Vulture.com has posted an article by Abraham Riesman titled "The Single Most Important Year in Superhero History Was 1986." Riesman writes

But 1986's legacy was cemented by products belonging to the super-set, in particular four introductions to the canon: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the rise of the concept of the permanent crossover event.

It seems to me that Riesman is missing one key event: the debut of Booster Gold.

Riesman credits some of those other books for introducing the words "grim" and "gritty" to the comic book reading audience, but it's undeniable that Dan Jurgens' criminal-turned-self-promoting-hero was a creature just as ahead of his time. It just took Booster a little longer to earn his recognition.

Obviously, Riesman is excluding Booster on a technicality. The first issue of Booster Gold, despite being cover dated February 1986, was actually released in 1985 (to comic shops in October and newsstands in November). I'm sure that must be why Riesman failed to mention our favorite hero.

Anyway, if you like opinionated think-pieces on comic book history, you'll find the whole article at Vulture.com. (It's worth reading the comments just to see American Flagg!'s Howard Chaykin's complaints about what else Riesmans' history of 1986 is missing.)

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: abraham riesman vulture.com

On Wednesday, Abraham Riesman reported the following for Vulture.com:

"As of right now we have no connective tissue to those worlds," [Greg] Berlanti said when asked if the movie would be part of the DC Extended Universe that already includes Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad .... "It'd be a separate thing."

Berlanti also indicated that the movie is an extension of the Booster Gold TV show abandoned by the SyFy network in 2012. He gives credit to Geoff Johns for rolling that canceled project into a theatrical movie. Johns recently told the Wall Street Journal that he is trying to make the cinematic DC Universe less "gritty and dark." (I think I owe Geoff Johns a drink.)

Back to the original topic: the Booster Gold movie is currently planned to be a stand-alone story with no connection to the larger Warner Brothers cinematic DC Universe. Whether you think that is good news or bad news probably depends on whether you're one of the people who helped Batman v Superman make $872 million.

Let's find out where Booster boosters stand.

This week's poll question: How do you feel about the Booster Gold movie not taking place in the Warner Bros DC Extended Universe? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: abraham riesman geoff johns greg berlanti movies polls syfy television vulture.com