DC will be including short primers in the various Convergence mini-series to catch newer readers up on the events that inspired these new comics. Obviously a lot happened during the JLI's decade-long run, and it's amusing to see what DC thinks readers will need help remembering, including these two panels:

Justice League America #35 (1990)

Justice League America #80 (1993)

The first panel is clearly the inspiration for the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, and the second is the single ugliest Booster Gold costume ever. Personally, I think they're both events in JLI history that I would rather forget!

You can see the whole piece at ComicBookResources.com.

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Even by comic book standards, "Booster Gold" is kind of a funny name. In the now-classic origin story in Booster Gold #9, Booster himself tells us that the name was an accident!

I always wondered if there was any real-world truth to this scene. Was Goldstar the original working title for Booster Gold? Did Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens flub the pitch to DC executives, resulting in a "Booster Gold" comic instead of the intended "Goldstar" comic? For the answer, I went straight to the source and asked Jurgens directly. In a nutshell, the answer was "no." Here's what he said:

I was really hooked on "Booster Gold" right from the start. I liked the way it rolled off the tongue and, more importantly, touched on two aspects of his character:

1) "Booster" signifies both the concept of stealing something (to boost a ring, for example) as well as the the self-promoting aspect of it.

2) "Gold" clearly pertained to his quest for star status and money.

In other words-- it fit!

There's only one Booster Gold. Accept no imitations.

Thanks to Dan Jurgens for indulging my quest to document every little thing I can about the history of the original Corporate Crusader.

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You guys visit more often than Google does, so I'm going to try to keep you happy.

Last week's poll question: What device do you most often use to visit Boosterrific.com? (60 votes)

If you couldn't tell from the "Movie Poster Variants" on shelves this month, DC has fallen in love with variant covers. (DC may be celebrating the 80s with Convergence, but their marketing strategy is clearly from the 90s.) But do all these alternate covers that have nothing to do with contents work to sell more comics?

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Available today:

If you visit your Local Comic Shop, ask for the Justice League Dark #40 "Movie Poster Variant" edition.

I don't expect Booster Gold to be in the book, but I'm satisfied to find him on the book. (It's becoming a trend at DC.)

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Mark Millar has found the secret to success: think up a killer idea, turn it into a comic mini-series, sell it to Hollywood. That formula has worked for Wanted, Kick-Ass, and Kingsman. Next up: Chrononauts, which hasn't even seen three issues yet.

More than one person has noticed a similarity between Chrononauts protagonist Danny Riley and Booster Gold. Matt Kamen asked Millar about their similarities for Wired Magazine UK.

Kamen: One of Chrononauts' leads, Riley, struck me as a Booster Gold riff -- both blond, narcissistic time travellers. Was that deliberate?

Millar: The funny thing is that Booster Gold came a little too late for me. He came in during the late 80s. I read Justice League way before then, so had no idea who he was. My DC period was from the ages of nine to about eighteen, so I kind of missed him. I dropped DC a little after Crisis on Infinite Earths. I didn't come back apart from dipping in on special projects like Kingdom Come.

So it's just an accident that the two characters are a lot alike? Is that the truth, or just what Millar has to say to stay clear of DC's legal department? Whether the similarities are intentional or not, things could get sticky for DC fans if Chononauts lights up theaters with a character sharing most of Booster's schtick. How likely is DC to make a movie including Booster Gold if it looks to the public like they're cribbing from Mark Millar?

You can read the rest of the article at Wired.co.uk.

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