The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Mackenzie Garrison.

Even people who have been following the adventures of Booster Gold for years are unlikely to remember Mackenzie "Mac" Garrison, the former Vice President of Booster Gold International, first seen in Booster Gold #21 (1987).

After returning home from his second trip through time, Booster Gold boldly decided to dramatically expand his business empire. Though the former staff of Goldstar, Inc. were Booster's friends, they didn't have the experience or expertise to run the globe-spanning enterprise Booster had in mind. Therefore, in his role as President of B.G.I., Booster hired a no-nonsense, professional business woman to oversee operations.

However, no sooner was Garrison on board than a series of tragedies befell the new organization. First Booster's sister Michelle was killed by aliens from Dimension X (in Booster Gold #22). Then the company's reputation was tarnished when its president (actually an android duplicate) kidnapped and tortured Julianna Berkowitz, the the daughter of the mayor of Metropolis, in a failed attempt to kill Superman (Action Comics #594). And then someone embezzled all of the funds from B.G.I.'s corporate coffers (in Booster Gold #24)

Unfortunately for her, Garrison would take much of the undeserved blame for these disasters.

Garrison was last seen when Booster was forced to side with the Manhunters during the Millennium crisis (also in Booster Gold #24). Given that B.G.I. was insolvent and its president was widely considered to be a villain, she probably chose to move to greener pastures. Perhaps she had better luck in her next position and is still running a business elsewhere in the DC Universe.

Interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Get to know Trixie Collins, Daniel Carter, Jack Soo, Rani, Dirk Davis, and Skeets.

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In case you missed Booster's cameo appearance in Doomsday Clock #9 the first time around, you're getting a second chance with the second printing in stores today.

Or you could just look at these panels.

According to Chomicchron.com, the first printing of that issue — the ninth in the mini-series — sold 120,079 copies, which is more than any but the first issue of Heroes in Crisis. That means more people have seen Booster blasted by Doctor Manhattan than Booster accused of killing the Flash. I'd say that's a good thing.

Meanwhile, if you are in your Local Comic Shop today, let me recommend everything in DC's Wonder Comics line, especially Mark Russell's Wonder Twins. I wish Bendis paced his stories to let more happen in an individual issue, but Young Justice and Naomi are also pretty good reads. Skeets won't have a problem if you buy any of those issues.

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The old adage says never judge a book by its cover, but that's exactly what comic books expect you to do. If you like what you see on the cover, take a look inside!

Some covers do their jobs better than others. Some are truly outstanding in their own right. Among those is Kevin Maguire's composition for Justice League #4 (1987)

Pencils by Kevin Maguire, Inks by Al Gordon

Maguire's mastery of body language and facial expressions was as important to the success of the "International" era of the Justice League as Keith Giffen's action-packed plots and J.M. DeMatteis' comedic dialogue. This cover doesn't need extra text to grab the reader's attention!

Look at Booster up there: the surprised underdog caught by a larger, unknown villain strong enough to defeat Green Lanterns, Earth's Mightiest Mortal, and (gulp!) Batman. It's a real David-and-Goliath scenario that will play out on the pages inside. Who wouldn't want to read that?

In addition to the promise of action, Maguire also echos the comedic tone of the writing inside with the "cheek"-y placement of that title logo. (Comics Code Authority approved!) Perhaps Booster is shocked that the solid-blue villain who defeated Martian Manhunter isn't wearing any pants. Watchmen was released concurrently with this title, so could that be Doctor Manhattan "moon"-lighting in the DC Universe? My curiosity is piqued! I guess I'll have to pick it up and look inside.

It happens that Justice League #4 doesn't just have one of my favorite covers. It is also my personal favorite Booster Gold story. It introduced Booster Gold to a whole new audience and did so in a way that demonstrated Booster's humanity and the value his powers could bring to the team. All that is summed-up on the cover. Brilliant!

What are some of your favorite covers?

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With the latest Superman event, "Leviathan," now unfolding in your Local Comic Shop, it's interesting to look back at another Superman event story with a curious connection to real history.

The JLA: Our Worlds At War one-shot, released 18 years ago today, was a middle chapter in the 2001 Superman "Out Worlds At War" crossover event. Booster Gold plays only a very brief role in the event as he, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, and Rocket Red fight to defend Russia from an alien invasion. This is Booster's only appearance in the entire comic:

art by Garney, Morales, Horie, Horie, and Starkings

(Don't worry, Booster. Guy get's better.)

It isn't the inclusion of the Justice League International that makes this issue a historic curiosity.

As mentioned, the issue's story details a surprise attack by a malignant force that opposes everything Superman stands for. To frame the magnitude and severity of this invasion, writer Jeph Loeb uses the words of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to draw a direct, overt connection to a real tragedy in American history, specifically the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier.

The irony here is that although this issue, with its focus on surprise attacks against America, was released on July 5, it has a cover date of September 2001.

And now you know the rest of the story.

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The greatest movie ever made, Back to the Future, was released on this day in 1985, which makes this as good a time as any for me to run this BttF-inspired fan art I drew in 2011 to mark the end of Booster Gold Volume 2.

It was almost 20 years between Booster Gold volumes 1 and 2. It's only been 7 since the second volume was canceled for the New 52 relaunch, but it feels like so much longer. The future can't get here soon enough! (Maybe we need to get our hero a Delorean.)

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