Few comics publishers have much new to offer today, the first New Comic Day after Christmas and the final New Comic Day of the year. DC in particular is offering only reprints. That wasn't always the case.

DC's Elseworlds weird western tale Justice Riders was released 22 years ago today. I reread it yesterday, and I have to say that it stands up rather well.

As with most westerns, the premise is rather simple: Sheriff Diana Prince gathers a posse of men with unusual talents to hunt down the man who destroyed her town, a robber baron by the name of Maxwell Lord. Booster Gold earns his way onto the team thanks to his unusually potent firepower created by a familiar, gifted inventor.

Justice Riders (1996) story by Chuck Dixon; art by J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray, Lee Loughridge; letters by Bill Oakley

Everyone who has ever seen a John Wayne western can probably imagine how this plays out. The fun isn't so much the destination but how the story gets there and, for comics geeks, how it ties to post-Zero Hour DCU continuity. That and the amazing art by J.H. Williams III.

If you can't find anything else to buy at your Local Comic Shop today, consider treating yourself to Justice Riders for $1.99 at Comixology.com.

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One of the responses to my list of my Booster Gold's rogues gallery posts last week came from Boosterfett:

One big glaring omission-- The 100! They were instrumental in fleshing out our hero's early motivations and if they were updated, could be a major contender for that evil organization that could be the Hydra to Michael's Captain America!

Without a doubt, the 1000 was integral to the development of Booster Gold. They were the first criminal organization he fought as a 20th-century hero. It was their planned assassination of Ronald Reagan that introduced Booster Gold to the public. Nearly half of Booster's original run was devoted to the 1000's attempts to destroy our hero.

But no, I didn't include them in my rogues gallery. I didn't include them specifically because Booster isn't the biggest Thorn in their side.

from "Death House Honeymoon," Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #105 (1970)

The 1000 debuted as the 100, "The Centipede of Crime," in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #105. Star Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent described them as "hoods [who] have a finger in every racket" in Metropolis. In other words, they were too big for even Superman to snuff out.

When Metropolis police detective Phil Forrest was murdered by a 100 assassin, the trauma was too much for his daughter, Rose. Her psyche was split into two personalities. After that, each night Rose became Thorn, a hardened vigilante with only one enemy: The 100.

from "Nightmare Alley", Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #130 (1973)

Thorn's crusade continued through the next three years of Lois Lane comics until the trail of the 100 grew cold in issue #130 (1973). As Thorn moved further into the background of the DCU, Thorn's father remained unavenged. The 100, however, would have a second act.

from "Black Lightning", Black Lightning #1 (1977)

Enter Black Lightning. Four years after Thorn lost their trail, Jefferson Pierce would run afoul of 100 associate Tobias Whale in Black Lightning #1 (1977). Black Lightning locked horns with the Whale for 8 of his 11 issues, and their feud continued in various appearances across the DCU even after the infamous DC Implosion of 1979. The 100 didn't care for the attention that the Whale brought them, and they eventually parted ways with their former associate, paving the way for their rebirth.

from "Death Ransom", World's Finest Comics #257 (1979)

When the 100 reemerged as the high-tech 1000 in Booster Gold Volume 1, #1 in 1985, their oldest foe reappeared with them. Booster Gold was the star of the series, but both Rose Forrest and Thorn joined his early supporting cast. (In this way, even Booster's first enemy "borrowed" heavily from pre-Crisis on Infinite Earth DC continuity.) Together and apart, they opposed the Director's nefarious plans for world domination through almost a full year's worth of comics.

from "Crash", Booster Gold #4 (1986)

Like Tobias Whale before him, the 1000's leader, the Director of Death, would become obsessed with one hero. Unlike Tobias, Director's obsession was largely one-sided. (Booster Gold was largely indifferent to the Director's goals and was content to ignore him until he turned to kidnapping his staff. ) The Director eventually died in the pursuit of his obsession. The 1000 died with him, and Booster Gold hasn't given them a second thought since.

Not so, Thorn.

The 100 survived the Director's death, and they remain Thorn's driving motivation. She has been seen continuing her crusade against them in appearances in the Showcase anthology of the middle 1990s and Birds of Prey issues in the 2000s.

from "Hero Hunters Part 4: She Rides the Eye of a Hurricane", Birds of Prey #79 (2005)

Yes, the 1000 could be updated to bedevil Booster Gold once more, but why should they when they're still locked in a life-and-death struggle with another hero even more deserving of their hatred. For nearly a half century, the 100(0) has been Thorn's Lex Luthor, and she has been their Superman. For that reason, any incarnation of the 100 belongs in her rogues gallery, not Booster Gold's.

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DC Comics' March 2019 solicitations for Heroes in Crisis #7, released yesterday, may include a bit of a spoiler, so read at your own risk.

HEROES IN CRISIS #7
written by TOM KING
art and cover by CLAY MANN
variant cover by RYAN SOOK
The Trinity may have uncovered the true killer responsible for the deaths at Sanctuary, but the artificial intelligence that ran the institution is the one thing standing between them and the culprit. Now Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman must face off with their own creation—and face the consequences for what they created. Also, as the truth is uncovered, Booster and Harley go from being enemies to allies. Click here to reveal potential spoilers
ON SALE March 27 · $3.99

It seems to me that we've been getting a lot of spoiler-y details about this series recently. We got our first glimpse at the controversial cover for this issue last week, and even writer Tom King objected to the way it appears to identify the killer (and sexualize a corpse). Now comes this solicitation, which barely avoids explicitly clearing someone of suspicion of the murders.

Heroes in Crisis is a nine issue series, and we're only up to issue seven. I'm starting to think that the only way I'll get to the end without having DC spoil it early is to bury my head in some sand.

The solicitations also include two Injustice 2 collections, Volume 4 and 5, both of which reprint issues featuring appearances by Booster Gold, plus a new reprint of the Zero Hour miniseries.

You can read the solicitations for all DC books shipping in March — if you dare! — at Newsarama.com.

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Booster Gold was still the new kid on the block when he made a guest appearance in the inaugural issue of the Time Masters limited series 29 years ago today.

Booster Gold, Volume 1, #13 had reintroduced Rip Hunter to the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe, and Time Masters fleshed out Hunter's obsession with time (hint: it started with his family).

The familial relationship between Booster Gold and Rip Hunter wouldn't be established for another 18 years (and several continuity reboots), so anything in this issue that connects the two as father/son is purely coincidental. Still, given that this story is obsessed with conspiracy theories, it's fun to re-read with an eye for what the future actually holds.

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Friday, I gave you my personal picks to Booster Gold's public Rogues Gallery. But who should Booster be fighting in his "secret" identity?

Presented in alphabetical order, these are my top six suggestions to comprise the Rogues Gallery of Booster Gold, Time Master.

Black Beetle, Chronos (Walker Gabriel), Lady Chronos, Mr. Mind, Monarch, Weapons Master

Black Beetle. Whoever he is, Black Beetle has consistently been a thorn in Booster Gold's side since our hero's earliest adventures as Rip Hunter's time-traveling associate. Few villains have caused Booster such emotional distress or been such a threat to the time-space continuum. For those reasons alone, Black Beetle should be considered Booster's most dangerous foe.

Chronos II. A time-traveling thief with strong opposition to the Linear Men and his own city outside of time, Walker Gabriel makes a great candidate for long-running anti-hero who could work at odds to Booster Gold's directives to maintain an ideal history of the DCU. Who knows, given enough time, they could even learn to admit a grudging respect for one another's work.

Lady Chronos. Booster Gold needs a femme fatale working at cross paths to test both his abilities and his resolve. In her previous encounters with Booster Gold, Lady Chronos teased our hero with a glimpse of more relationship to come. Let the sparks fly! (Adding Gabriel to this dynamic could be even better: multiple Chronoses and Booster Gold all working to "fix" the same problem in their own way with their own motivations and ethics and romantic entanglements. Yeah, I'd read that.)

Mr. Mind. No villain has appeared in more issues with Booster Gold than the Venusian worm who has so bedeviled Captain Marvel. That association should continue, as it seems highly improbable that the devious Mind would ever forgive Booster for thwarting his universe-dominating plans — in multiple timelines!

Monarch. The alternate-universe Nathaniel Adam, normally associated with Captain Atom, may be the most unlikely name on my list, but keep in mind that his history is also interwoven with Booster Gold — who once foiled Monarch's plans only through an accident of his genetic history — and Waverider and the Linear Men. (And Booster's long association with Atom should probably allow him some crossover in foes. After all, the uber-militaristic Captain Atom is just as all-American as uber-capitalistic Booster Gold.) In his many iterations throughout the multiverse, Monarch has been incredibly powerful and hell-bent on universal domination, and no Time Master should ignore him. (Honestly, I'd put Monarch on this list if for no other reason than to see if Booster could "correct" the twist ending of Armageddon 2001.)

Weapons Master. He's not generally recognized as being in the same league as Mr. Mind or Monarch, but any recurring time-traveling foe of the Justice League should cause concern for anyone. More importantly, Weapons Master travels through time and steals history's greatest weapons to use against his foes, which means that he and Booster Gold think a lot alike. It would be fun to see the two of them matching wits across spacetime.

Those are my top picks. Do you agree? Who did I leave out?

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