Happy Halloween! To celebrate the holiday, we DC comic book bloggers are banding together to give you what you want most: reviews of DC's "Ghosts" annuals from 1998! (What's that you say, you'd rather see more pics of hot chicks cosplaying? Hey, it wouldn't really be Halloween if we gave you what you really wanted, now would it?)

While Booster doesn't actually appear in any of the 1998 annuals, that's not going to stop me from joining in the ghoulish fun. Booster has encountered spiritual apparitions of the undead, including the time he led the Super Buddies to Hell to recover Ice in 2005's JLA Classified #6 and 7!

Ok, so it wasn't actually Booster's intention to rescue Ice from Hell. In fact, it hadn't been Booster's intention to go to Hell at all. Booster was just blowing off some steam when things got out of hand, and he accidentally wished the team to Hell. It wasn't Booster's finest moment.

Arguably, nothing about his time with the Super Buddies represents any of Booster's finest moments. Because Blue Beetle had something of a makeover in recent appearances in L.A.W. and Birds of Prey, Booster is used as comic relief and scapegoat for the duo. We Booster-philes may chafe at seeing Booster playing the fool, our raw feelings should be salved by the fact that he's doing it in support of his best friend.

Booster himself is surprisingly resilient to finding himself in Hell. This could be a psychological defense, or perhaps Booster is truly an atheist (as he himself stated as part of a punchline in 1988's Justice League International Annual #2). In any event, he remains skeptical when his friends encounter the apparition of their long-dead teammate, Ice (who died in 1994's Justice League Task Force #14).

Is she Ice, or isn't she? Is the team in Hell, or isn't it? The answers to these questions aren't immediately clear, and that very uncertainty is key to the psychological insecurity at the heart of this ghost story. No matter how you think about it, you don't have the answers. That's not a very comfortable position for anyone, much less heroes who are required to make split-second decisions with lives in the balance.

Published over a decade after their best work on Justice League International , this issue's mix of humor, action, and psychological drama is indicative of the best works of co-writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. If you like your super-hero comics not to fit within any easily definable genre, you'll find something to love in this issue.

If you're looking for something else spooky to pass the time on today, try something from one of these 17 other scary DC bloggers:

• "Ghosts" @ The Aquaman Shrine
• "Bough Breaks" @ Batman: Gotham Knights Online
• "Swamp Thing's Ghost Dance" @ The BLOG from the BOG - Swamp Thing
• "Life Itself" @ Captain's JLA Homepage
• "Ghosts' - The Corpse Corps!" @ Corps Conjecture
• "What Creeps Out The Creeper?" @ DC Bloodlines
• "The Distance Gone" @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• "Shoe Shine.. Back from the Dead" @ Firestorm Fan
• "The Death Sentence" @ Great Krypton!
• "Happy Halloween" @ I Am The Phantom Stranger
• "Heart's Afire" @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• "Legend of Driq" @ Indigo Tribe
• "Role Model" @ Justice League Detroit
• "Ghosts" @ Power of the Atom
• "Zor" @ Siegel & Shuster: Mythmakers
• "High-Speed Hauntings" @ Speed Force
• "Ragman - Ripped to Shreds!" @ The Suit of Souls

Thanks to Chad Bokelman of corpsconjecture.blogspot.com for putting this crossover together.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle chad bokelman corpsconjecture.blogspot.com crossovers ghosts halloween holidays ice

In celebration of American Independence Day, today DC Comics is releasing Justice League International #11. A 4-page preview of the issue is online at Comic Book Resources. (Thanks to MetalWoman for the link.)

According to DC's advance solicitations at dccomics.com, "the team is defeated at the hands of The Burners," a team of anarchists currently planning to bomb the nation's capital. Hooray!

While the timing may be only coincidental -- what team of anarchist super-villains aren't always trying to blow up national monuments? -- I'm just not sure I want to read a story in which America's foremost hero, Booster Gold, gets his ass handed to him on America's birthday. Maybe tomorrow.

Buy this issue and watch some fireworks with Skeets.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicbookresources.com holidays independence day justice league international metalwoman new releases previews

Unlike Rip Hunter, most of us don't have time-travelling parents, but that doesn't mean that we don't look up to our fathers. There's no better way to tell dad that he's your hero than by giving him the gift of Booster Gold.

Remind dad that the classics never go out of style! These vintage wool letters are available from the Etsy.com store of Emmy Lucy. These letters would look great on a classic Booster Gold-themed letterman's jacket (the kind your pop still has hanging in the back of his closet).

Just because dad still has some bad habits doesn't mean that he can't look good. Straight from the Etsy.com store of Gotham City Comics comes this one-of-a-kind Booster Gold cigarette lighter. Obviously Booster Gold can't officially endorse cigarette lighters (he's got to think of the children!), but some fan-made artwork is the next best thing.

This Father's Day, show dad your his biggest booster with Booster Gold!

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: emmylucy etsy.com fan art fathers day gothamcitycomics holidays

Combine an attention-hounding rapper with a media-grabbing time traveler, and what you get is pure art.

Captain Senator created the above piece incorporating the opening lines of Kanye West's song "Power." The piece is appropriately titled "Kanye Plus Comics: Booster Gold" and was intended to be part of a series. You can see more of the Captain's work on her Deviant Art page, but I especially recommend her sketch of "Booster Gold beating up dinosaurs with lasers on their heads."

Reminder: there will be no Boosterrific.com blog post on Monday, May 28, 2012 because of the Memorial Day holiday. Enjoy the long weekend.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: captainsenator deviantart.com fan art holidays kanye west memorial day music powers

What are you giving your mother for Mother's Day this Sunday? Why not give her something to remind her of your favorite hero, Booster Gold? No, I'm not recommending that you gamble away your future to pay for her operation. I mean something handmade made with love from etsy.com, where artisans provide the handmaking and you provide the love.

Remind Mom that inside every woman is a girl waiting for the prince of charming himself, Booster Gold! This hairbow is available from the Etsy.com store of Bat Cactus. (If your mom has a sister, consider picking up the Blue Beetle hairbow to complete the set!)

Looking for something a little more grown-up? Consider these earrings or a matching pendant from the Etsy.com store of Bear Accessories. She'll be the envy of all her Capitalist friends!

This Mother's Day, give mom some gold: Booster Gold!

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: bearaccessories etsy.com holidays jewelry mothers day sirenlovesyou