The Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told" was first broadcast nearly a decade ago, but the AV Club is just now getting around to reviewing it. I'm doing much better: I waited only a week before reviewing the review.

Regular AV Club contributor Oliver Sava opens his review by comparing the episode to the Tom Stoppard play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Sava doesn't follow through on this reference, instead turning his attention to other, stronger influences on the episode. However, once mentioned, this comparison becomes worthy of at least a brief exploration.

If you've never seen Rosencrantz — it's a favorite of mine, and I recommend it without reservation — the play is a meta-textural, existential tragicomedy. The misadventures of its protagonists, minor supporting characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, are informed by the audience's knowledge of their fate in their original source material. By comparing what the audience knows about the protagonists to what they think they know, Stoppard is able to ask a variety of questions about the meaning (or lack thereof) of life. Honestly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is the highest form of fan fiction.

In a similar way, "The Greatest Story Never Told" is a more enriching episode if the audience is familiar with the character of of Booster Gold. Writer Andrew Kreisberg uses Booster, a character generally perceived as infuriatingly selfish, to define heroism within the DC Universe. What does it mean to be a hero when a common house fire is insignificant compared to a reality-warping magical disaster? Is heroism objective or subjective?

Sava's AV Club review doesn't explicitly call "The Greatest Story Never Told" recommended watching, but any time a televised cartoon for children can introduce deeper subjects for its young audience's consideration, it deserves a look. If it can do so with Booster Gold, it becomes must-watch television.

You can find the full review at AVClub.com.

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Twice before (August and December), The Blot shared his collection of Booster Gold commissions with us. Well, he's been at it again:

From left to right, those commissions are by Thom Zahler, George Perez, and Art Thibert. Click on any of the images above to see The Blot's larger pics, or you can see the whole sketchbook in much larger detail at The Blot Says' Flickr page. While you're out and about, also consider dropping by The Blot's blog, TheBlotSays.com.

Thanks for sharing (again!), Blot!

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We know that Booster was gambling as recently as 52. But surely our hero has turned over a new leaf in the New 52, right?

Last week's poll question: Does Booster Gold still gamble on football? (46 votes)

After Comic-Con, Dan DiDio said he was working on a new Booster Gold comic. Maybe we could help him out by telling him what we want to read.

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All Booster Gold fans should take the time to wish Jimmy Palmiotti a happy birthday!

Palmiotti and his writing partner, Justin Gray, are the only writers at DC who have given Booster Gold anything to do in the DCnU in 2013. Maybe if we're really nice to him on his birthday, he will arrange for Booster to return to All-Star Western where we can all find out whether Booster and Jonah Hex can work out their differences. (If we're really, really nice, maybe we can get Skeets back in the Old West, too!)

So thank you, Mr. Palmiotti. May you have many more.

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Back in May, SketchLottery.com showcased several sketches of Booster Gold. The artist's interpretation of Booster ran from the profound to the absurd, but all of them were inspired. My favorite is this watercolor by Brooklyn artist Marilyn Patrizio.

You can find more of Patrizio's excellent work on Blogspot. And, of course, check out the other Booster sketches at SketchLottery.com.

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