It's been a week, and I'm still pissed off about how bad Justice League International Annual #1 was.

Last week's poll question: Did you enjoy how Justice League International Annual wrapped up the series? (43 votes)

But enough about the present. Let's return to the topic of three weeks ago: classic artists. How you feel about the classic writer/artists teams? Each of the following pairs created an iconic hero with a discernible style.

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First of all, today's feature isn't exactly a new release; it was published 3 weeks ago. But given that Booster Gold doesn't seem to exist in the DCnU right now, we'll have to take what we can get. Lucky for us, what we can get is a delightful easy reader for second graders that is at least as entertaining as anything DC Comics has published in the DCnU to date.

The Man of Gold by Paul Weissburg and accomplished Batman: Gotham Adventures artist Tim Levins is not a comic, but a 5-inch by 7-inch book with illustrations. There's a lot to like in the book's simple, direct prose narrative of how Booster Gold's drive for fame and glory soon threatens both Superman and the safety of the Metropolis itself. While Booster's origin herein may not be exactly what Dan Jurgens wrote, this Booster's personality isn't too far afield from what we saw in his earliest comic book appearances. This Booster is a jerk with a heart of gold.

Booster's primary antagonist in this adventure is the Jack Kirby-created Stompa, a member of Granny Goodness' Female Furies of Apokolips. Despite both characters having decades-long careers in comic books, this is the first encounter between the pair. Their refreshing face-off results in a battle which sees Booster's force field creatively used as an offensive weapon.

Because this book was designed to encourage children to read via the Advanced Reader system in the classroom, it ends with Discussion Questions. Question 3 encourages readers to explain which of the book's 10 illustrations is their favorite. Tim Levin's JLU-inspired art deserves the attention. Detail-oriented readers may spot that Booster wears the collar-less version of his classic power suit in the published book, but Tim Levins' original art online at his Deviant Art page has the more familiar collared powersuit that Booster has worn in all of Justice League Unlimited appearances. The book doesn't have any Discussion Questions encouraging thoughts about the motivation for this change.

This book is just one in a series of similar books published under the DC Super Heroes license by Capstone Publications (who also re-publish DC Comics with "durable hardcover" bindings for grade school libraries). While your Local Comic Shop may not carry "real" books, you can find a copy of this book at Amazon.com. I'd like to see DC publish 81 pages of story for $5.95! Thanks to Eyz for bringing this book to my attention.

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The final of 5 parts continuing my interview with Booster Gold cosplayer Nicole (Demyrie).

BOOSTERRIFIC: What statement do you think you are making about sexual politics by dressing as a gender-bent version of a male fictional character?

NICOLE: Haha! Wow, you opened a door. I have to say, this constant question is perfectly encapsulated by one guy at SDCC who saw us, did a double-take, crowed "AWESOME!", and then "... why?". Why, indeed, dress in a male superhero suit/persona with full intention of portraying the character... just, female?

First, it comes down to possible cosplay options. I don't like many female characters, therefore I don't spend the effort to cosplay Supergirl and Batgirl and so on. Also, if I'm going to strut around in public, I'd like to be dressed in a little more than a bikini and thigh-highs, so that eliminates most other super-females!

But it becomes a little bit more than simple process of elimination when you consider that I've been gender-bending since day one, and don't see it ending anytime soon. It's obvious that male heroes get the lions-share of characterization and compelling story-lines, so I sync with them completely and want to portray them in a way that tricks fans into believing they could exist for just a little while. If I were a dude, I would just do it, but as a girl I have a few problems. This conundrum would be a great deal easier in, say, Japan, where effeminate heroes make cross-playing (dressing up as a fictional character of the opposite gender; essentially "drag") both easy and widely-accepted, but the American ideal of hyper-masculinity really doesn't allow for a smooth or believable transition from female to male if we're talking comics.

I mean, can you imagine how much that muscle-suit would cost? And I like my chin, but Booster's was chiseled out of granite.

Therefore this interesting gender-queer middle-space is created by the virtue of alternate universes (which comics are so fond of), where a woman can essentially appropriate the history, authority, presence and strength of a male character, and the result is very, very excited fans. More often than not, the cosplayers of genderbent heroes appear far more approachable than cut-and-dry female heroes (Rogue, Wonder Woman, Black Canary) which I believe stems from the fact that it's the costume equivalent of a girl walking up to a shy guy and suggesting a night of beer and football. We aren't hyper-sexualized — we're more nerds than girls, because I'm NOT talking about the "prostitute She-Robin" Halloween costumes on Ebay — and we clearly know comics well enough to successfully translate one of YOUR favorite characters to Earth #11, preserving back-story, motivations, super-powers and that smug, smug smile.

So, you wanna talk about Chocos?

That said, I think that gendered polarization of cosplay in comics is a terrible thing. Especially because I respect the hell out of women who cosplay who they want, I hate that those who cosplay female heroes are reliably treated as sex-objects because objectification is built into the super-heroine design. Either that, or that it's assumed these women know nothing of comics and just want the male attention that only a leotard with a boob-window can afford. I don't want that kind of attention and I felt nauseated when I received it as Silk Spectre II: men touched me differently, talked to me differently and I swore never again. Guy nerds have long-since become suspicious that their sex-drives are being taken advantage of at places like Comic Con (the Booth Babe trend has absolutely no pretense on this) and frequently see cosplaying women as disembodied boobs when that fails, so gender-bending is a way of cutting through the ritual sexualization of women, escaping the Nerd Dismissal, and actually getting to talk with some damn fans about some damn comics.

Though gender-bending is my natural inclination, I honestly wish I didn't have to prove my nerd-dom like this. I dearly wish that more female characters were both respectably clothed and more developed akin to male characters. If you need any proof of the difference, just look at how many men genderbend to presumably just-as-awesome female characters (although Beetle and I are honorary members of the Genderbent Justice League and that saw some of the first serious MtF bends) and google "Women in Refrigerators". I may be ridiculously gender-queer and keep doing my weird thing regardless, but that imbalance just ain't right, which is why it found its way into my Honors thesis. And that was 50 pages!

I owe a huge thank you to Nicole for her participation in our Q&A. Follow these links to parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this interview.

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The fourth of 5 parts continuing my interview with Booster Gold cosplayer Nicole (Demyrie).

BOOSTERRIFIC: How do your family/friends react to you as Booster [or cosplaying in general]?

NICOLE: My family looks on in confusion and awe at what I do, haha! They don't always understand my choice in characters, but my favorite moment was when my elder brother looked at some professional-level photos of my Blue and Gold cosplay and nearly whispered, "Wow, Nicko. You're a real superhero!" It was precious and made me feel like a million bucks (which might be underselling it for Mr. Gold, but I'll take it!). I can count on fellow fans to fudge lines and recognize characters and take joy in cosplay, but to have a complete non-comic-fan be sucked in by the image that I had presented was way, way cool.

BOOSTERRIFIC: Can you share any favorite memories?

NICOLE: I've met so many awesome people as Booster! Each Comic Con I've literally been found by wonderful creators who are either involved in the production of the current canon (Andrew Kreisberg and Dan Jurgens this year, wow!) or have a long history with the character, personal or professional. They are all as sweet as anything and seem to really dig my interpretation, all chuckling (politely, I would think) when I offer to sign THEIR books. I've actually gotten pictures with them! I feel incredibly lucky. As for how they find me, I'll never know, but I'd like to think that it's because I'm brightly colored and not because I'm really, really loud. Right?

Really, Booster is just a character that makes for memorable interactions because his JLI self is so boisterous and ridiculous and endlessly self-entitled, and having a Beetle to play off of just makes it better. In reality, I'm not nearly as egotistic as Booster, but I do become very, very humble after an afternoon of playing him! It's pretty exhausting, but every moment is memorable when we're in the groove. I make sure to take time and talk with people, joking it up until I get a laugh. That's the performance part; that's what I make the suit for.

Sometimes just making fans' days is my MO when I struggle into the suit in the morning, which seems a little altruistic for our favorite cash-monger, but it's my meta-take on the character and I love every second of it!

Thank you, Nicole. Follow these links to parts 1, 2, and 3 of this interview. Since there will be no post on Monday for Labor Day, come back on Tuesday for the conclusion to this interview.

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I can't imagine myself cosplaying. I'm far too short and fat to come within 10 feet of spandex. But I'm glad to think that someone out there is making the effort to bring our heroes to life.

Last week's poll question: What is your opinion of cosplaying? (41 votes)

With the publication of Justice League International Annual this week, the JLI is no more. At least for the time being. I thought the issue was terrible, but I've been informed that some people actually liked it. I'm going to put it to a straight up or down vote this week: how did the wrap-up issue sit with you?

(If you want to put more than just two cents in, I invite you to rate and comment on the issue yourself here.)

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