I try to ignore CBR most of the time. (Are they primarily an entertainment tabloid with a little comic book news or a clickbait farm? Both?) But every once in a while they get my eyeballs, as they did with this article titled "The Justice League's Silliest Member Almost Took Down a Classic Team by Himself" by Nabeel Gaber.

The article is a recap of the events of Justice League #4, which is indubitably the best of the best Booster Gold comics ever. And for the most part, it's actually very positive. But it's not entirely accurate.

I might personally quibble with the description of the Royal Flush Gang as "a classic team" — the "team" is based on a costume gimmick and all the original members are dead, so isn't that a bit like saying that "classic" Gwar is still touring? — but my real complaint comes from this:

It's also significant that Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, two of the goofiest members of the Justice League, were the ones to defeat Ace. Even though these two worked well together in a comedic context, they were also a formidable fighting team.

What Gaber fails to make clear is that Justice League #4 is the *first* team-up between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Neither one was ever "goofy" without the other; all the comedy would come later. At the time, this was just powerhouse Booster Gold proving he could work with a team, something that had not been clear in his solo appearances to date.

The "Blue and Gold" paring actually begins in Justice League International #8's "Moving Day," which is the first time the two characters were featured away from the team. (Justice League became Justice League International with issue #7.) The humor developed naturally out of the relationship between the two JLI members who shared the unusual superhero problem of having lost great personal wealth. Comedy is just tragedy plus time.

It's nice that CBR can help modern readers enjoy the great comics of yesteryear. (Justice League #4 came out on May 5, 1987, thirty-four years ago!) But, c'mon. Booster Gold is hardly the Justice League's "silliest" member. Plastic Man is.

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DC Comics has taken the unusual tact of pitting its potential audience against itself in whittling down pitches for upcoming books with its current "Round Robin" tournament.

If you are unaware, DC has revealed 16 different comic book concepts by 16 different art teams. These concepts were set in paired brackets, and fans are asked to vote for their favorite in each pairing. After four rounds, the winning pitch is promised a series. There's one big problem with this plan:

None of these concepts include Booster Gold.

One round has already been completed. You can find details and concept art for the potential books still in the tournament at community.dcuniverseinfinite.com.

Go ahead and vote for the ones you like. (The Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle soldiers on, but Justice League Pets has already been eliminated, and I can't bring myself to care about the rest.) I offer my congratulations to whoever wins. But don't be surprised if I keep a firm hold on my purse strings until such time as Booster Gold reappears in the DC Universe.

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What happens when Booster Gold, Fire, and Flash go for dinner together? I'm glad you asked....

Yes, Wally, that is the Tattooed Man.

"When Titans Date" was created by Mark Waid, Ty Templeton, and Karl Kesel for the fourth story in the Justice League Quarterly #10 anthology.

I loved it when it was first published in 1993, and I love it even more now. It works on so many levels. On its surface, it's a situation comedy. Dig a little deeper, and it's an exploration of its characters' insecurities. Will Ted ever find love? Is Booster losing his best friend to a *gulp* girl? Can Wally relax long enough to enjoy a meal? How does Bea deal with constant sexual harassment from jerks like that bald guy in the red jacket?

Track down a copy of Justice League Quarterly #10 — the one with an angry Booster Gold on its cover! — and find out how this story ends.

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No new Booster Gold book to read today? No problem.

Instead, set your eyes on these Booster Gold artworks I recently found on Twitter. Click on any of these pieces to go to the original tweet.

The Miz as Booster Gold concept art @S0n0fasaint

Beavister and Bug-Head sketch @calamityjon

Pat Quinn commission @DCinthe1980s

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This past Friday, Kat Calamia interviewed writer Joshua Williamson for the ghost of Newsarama at GamesRadar.com. Williamson is the brains behind Infinite Frontier #0, the issue launching the post-Death Metal DCU.

There's actually a lot of useful information in the interview to those curious about where the DCU is headed, but the important part for Booster boosters is this exchange:

Newsarama: There are a ton of characters that appear on the main cover. Some characters that stand out, in particular, are President Superman, Alan Scott, Jade, Obsidian, and Blue Beetle. You mentioned James is writing an Alan Scott-centered chapter of Infinite Frontier #0. Do the others I mentioned have a role in Infinite Frontier, and/or the DCU going forward?

Williamson: Blue Beetle only has a very small scene in this, but that's partially because of him having a role in something else later on in the year. Like we wanted the cover to represent not just this one issue, but also some of the stuff that's coming in DC for 2021 and because of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and some of their roles later is why we put them on the cover.

Be still my beating heart! DC has only been promising us a Blue and Gold team-up book since at least the letter column of Justice League International #25 in April 1989! Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me for 30 years... well, what's another year going to hurt?

Maybe 2021 is finally our lucky year!

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