Justice League America #56 was released on September 17, 1991, thirty years ago next week. Its mawkish story takes place in the middle of the too-long "Breakdowns" event marking the denouement of the United Nations-sponsored Justice League International era.

This chapter focuses on the forsaken Leaguers struggling to adapt to life without a league. Among them, Fire and Ice struggle to join a modeling agency, and Blue Beetle finds that his poor physical health will prevent him from joining the Booster Gold-led Conglomerate. There aren't a lot of "bwah-ha-ha" moments here.

No matter how you look at it, "Breakdowns" was not a particularly good story, and this wasn't a particularly good issue. As much as we want them to be, not all comics can be masterpieces.

But this comic book is worth a look back today if for no other reason than for its cover by Chris Sprouse and Bruce D. Patterson. As pretty as it was at the time, it was made more poignant by events that transpired almost exactly ten years after the issue's publication.

#NeverForget

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: 911 bruce d. patterson chris sprouse justice league international martian manhunter world trade center

Earlier this month, Timothy Donohoo recapped the Extreme Justice team for the CBR.com article "Booster Gold, Blue Beetle & Captain Atom Formed the Most Extreme Justice League."

I'm not sure from the article whether Donohoo ever actually read any of the Extreme Justice issues (half of his history is based on the not very accurate 2001 JLA: Incarnations mini-series produced five years after Extreme Justice got the axe) , but at the very least it's nice to see someone saying nice things about one of my personal favorite (but widely forgotten) comic series:

Also fitting the team name was the art, which redesigned many classic characters to fit in with the growing popularity of books at Image Comics. It was one of the few DC books that attempted to ride this wave, and it was rather obvious in its methods. Scowls and gritted teeth are a constant sight, with muscles and breasts being more emphasized. Booster Gold got a ridiculous-looking armor that made him look like Valiant's X-O Manowar crossed with a football player, while Blue Beetle was rather blatantly drawn to resemble Todd McFarlane's take on Spider-Man.

No, really, that's about as nice a thing as anyone ever says about Extreme Justice.

And he's not wrong:

Ah, the good, old nineteen-nineties. Some days, I really do miss you.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: cbr.com extreme justice timothy donohoo

At long last, Blue and Gold #2 is finally available at your Local Comic Shop.

If you're the sort that needs a preview, you'll find one on AIPTComics.com.

And if you're the sort that thinks Blue Beetle's "all-new, bombastic, bodacious" Buggy is cool...

...let me remind you that it is no Boostermobile.

Booster Gold #5

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue and gold blue beetle boostermobile new releases

The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, his mother.

Today is Labor Day in America, a holiday to celebrate those who helped ensure that we don't have to work on holidays. Do you know who still has to work holidays? Mothers.

Mothers never get days off. It's a tough job, made all the tougher when you're poor, single, and have twin mouths to feed. That's true today, and will still be true for the mother of Michael Jon "Booster" Carter and his sister Michelle in AD 2462 Gotham City.

Secret Origins #35

The birth name of Mrs. Carter remains a mystery to the public record. Her last name was borrowed from a man who turned his back on his own family, and her first name, "Ellen," has been used only in Booster Gold's biographical entry in Who's Who in the DC Universe #2. Importantly, her children always call her "Ma." But what's really important is that she loved and supported her children, even the conceited one who played college football.

Justice League Quarterly #10

When Ma got sick, can anyone blame Booster for turning to a life of crime to ensure that she got the treatment she needed? Isn't that what any good son would do?

And when Ma found out her son had cheated to pay for her treatment, can anyone blame her for being disappointed in him? Wouldn't every good mother hope that she had raised her children better than that?

Sometimes, when we're angry, we say things we don't really mean and can't take back. Booster Carter wouldn't even get the opportunity to try. To distance himself from his mistakes, he made the fateful decision to steal a time machine and runaway into the past. By the time he found a way back, it was too late.

Booster Gold #13

There could be no reconciliation. Tragically, Ma Carter would never learn of her son's heroic self-redemption.

Or wouldn't she? Nothing is as straightforward as it seems in the life of a time traveler.

While Booster would live his life believing that he had missed his opportunity to set things right, fate had other plans. Years later (from Booster's perspective), an attempt to keep Superman from doing unintentional harm to history resulted in an accidental trip back to the Gotham City of 2642. Thus Booster Gold was given a rare a second chance to clear the air.

Action Comics #995

If you get a chance this holiday, maybe you should call your mother.

Are you interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Follow these links to get to know Daniel Carter, Michelle Carter, Trixie Collins, Nurse Devlin, Dirk Davis, Rani, Skeets, Jack Soo, Mackenzie Garrison, Rip Hunter, Monica Lake, Doctor Shocker, and Blackguard.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: ma carter people in his neighborhood superman supporting characters

Booster Gold is often criticized for his relentless pursuit of the spotlight. But if that's all you know about Booster, you don't really understand him.

While, yes, he does want to be loved, he also really cares about helping people as we can see in the aftermath of Monarch's destruction of Metropolis' S.T.A.R. Labs headquarters building as detailed in these panels from Armageddon 2001 #2...

words by Denny O'Neil; art by Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert, Steve Mitchell, John Costanza, Adrienne Roy

...and this page from Action Comics #670...

words by Roger Stern; art by Bob McLeod, Denis Rodier, Bill Oakley, Glenn Whitmore

...both of which were released 30 years ago today!

Helping those who need help, that's the work of the real heroes. Keep up the good work, Buster!

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: action comics armageddon 2001