Back in September I was planning to show you my favorite page from 1994's Justice League International Annual #5 but I had to skip it because I didn't have the book on hand at the time. I have since rectified that and can now show you this, page 19:

You might be asking yourself, "how is this his favorite page in this issue?" Well, in addition to showcasing some of the best art in the entire issue (I wish I was kidding about that), page 19 gives this knock-off Booster Gold the most dialogue he has in the entire story. That's not nothing.

It may help clarify a bit if I explain that this one-off adventure presents an alternate-universe Elseworlds Justice League origin story. I'm pretty sure that "John Michael Carter" is an intentional garbling of the birth name of the familiar DCU's Booster Gold ("Michael Jon Carter"). I can't be sure about that, though. The whole story feels second-rate, like the writer was assigned a job he didn't really want and the artists didn't have the time or skill to do the job right. If you told me the transposed name was an editorial oversight, I'd believe you.

I'd encourage you to read the book and see what you think your favorite page is, but this issue is really not worth the effort. Justice League International Annual #5 is an artifact of the 1990s Chromium Age that spawned it and probably best remains consigned to the dusty longboxes of yesteryear.

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Bizarro Booster Gold made his first appearance on this day in 2010 in the pages of Supergirl #57:

And, one page later, also his last:

Oh, Bizarro Booster Gold. We hardly knew ye.

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To quote from his Wikipedia entry: "William Whiston (9 December 1667 – 22 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularization of the ideas of Isaac Newton." Whiston also had a few irregular religious beliefs that would cause him trouble throughout his career.

For example, in 1696, Whiston published A New Theory of the Earth which argued that the Biblical flood of Genesis was caused by Earth passing through the tail of a very wet comet. He predicted that the Earth would some day end in a conflagration of fire brought the same way.

In 1736, when a comet was spotted in the skies above London, Whiston calculated that the time had come. He declared that the world would end on October 16 of that year. This predictably caused a bit of a stir in London, including a run on the banks. The Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to deny the prediction in order to calm the public.

As we now know, the world did not end on October 16, 1736. Whiston's reputation never recovered, and he remains one of history's controversial figures, alternately ridiculed for his heresy or respected for his courage to speak out.

But what if Whiston was really right about that comet? What if Earth was only saved because something or someone, say a time traveler with a time and space machine shaped like a bubble, was able to intercept and bump the comet, deflecting it ever so slightly to avoid the Earth and prevent an apocalypse?

That person would most certainly be the Greatest Hero The World Has Never Known.

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Other than the previously discussed action figure rumor, I didn't notice any Booster Gold comic book news coming out of NYCC this past weekend, and that's okay. I suspect Booster could use a break from the nonstop series of DCU "event" stories. I know I sure could.

Perusing DC's NYCC announcements about upcoming stories for Batman and Superman that feel recycled piecemeal from stories of yesteryear, it's actually nice to be reminded that Booster Gold isn't a priority tentpole character for the company. Batman and Superman can never change, at least not for long. But because Booster Gold's lower popularity makes him less valuable to a multibillion-dollar media company, Booster can grow.

I don't mean to attack publishers here. Prior to the Bronze Age of comics, publishers knew readers aged out of reading the funny pages, so recycling stories about familiar characters using "super" powers was the best way to maximize profit. That's not so different from modern times where DC makes money by leveraging their intellectual property for mass consumer consumption, their most identifiable tentpole characters being too valuable to risk change. Stable, profitable companies are inherently risk averse.

Booster Gold came along at the perfect time. The late 70s/early 80s were a turbulent time when a combination of market instability and artists and readers who grew up on comics drove an explosion in creativity and possibilities. It was into this environment that Booster Gold was "born" as a charming but flawed hero with a silly name trying to steal his way to fame and fortune. His early unpopularity kept him largely outside the eye of the mainstream audience, providing room and time for a much deeper characterization than the constant resets required for more marketable heroes. Booster has also benefitted from his modern dual identity; his highly-visible (and fun) day job as silly social media influencer allows real character growth behind the scenes as a truly selfless time warrior. Longtime Booster Gold fans have been treated to some great long-form storytelling.

So take heart, Booster boosters. No news is sometimes great news.

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New York Comic Con (NYCC) was this past weekend, and I was forewarned by Booster booster Pigeon that I should keep my eyes out for news from Mattel. That's how I discovered that Mattel announced three distinct lines of DC Comics figures coming in 2027.

According to Toy News International, the Premier Series will be figures with basic articulation, the Legacy Collection will be slightly more articulated with more accessories, and the Ultimate Edition will have all the bells and whistles. All will all be 6.5" scale, which is slightly smaller than the 7" McFarlane DC Multiverse line of the past six years (but larger than the 6" Mattel figures that came before).

Now, given that this is a Booster Gold website, what do you think I'm going to tell you next?

Pigeon points us to DC Collectors.com, which reports that early leaks of upcoming figures on online retailer listings included one "DC Legacy Collection Justice League Unlimited Booster Gold (Item No.: 107-JRH81)."

Before you get too excited by this rumor, know that I Googled this supposedly leaked information to see what else I could find out about it, and Google Gemini flatly confirmed it. Given how often Google Gemini is correct, that can only mean this is pure hallucination and no such toy is planned or will ever exist.

Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust?

Thanks for the warning, Pigeon. The figures that Mattel showed off at NYCC look great, and it can only be a matter of time before they make a Booster Gold figure (preferably with the high collar). I'm sure we'll all be keeping eyes out for it.

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