The DC Comics reading world of 1986 was not ready for the debut of Booster Gold. Who could blame them? Gambler-turned-thief-turned-celebrity sounds more like a traditional DC villain than a hero. Anti-heroes wouldn't become all the rage for a few more years yet. Creator Dan Jurgens was ahead of his time.

The letter columns of early Booster Gold books were filled with complaints that the hero was inherently unlikable. A typical letter, from Booster Gold #5 called him "egotistical, self-absorbed, conceited, self-hyping, and immodest," which even Booster boosters have to admit was a pretty accurate assessment. This situation was only made worse once Booster's origin was revealed in issue #6. No less a moral authority than Superman thought Booster was "nothing more than a 25th-century crook!"

Souring fan reaction to the character was a major factor in the cancellation of the original Booster Gold series. Jurgens resisted polishing Booster's rougher edges, and the Powers That Were decided to move Booster in a new direction with Justice League International where Booster's less palatable character traits were often exploited for comic effect. This worked out in Booster's favor. It was with the JLI that Booster really became a star.

As such things go, public demand for the Justice League led to the JLI team being featured in three consecutive issues of Secret Origins, giving Jurgens another opportunity to sell Booster's origin to the comics reading public. This time he did what he had previously been unwilling to do: he made Booster Gold sympathetic.

In Secret Origins #35, released on this day in 1988, it is revealed that Michael "Booster" Carter only started gambling on his own football games in order to afford an expensive operation for his sick mother. No longer was he a selfish lout. Now Booster was a good son!

"Child with a heart of gold breaking the law to help his family" may not be the most original origin, but it did the job burnishing Booster's tarnished reputation with readers. Booster's worst mistakes could now be chalked up to good intentions. I'm sure Superman would agree that even 25th-century crooks deserve a second chance.

Comments (5) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle dan jurgens origins secret origins

It seems that in my glee over Bootser's cover appearances on Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #2, I missed a second Booster Gold appearance last week. Fortunately for us all, Booster booster J directed me to Harley Quinn #66 which included panels of Booster Gold and Harley hooking up in the Coney Island Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel.

words by Sam Humprhies, art by Sami Basri, Hi-Fi

Wow. Heroes in Crisis sure made some strange bedfellows. (Amusingly, earlier in the issue, Harley's mother tells her that she has "terrible taste in men.")

Given that the panel appears in a comic book within a comic book (and therefore isn't the "real" Booster or Harley), does this count as an example of in-universe 'shipping? Is such a thing possible? Maybe it's better if I don't find out.

Thanks to J for the spot.

If that's not enough Booster Gold for you this New Comic Book Day, consider taking a listen to Mike Avila's interview with Dan Jurgens for SyFy Wire's Behind the Panel podcast. As you might expect from the episode title, "Dan Jurgens on Booster Gold and the Death of Superman," about half of the 22-minute interview covers the creation of Booster Gold. Enjoy listening.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: dan jurgens harley quinn interviews j mike avila podcasts syfy.com

SPOILER WARNING: Today's topic could be considered a spoiler for Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1, so scroll no further if you want to be surprised.

...

...

...

Still here?

Okay. Let's continue.

Brian Michael Bendis has been very careful to disguise the identity of his series protagonist, a character familiar to longtime DC Comics enthusiasts. However, I don't think I'm giving much away to say that character is the split personality anti-hero(s) Rose and Thorn, who has somehow gained immortality and is left wandering through the "future" timeline of DC mainstream continuity on her way of reintroducing the Legion of Super-Heroes to a new generation of readers.

I think that's a pretty cool way to immerse an audience into the deep-end of continuity, in no small part because Rose/Thorn played the same role for Booster Gold back in 1986.

In 2015, I asked Dan Jurgens why he chose to use Rose in his original Booster Gold series. He said

First of all, I found her to be an amazingly interesting character.

Plus, since [Rose and Thorn] hadn't appeared in such a long time, it was fairly easy to adjust the character a bit. Tweak the costume, etc. Tailor it to Booster a bit more, that kind of thing.

As you can see, Bendis is taking a page from Jurgens' playbook here. We're not mad; Bendis is including Booster Gold in the next issue to re-encounter his old partner. Although Booster will be younger and Rose will be much, much older than their last meeting. Such are the pitfalls of time travel.

You'll find Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #2 in your Local Comic Shop on October 2.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: brian michael bendis dan jurgens legion of super-heroes thorn

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every comic book heroes will inevitably get in a fist fight with every other hero. Such was the case with Booster Gold and Superman early in Booster's career.

Every new super hero in a shared universe needs guest appearances from more famous characters to drive new readers to their title. Hence Superman's appearance in Booster Gold #6 and #7.

Pencils by Dan Jurgens, Inks by Mike DeCarlo

Not coincidentally, Dan Jurgens took the opportunity of a visit from the established star — in his very first appearance in the newly-merged post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe continuity — to reveal Booster's less-than-stellar origin tale. The image on the cover correlated well with the shock and disgust that audiences felt discovering that they had been reading the tale of a gambler and a thief. Superman was giving our hero nothing less than what many of us felt he deserved.

But the story doesn't end there.

Because Dan Jurgens was kind enough to accommodate John Byrne's post-Crisis revamp of Superman in the aforementioned issues, Byrne let Booster guest in Action Comics #594. The cover to that might look familiar; turnabout is fair play.

Pencils by John Byrne, Inks by Keith Williams

Once again, the cover was figuratively true. Booster had been growing into the role of a true hero, and history had been proven to be on his side. The story inside plays on Booster's bad reputation following the earlier story, making the cover reversal doubly sweet.

Aren't these some great covers? As a fan of traditional fine art, I love that the extremely foreshortened poses turn the heroes into grotesques personifying the ugly, violent acts that they are engaged in. As a fan of comic book artists, it's particularly interesting to compare young Jurgens' early take on Superman to Byrne's more iconic character (and also to Jurgens' future interpretation).

As a fan of comic book super heroes, it's just great to see two heroes going head-to-head.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: covers dan jurgens favorite covers john byrne keith williams mike decarlo superman

Westfield Comics has posted an article detailing the origins of Booster Gold Volume 1 in advance of the reprinting of those issues for the upcoming Booster Gold: The Big Fall hardcover.

The article was written by Robert Greenberger, a former DC editor who worked on the Who's Who series. Greenberger spoke with Booster's creator, Dan Jurgens, for a first-person take on the occasion. Most of what was said will be familiar to long-time Booster boosters (much of it is corroborated by what Jurgens had previously told me in my Secret Origin interview) but it's always interesting to hear Jurgens speak of the old days at DC.

Writes Greenberger:

Jurgens pitched the idea to Giordano and was surprised at how quickly the series was picked up. "At the time, DC was a remarkably fun place to work," Jurgens recounted. "They were very, very open to new ideas and concepts. The company was committed to trying new things.

"I was at a convention in Dallas that Dick Giordano and Pat Bastienne were also attending. Dick was always highly encouraging and always said if I had anything in terms of a project idea, to bring it to him.

"We had breakfast before the Con started and I pitched him the basic concept of Booster—where he came from, what motivated him and what would make him different. At that point, I didn't even have the pitch written out. I believe I had a preliminary sketch.

Booster Gold being born in Dallas makes perfect sense. There are few times/places more associated with American capitalism than Dallas, Texas in the mid-80s. (Booster Gold versus J.R. Ewing!)

Speaking of villains, Jurgens also admits to a lingering affinity for Dirk Davis. Maybe one day Booster's selfish agent will get a shot at redemption. Until then, you can relive his glory days in Booster Gold: The Big Fall when it is released this September.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: dallas dan jurgens dirk davis interview robert greenberger westfieldcomics.com