Last week's featured book, Booster Gold #23, was just one of three comics with significant Booster Gold content released on September 15, 1987.

The second is Millennium #1, the first entry in a months-long event that would span the entire DC Universe. If you are familiar with Millennium, you are probably aware that it is... not especially beloved, largely because of the editorial mandate that each series being published had to tie-in, often in the most ham-fisted ways possible.

Especially in relation to Booster Gold.

But that's not the topic at hand. Even misguided comics can have fun pages. A highlight of events like these is always seeing all the heroes milling around as though they were regular partygoers at a costume party, like this crowd scene from page 14.

It's actually kind of difficult to make these overcrowded group shots work as anything other than a class photo, but here artist Joe Staton and letterer Bob Lappan manage to give the scene some life as the dialog trickles back and forth down the page. Each snippet of conversation gives the impression that we're eavesdropping on natural dialog just as the camera comes to focus on the talker (or thinker, as the case may be).

Most importantly, Booster boosters are guaranteed to enjoy a callback to the running joke of people calling our hero "Buster." It's a classic!

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My power is out. We're on hour 5 and counting. Again. (It went out for a long stretch back in late March, but you probably didn't know that since I made an effort not to let it interrupt April Fool's Day.)

Anyway, this isn't supposed to be a tirade about the disappointing state of my local powergrid. The point here is that I didn't have anything pre-loaded in the blogging pipeline, so this is all the blog content you're going to get today.

Enjoy the hiatus. Consider this a good opportunity to get off the Internet. Go smell some roses or something.

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Don't let that headline mislead you; I'm not expecting to see Booster Gold in this week's The Flash #799. But as the issue preview now available at AIPTComics.com demonstrates, we will definitely be seeing Gold Beetle:

As I said a few weeks ago, I'm expecting we'll see Gold Beetle again on June 6 in The Flash's "extra-sized" final issue #800. (Don't worry, DC is restarting Flash with a whole new number one in September... because, um, the number one is cooler.)

What I was NOT expecting, and what I learned from reading the Flash #800 preview also already online at AIPTComics.com, is that the issue will feature an appearance by Booster Gold's long-lost second foe, Mindancer!

I can't wait to find out what she's been up to for the last 37 years!

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Booster Gold #23 is the last adventure of Booster's first volume untainted by editorially-mandated connections to the mega-crossover Millennium event. In hindsight, that makes this comedic exchange between Superman and Booster Gold from page 19 even more poignant.

Pay particular attention to how the content of individual panels flows down and across the page as the scene gradually transitions from the victorious heroes on the top of the building who shrink down to a worm's eye view the giant head of villainous mastermind Lex Luthor at page bottom. The use of a Dutch angle perspective at the page bottom even leads the reader's eye back up the page to reinforce Luthor's contrast with smiling Superman! What a nice finishing touch.

Dan Jurgens' greatest artistic strength has always been laying out dynamic action scenes that enhance a story's narrative flow, and that's perfectly on display here.

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Ok, look, you know that even when I'm desperate for new blog topics because Booster Gold didn't appear in any new comics, I still try really, really hard not to re-post clickbait Internet listicles, but CBR has a new one titled "Every Version Of Booster Gold, Ranked."

Despite that title, it's hardly a ranking of every incarnation of Booster Gold (no Justice League Action, for example), and it's not even a ranking of every incarnation of Booster Gold in comics. (What, no evil future Booster Gold from Justice League America Annual #10 or evil barista Booster Gold from JLA Classified #8? Bah!)

And if you're listing Booster Golds, you do your audience a disservice not to mention that Dan Jurgens has been the creative force behind most of them (and Giffen/DeMatteis most of the rest). Give his creators some love!

But I can't really be mad about a "best" Booster Gold countdown that puts "1980s Booster Gold" from Booster Gold #1 in its top spot. He's my favorite, too. And the more people who learn about him, the better.

And if anyone really wants to know more about the various adventures of different incarnations of Booster Gold, I might know a website they can visit....

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