For the past three years, I've been keeping record of raw page requests from the Boosterrific.com server. (You'll note a break in the graph around Oct 2012; that was when the forum was being remotely spammed by bots. I have therefore eliminated that data.)

The high water mark was November 2011. The coming of the New 52 sure did generate a lot of buzz, didn't it?

This second graph is what Google says the Boosterrific.com page hits are. Google only tracks hits that activate the embedded Javascript code, so it completely ignores hits from bots and spiders, some mobile devices, and any pages which do have not the Google Analytics code embedded (which includes some of the deeper pages in the site, including the house ads and some forum pages). The numbers from Google are, understandably, considerably lower.

What a big difference automated spiders make! Note that so far as Google is concerned, the apex was in Spring 2011, when the coming of the New 52 was announced. So as the humans departed, robots took over? That sounds about right.

Many thanks to everyone who has visited the site in the past 3 years, especially those of you with eyeballs and fingers.

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If you had the ability to travel through time, you'd have to use it. With great power comes great Birthday parties.

Last week's poll question: If you were Booster Gold, how would you celebrate your -430th birthday on December 29, 2012? (33 votes)

Putting 2012 in our rear view mirrors, let's look forward to the great things we plan to experience with Booster Gold in 2013!

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Remember Justice League International Volume 3? It seems like forever since it was cancelled and then resurrected in that wretched annual just so that Dan Didio could dance on its ashes. DC has finally gotten around to collecting the last of it into a trade.

Justice League International Volume 2: Breakdown is to be released today. (How long has it been since I've run a "New Releases" item?) The trade collects Justice League International Vol. 3, #7-12, The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Men #9, and Justice League International Annual #1.

Although the volume will sell for a very reasonable $16.99, I don't think you'll find many who will recommend this volume. I suspect that reading Dan Jurgens' glacially-paced story crawl to its inevitable heat-death conclusion only to find that story largely ignored and contradicted in the included Annual will probably be even more dissatisfying than reading the episodic issues with a forced, monthly cooling-off period between each issue.

What I'm trying to say, ladies and gentlemen, is that I have read Extreme Justice. Extreme Justice was a friend of mine. And the stories in this trade are no Extreme Justice.

Read at your own risk.

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The following poster was published as part of a contest in Wizard's JLA Special in 1998. You'll note Booster's original costume is in the exact center of the poster. That costume was lucky number 13 of the 45 items needing identification in the Wizard contest.

Time for a little audience participation. Who can name the other 44 items in the picture?

Click on the image above for a larger image of the poster. And click here for a visual key of which items need to be identified. You can leave your answers in the comments below or discuss the items in the Boosterrific Forum. (Naturally, a Justice League challenge should promote teamwork!)

When Wizard published this poster in 1998, they offered some original Howard Porter art to the person who could come up with the most answers. I don't have any original Howard Porter art lying around, but anyone can name all 45 pieces, I'll give that know-it-all an original sketch of Booster Gold by me!

There will be no post tomorrow for New Year's Day, so you have plenty of time to work on this. Good luck.

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Tomorrow is the birthday of the Carter twins, Michael and Michelle. Boosterrific.com is devoted to the adventures of Michael Jon Carter, at least the portion since he adopted the identity of Booster Gold in 1985. As a result, we know a great deal about his history and personality. However, his twin sister still remains something of a mystery.

The siblings were born on December 29, 2442. Although the pair are twins, Booster is considered the older sibling. We know little of the pair's upbringing, save that Booster found his way through life by way of his incredible athletic ability. Michelle was left in her brother's shadow, caring for their mother. By their own admission, the siblings were not close. This could in part be due to the fact that Michelle is every bit as headstrong as everyone else in her family. If nothing else, the Carters are all fiercely independent spirits.

When Booster's life fell apart in the 25th century and he retreated to the past, Michelle was left behind, surviving as a highly-lauded flying school bus driver. Whatever sense of disappointment or abandonment Michelle might have harbored against her brother, she did not hesitate to risk her own life to save his when Booster returned to the future and was facing a death sentence. Heroics also run in the family. When Booster again fled to the past, he this time took Michelle with him.

Michelle was excited to live in the 20th century, but had great difficulty adapting to the world around her. Her desire to understand her brother's motivations for being a hero led her to steal the Booster Gold International Goldstar costume. Unfortunately, wearing the costume caused her to be confused for a hero herself, and ultimately resulted in her apparent death. Fortunately for Michelle, her nephew is Rip Hunter, Time Master. Rip saved Michelle from the moment of her demise and transported her into the 21st century. Michelle at long last had access to travel anywhere and any time, allowing her to see the world, past, present, and future.

To date, Michelle has appeared in 33 different comics. All but 5 of those issues has been written by Dan Jurgens. Despite this consistency, Michelle has never been given the opportunity to express much of her individual character. We know that she often frowns on the Time Masters' methods but has an affinity for time tourism. She considers Skeets to be a soulless, high-tech appliance. She volunteered to step in and aid her brother in raising Rani. And like her brother, she has no idea that Rip Hunter is his son.

Unfortunately, we still may never get the opportunity to learn any more about her. Like Skeets and Rip, she has yet to seen in the DCnU. Like Rani, she has yet to even be mentioned. Does Michelle even exist in the post-Flashpoint DCnU? I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing for the return of Michelle Carter on her birthday.

Happy Birthday, Michelle! Here's to many more.

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