DC released its annual winter holiday anthology this week, 'Tis the Season to be Freezin'. While I liked it fine — I'm especially tickled by the title — I still prefer DC Universe Holiday Special and its JLA Watchtower office Christmas party, released on this date in 2008.

"Party Animal," words by Alan Burnett, art by Kevin Maguire

Bust a move, Booster.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: holidays justice league kevin maguire party

It is always worth remembering that if you work hard and don't give up, you will find second chances in life. For example, after a 23-year wait, Dan Jurgens got a second chance to write a series named for the character he created.

Booster Gold had been a peripheral team player ever since his first volume was cancelled following Millennium in 1987. But after the character's star turn in the wake of Infinite Crisis and 52, he got a second chance at stardom in a second Booster Gold series.

The new title was written by the pairing of fan-favorite writer Geoff Johns and movie producer Jeff Katz who quickly established a new paradigm for the "Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of." When the time came — in the series' second year — for Johns and Katz to move on to greener pastures, the reins were finally turned back over to Booster's original scribe.

Jurgens' first Volume 2 issue was Booster Gold #15, released on this day in 2010. It didn't take him long to re-establish the sibling rivalry he invented decades earlier.

Just like old times!

Eleven years later, Jurgens is now working on yet another Booster Gold title. Perseverance pays off, kids.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: dan jurgens elongated man goldstar skeets

Once upon a time, Guy Gardner was an insufferable jerk who was so insufferable that he was actually kicked out of the Green Lantern Corps. Guy being Guy, that didn't stop him for long. In fact, he took on the entire Corps just to get his hand on Sinestro's yellow power ring, which, being Sinestro's ring, had a few quirks of its own, as Guy discovered in Guy Gardner #2, released on this date 29 years ago today.

But that's not what's important about that issue. What's important about that issue was Booster Gold's 1990s hair!

I'd sell my soul to Neron for hair like that.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle guy gardner hair kilowog

Earlier this month, Timothy Donohoo recapped the Extreme Justice team for the CBR.com article "Booster Gold, Blue Beetle & Captain Atom Formed the Most Extreme Justice League."

I'm not sure from the article whether Donohoo ever actually read any of the Extreme Justice issues (half of his history is based on the not very accurate 2001 JLA: Incarnations mini-series produced five years after Extreme Justice got the axe) , but at the very least it's nice to see someone saying nice things about one of my personal favorite (but widely forgotten) comic series:

Also fitting the team name was the art, which redesigned many classic characters to fit in with the growing popularity of books at Image Comics. It was one of the few DC books that attempted to ride this wave, and it was rather obvious in its methods. Scowls and gritted teeth are a constant sight, with muscles and breasts being more emphasized. Booster Gold got a ridiculous-looking armor that made him look like Valiant's X-O Manowar crossed with a football player, while Blue Beetle was rather blatantly drawn to resemble Todd McFarlane's take on Spider-Man.

No, really, that's about as nice a thing as anyone ever says about Extreme Justice.

And he's not wrong:

Ah, the good, old nineteen-nineties. Some days, I really do miss you.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: cbr.com extreme justice timothy donohoo

Booster Gold is often criticized for his relentless pursuit of the spotlight. But if that's all you know about Booster, you don't really understand him.

While, yes, he does want to be loved, he also really cares about helping people as we can see in the aftermath of Monarch's destruction of Metropolis' S.T.A.R. Labs headquarters building as detailed in these panels from Armageddon 2001 #2...

words by Denny O'Neil; art by Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert, Steve Mitchell, John Costanza, Adrienne Roy

...and this page from Action Comics #670...

words by Roger Stern; art by Bob McLeod, Denis Rodier, Bill Oakley, Glenn Whitmore

...both of which were released 30 years ago today!

Helping those who need help, that's the work of the real heroes. Keep up the good work, Buster!

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: action comics armageddon 2001