Here at Boosterrific, we are developing quite a relationship with the Kevin Maguire/Terry Austin "Class of 87" Justice League International poster.

You may recall that back in August I solicited help getting a close-up of Batman's shoulder. I am finally at liberty to tell you why: the original art was in need of some repair, and the new owner, Malvin, needed a photo reference. Now the work is back from the restorer, and it looks great.

In addition to this piece, Malvin has a very impressive catalog of art online at ComicArtFans.com that you may enjoy (including a much larger resolution image of these inks). We both offer thanks to everyone who helped, especially Shawn Baston.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicartfans.com justice league justice league international kevin maguire malvin poster terry austin

Today's costume may be over a year old, but that doesn't make it any less deserving of our attention and admiration.

This is the costume that thomdave wore to Comic-Con International in 2011. Thomdave has posted several more pics of this awesome Smallville-inspired costume in the League of Heroes Yuku.com Forum. Better still, he gives us a breakdown of how it was made!

Jacket and Pants:
Custom tailored by Abby Polakow using navy blue and gold leather

Bracers:
Constructed from gold leather and Wonderflex by Abby Polakow

Gloves:
Generic leather gloves with a custom navy blue blend of Neopaque by Jacquard paint

Legion Flight Ring:
DC Direct

Wrist Blasters:
Constructed from Wonderflex and painted with Rust-Oleum metallic gold

Shoes:
Tucker synthetic leather shoes with custom Neopaque navy blue and true gold Lumiere by Jacquard paint

Glasses:
3M Tekk XF4 safety eyewear with the frame painted Rust-Oleum metallic gold

Now that we have a blueprint, Booster-philes, I expect to see a legion of Boosters at future conventions. (Thanks to Chris for correcting my oversight of this amazing costume.)

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: abby polakow chris conventions cosplay costumes theleagueofheroes.yuku.com thomdave

Fanzing.com was an online fan site devoted to DC Comics between 1997 and 2003. Though Fanzing may not be publishing new content any longer, their archive is still online, and it includes a rare interview with Roy G. Bivolo, better known as the super villain Rainbow Raider. In this excerpt from the interview, Bivolo discusses his encounter with Booster Gold (as seen in Booster Gold, Volume 1, #19-20).

David R. Black: So the bitterness over Morris stealing your work also contributed to the genesis of your criminal career.

Roy G. Bivolo: Yeah. I finally tracked Morris down a few years later at his art gallery's opening in Metropolis. I busted up the place, ruined the opening, and took my artwork back. Booster Gold was there, and I beat the snot out of him and his robotic pal.

DB: Booster eventually helped you once he realized the truth.

RB: Yeah. He hooked me up with a good lawyer. We had the pigments in my work and Morris' work tested for age, and surprise, surprise, mine were older. The courts ordered Morris to pay me full restitution.

Not too many guys would've helped out an ex-con, but Booster did. He's a class act.

You can find the original interview, in which Bivolo discusses working with Geoff Johns to fake his own death in Flash, volume 2, #183 at the Fanzing archives.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: david black fanzing.com rainbow raider

If you ever manage to save the Universe, I suspect you'd include it on your resume.

Last week's poll question: Which no-longer-in-continuity Booster Gold adventure would you most want to see restored to DCnU continuity? (50 votes)

Today's poll was inspired by the first U.S. Presidential debate of the season held last night. If you didn't see it don't worry; you didn't miss any Booster Gold appearances. But seriously, that leads us to today's important poll question.

Comments (5) | Add a Comment | Tags: history politics polls

Eleven years ago today, DC released JLA: Incarnations, an anthology mini-series focused on telling the "untold" stories set a various points in the prior history of the Justice League. Most of the fun and frustration of this series was in seeing how writer John Ostrander would mangle characterization and history in order to squeeze his new stories into pre-existing continuity. Issue #6, published 11 years ago today, was no exception.

This issue contains two stories set about 7 years apart, and both stories generously feature Booster Gold. Booster and Blue Beetle are the protagonists in the issue's lead story, "Buddies." The pair invent the villainous identities of Bloodspot and Deathmetal in order to sneak into the rogue nation of Bialya. As entertaining as the story is, at times almost everything seems to be an anachronism. Errors stretch from DC Universe chronological impossibilities (Mister Miracle's inclusion in events would have been impossible in the time period) to real-world industry conventions (the ultra-violent "grim and gritty" comics that would feature characters with ridiculous names "Bloodspot" and "Deathmetal" wouldn't be published for several years after the era in which this story was set). Even the relationship between the protagonists is blatantly misrepresented (Booster Gold should be playing straight to Blue Beetle's zany ideas, not the other way around).

The other story, "Authority," doesn't do much better. "Authority" details the untold and much-needed story of the dissolution of Extreme Justice, mostly from the point of view of team leader Captain Atom. Booster naturally plays a part in this story as well, although artist Eric Battle doesn't seem to realize that Booster wore more than one costume between the founding of the Justice League International and the conclusion of the Extreme Justice debacle. Again, Ostrander doesn't let history get in his way, as he, like Geoff Johns in the more recent retcon seen in Justice League International Annual, ignores that the United Nations washed its hands of the JLI long before the end of the team. As we all know, DC's writers never let facts get in the way of telling their stories.

That's not to say these stories aren't enjoyable, because they are. Objectively, they are entertaining reads that add to our knowledge of the period they represent. Subjectively, however, they don't quite live up (or in Extreme Justice's case, down) to the era that inspired them. Without hesitation, I recommend reading the issue, but like any story of historical fiction, I'll leave leave it up to the reader to decide how much truth they contain.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle history justice league justice league international mister miracle reviews