I'm not going to try to convince you that DC's 1993 "Bloodlines" event is great. I'm not even going to try to convince you that it's worth reading. But even the bad events have their fun moments, like this one from Bloodlines #1:

There's no wrong time to quote Star Wars. Though, next time, Booster, you might want to quote someone who doesn't fail at his job.

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When last we left our hero, he had just debuted his replacement for the power suit Doomsday destroyed (in Superman #74), and in Justice League America #81 we learn that his 20th-century power armor is not yet up to the task, especially when its servos burn out under enemy fire leaving him feeling as powerful as a sardine in a can.

The issue's finished art is generally too loose for my taste (it never feels like the penciller, inker, and colorist are working as a team), but this page panel layout by penciller Kevin West really works for me. The action starts with the foregrounded Wonder Woman, but led by the departure of Guy Gardner, the central action in each panel slowly moves away from the reader and, importantly, away from Booster Gold, emphasizing his current irrelevance. Well done.

And while I'm praising creatives, I should definitely mention the writing. I'm on record as a fan of Dan Vado's Justice League run as I often enjoy his strong and sympathetic characterizations. Although I find this issue to be imperfectly paced, I'm very impressed that its central dilemmas between heroes all trying to "Do the Right Thing" in a tense political situation feels even more topical now than when it was published three decades ago, making it very re-readable. Kudos.

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I don't know which page I would have picked as a favorite from Justice League America Annual #7 when I first read it in 1993.

I like the Hitchcockian horror-influenced sequences of Booster Gold's talking head running through pages 5, 6, 7, and 9, but none of those pages quite come together as a whole for me. Gene D'Angelo's garish colors combine with Greg LaRocque's loose layouts to create an almost hallucinogenic environment which bothers me more the longer I look at them.

So instead I think I'll choose page 16, where a powerless, line-swinging Fire saves the JLA's resident idiot, Guy Gardner, on the world's largest jungle gym:

I cannot deny it: I enjoy cheesecake "Good Girl" images of Fire. But I also think this example of lurid, sexually suggestive posing works particularly well, thematically, in this dark horror story in which the alien parasites use lust to manipulate their prey, like a page from Dracula, and the protagonist's runaway id creates monsters, like scenes from Forbidden Planet. Cheesecake images here can inspire similar feelings in the viewer, deepening a connection with the story.

(Unfortunately, this particular issue meanders too much to really take advantage of such atmosphere. Too many subplots, too many pages to fill, too many inkers. But still. It's nice to know that Greg LaRocque was trying.)

Horror and sex, working together since man first discovered Fire.

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Booster Gold plays only bit parts in Justice League America #77 and #78, and is absent from #79 entirely.

So let's skip ahead to Justice League America #80, where the Corporate Crusader is finally back in super-powered action... in arguably the ugliest costume he'll ever wear.

Yes, that ridiculous suit is bulky and ugly, and it makes Booster look considerably less-than-heroic, which was writer Dan Vado's intention as he started Booster's long journey back from Doomsday's destruction of his original power suit. Sometimes to get to the top, you have to start at the bottom.

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Since my annual April Fools' Day post went over like a lead balloon (for reminding everyone of that nonsensical story in which the DC Multiverse's anthropomorphic embodiment of entropy pretended to be Booster Gold), let's see if I can refresh your palette with a post about that time the heart and soul of the Justice League pretended to be something called a "Bloodwynd."

Obviously, I'm talking about Justice League America #76.

In case you're too young (or too old) to remember, Bloodwynd was a mysterious character with magical powers who appeared from thin air to save the Justice League in Justice League America #61. Blue Beetle never liked the guy and vowed to discover his true identity, setting up a subplot that would have to wait for Superman to die before it could be resolved. (Trivia fact: Bloodwynd and Ice are the first heroes on the scene after Doomsday kills Superman.)

Bloodwynd's secret identity was revealed in, well, either Justice League America #74 or #75 depending on how much credence you give to dreams. But Justice League America #76 is the first issue to begin untangling the Bloodwynd mystery.

Hammer pants, Booster? Really?

Do I love this page just because of that cool last panel of Beetle emerging from the shadows? Yes, yes I do.

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