored over so many comics to find openings/moments that wouldn't directly conflict with the work Keith and his collaborators did. But the simple fact is that this is a time travel story, so try not to get too stuck in the details and just enjoy the ride. Let the continuity cops deal with the mess Booster and Jaime are making (and they will!)

As a fan of huge egos and Time Masters, let me go on the record and say that I am not enthusiastic about anyone making a mess of established continuity. But this sounds like fun, so I'll allow it. This time.

Blue Beetle #7 features art by Natacha Bustos, Howard Porter, Cully Hamner, Scott Kolins, with a Booster Gold cover by Adrian Gutierrez. Look for the issue on shelves (in English and Spanish editions) March 5.

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The "2nd Anniversary Issue" Justice League International #24 sees the League holding a membership drive, which sets the stage for a generational clash between Leagues old and... well, immature.

I side with Booster. For all his faults, he's never foul-mouthed.

I've always liked this issue a lot. On re-read, I still do, even the running gag of Beetle being aggressively inappropriate with Wonder Woman (and Booster trying to restrain him). It's only tolerable because everyone knows Wonder Woman could squeeze Beetle into a roach motel if she wanted to. (Poor Diana. She must have to deal with this every day.) Show some respect, boys; you're supposed to be heroes.

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