It didn't take long after Booster Gold joined the Justice League before he and Blue Beetle were inseparable. (Some might say insufferable!) The pair quickly became the Abbott and Costello of superheroics, their pranks and self-interested business ventures providing a comedic release from the stress of facing down would-be world conquerors six days a week.

None of their hijinks is bigger, more famous, or more disastrous than the time they established a casino on the tropical island of KooeyKooeyKooey, as seen in the story "Club JLI" published in Justice League America #34 (1989), an issue that easily ranks among the twelve best Booster Gold comics.

Writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis had been sowing the seeds for what would become "Club JLI" for months. After the JLI fought aliens in the South Pacific (Justice League International #23), the island nation of KooeyKooeyKooey decided to allow the JLI to host an embassy on its territory (Justice League International Annual #3). Their own tropical paradise on the far side of the world was the perfect opportunity for Booster and Beetle to establish the one business venture guaranteed to make money: a casino. The house always wins, right?

What out heroes didn't plan for was that their venture would attract the attention of another would-be world conqueror — the DCU is practically infested with them — the aptly named Major Disaster. Disaster also wanted to get rich, and he had an ace-in-the-hole, his card-counting companion, Big Sir. Together, the pair set out to break the bank.

Unfortunately for everyone, the bank had been established with money embezzled from the JLI's United Nations-funded bank accounts. Our heroes had assumed that they would be making so much money so fast, they would be able to replace the money before it was noticed missing. Oops.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Aquaman arrives to inform the newly-bankrupt heroes that their island paradise KooeyKooeyKooey isn't a normal island. It's alive. And it's not very interested in having a resort on its back.

By the end of the issue, Beetle and Booster find themselves far worse off than they were before, which is par for the course for our two favorite hard-luck heroes. Better luck next time, guys.

As you can see in the panels above, this Giffen/DeMatteis masterpiece is a perfect mix of comedy and action. Almost every panel has either a punchline or plot consequence. Most of the humor comes from the personalities of the characters involved, and the events will provide material enough to propel plots for months' worth of issues. (The fallout of the Club JLI misadventure will lead directly to Booster's quitting the League for a leadership position in the Conglomerate.)

And while I'm heaping praise on the writers, I'd be remiss to omit the contributions made by Adam Hughes, who was drawing only his fourth DC Comic! Even considering the limitations of four-color printing on newsprint, Hughes' character are so full of life that they nearly spring from the page. It must have been a hard job to follow the original JLI artist, master of expressions Kevin Maguire, but Hughes proves a formidable talent in his own right. (How many copies did DC sell based on Hughes' brilliant cover alone?)

Sometimes everything works, elevating what might otherwise be a light adventure story into a truly great comics. Justice League America #34 is one such case, and that's why it is rightly included among The Best Booster Gold Stories Ever.

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Many, many of you seem very excited about this Cable vs Booster Gold DEATH BATTLE!, so let's just go ahead and watch it, shall we? (The really good stuff starts at about 13:20, just after the Blue Apron ad.)

Hmmm. Let's see. Booster Gold's force field is strong enough to stop Superman, so yeah, it'd stop whatever Cable could throw at it. But mind control? I'm not sure that scans.

Booster Gold traditionally has a real problem with mind control. See: Justice League Annual #1, Justice League #6, Justice League International #17, Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2, Justice League America #59, Time Masters: Vanishing Point #4, Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen, to name a few examples to the contrary.

For the record, despite what the video says, it wasn't Booster's force field that saved his memories in Justice League: Generation Lost. Booster himself assumes in issue #2 that the four members of the JLI that were unaffected by Max Lord's re-writing of history were saved by the mechanics of Lord's broadcast (much in the same way that radio waves directed outward from radio antennas fail to send a signal to the base of the tower). Then Lord seems to say in issue #5 that he left them their memories on purpose. Either way, the force field deserves no credit.

But why let a few technicalities distract from a fun time, eh?

(I *really* should keep my mouth shut here. Death Battle has 4.5 million subscribers, which makes it very likely that more people will see Booster Gold for the first time in this YouTube video than any other singe occasion in the character's history. For comparison, the Smallville episode "Booster" — broadcast on this day in 2011 — was watched by a mere 2.3 million people. Death Battle for the win!)

Thanks to all who sent me the link.

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Boosterrific Note: the following was sent to me in response to my April 10 post asking for Booster Gold fans to write in and tell us a bit about themselves.

Everyone, please welcome Eskana.

Just letting you know that I really enjoy this blog! I found it by accident once when I was searching for Booster Gold... I was so excited to read that there was a Booster Gold blog. I've never seen another blog like it for any other character, and I think it's the best superhero fansite I've seen. Like someone mentioned, you're lucky to have a chance to talk about something you're passionate about... so now I'm going to gush for a second...

I've been a Booster fan for a while... I remember when I was like a tween or early teen, I really enjoyed "Justice League Unlimited" because it would show the characters I already liked and then add in little ones I'd never heard of that I just called "little heroes." The Question and Booster were my favorites (even if Booster only really had one episode.) I really enjoyed Booster's episode because I loved how it showed behind-the-scenes of a superhero battle, and how not every hero gets credit, either from the people he saves or from his colleagues. And I liked how in the end, Booster didn't even tell his colleagues what he did. Just saving people was enough.

I can't remember when I started reading Booster- possibly with Flashpoint or New 52? - but eventually I started getting a hold of issues from his series. I loved everything I read. I loved the idea of a hero who does EVERYTHING but still isn't appreciated, and in fact has to sacrifice even the respect of his peers in order to really do his job. Most heroes, even when the chips are down, still have their friends they can count on. Booster mostly doesn't, and he really can't afford to have that many confidantes if he wants to do his job right. That makes him more than a "little hero." That makes him one of the best.

Over the last couple of years, I got to go even farther back. I knew Ted Kord's fate before I even knew who he was, but it was great to go back to the old JLI and see how they got to be great friends. (I love classic JLI and personally I'd love to see a JLI movie and/or show as a way to introduce these characters.) Then I read "Infinite Crisis" and saw it happen. It left the best for last, in a way... one of the last sets I read was "Generation Lost." All this just showed something unique about Booster that sets him apart.

Unlike the "bigger heroes," Booster Gold grows, and you can see it. He's very different now than when he started. He's also luckily not held back by company mandates, like Batman or Superman. Also, as you've pointed out before, even if in the past it was partly about the fame for Booster, he was always willing to put his life on the line to help people, super-suit or no. It just took him a while to shed the fame-seeking exterior and show the real gold underneath. ;)

Part of me even loves that people IRL don't know who he is... because then you know he's out there, doing his job. Who's Booster Gold? The Greatest Hero You've Never Heard of, that's who.

Thank you, Eskana.

If anyone else would like to share and/or self-promote, please drop me a line through the Boosterrific.com Contact Portal or directly at walter(at)boosterrific.com.

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Tired of being trapped in the house with your family? Would a trip to a tropical island resort hit the spot right about now? How about revisiting Club JLI!

Part of the fun of Booster Gold is that he's not the straightest of arrows. Sometimes he gets up to shenanigans that would make other heroes blush, none bigger than the time he and his BFF Blue Beetle established the casino resort on KooeyKooeyKooey in Justice League America #34.

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite covers for two very important reasons: the boobs beside the pool.

Obviously, the boobs I'm talking about are Blue Beetle (with his scarab-pattern swim trunks!) and Booster Gold. But there is so much else to enjoy in this busy comedic scene, like level-headed team leaders Batman and Martian Manhunter holding back a raving Maxwell Lord on the left, and on the right, criminals Major Disaster and Big Sir sneaking over the hedge with their ill-gotten gains.

All that and, of course, Fire displaying the best of her Brazilian charms in a stunning two-piece bikini and swim skirt. Her expression tells us very clearly what she thinks about the two knuckleheads responsible for the hijinks erupting around her. Good ol' Bea.

This issue was released in 1989, and it's hard to believe that artist Adam Hughes had only been working professionally for two years at the time. Hughes has since become world-famous for his pinup covers of beautiful heroines, including but hardly limited to Wonder Woman and Catwoman. As you can see from the variety of poses and expressions on this cover alone, Hughes deserves recognition and high praise for far more than just cheesecake.

I have to admit this cover belongs to one of my favorite issues, as those of you familiar with my recent list of 12 Best Booster Gold Stories Ever already know. I'll explain why next week.

Stay tuned, Booster boosters!

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No new comics today, and still no news about when we might get our next New Comic Book Day. However, Booster booster Aaron has found something very interesting on the website of book publisher Penguin Random House.

Per the listing at http://prhinternationalsales.com/book/?isbn=9781779506726:

Booster Gold: Future Lost
Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Dan Jurgens
HARDCOVER $39.99 US DC Comics
On sale Sep 01, 2020 | 400 Pages | 978-1-77950-672-6

BOOSTER GOLD IS THE HERO OF TOMORROW...TODAY!

Booster Gold knows that being a superhero is a good business for three reasons: money, fame, and adventure! But Booster will have to learn that the easy life of super-heroics comes with results he could've never imagined.

Follow along on Booster's incredible and time-bending adventures--but what happens when the golden boy of the present...returns to the future? If Booster Gold is going back to the 25th century...he's going to need some superheroic help...maybe even a partner? What will Booster's future hold?!

Collects Secret Origins #35, Action Comics #594, Who's Who Update 1987 #1, Booster Gold #13-25, Millennium #3-7

That's such good news, it's almost worth staying inside all spring and summer for!

Times may be tough, but I promise to still have $40 in my bank account to buy this when it hits shelves this September (Coronavirus permitting). I doubt I'll be the only one.

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