On Friday, Chris Sims defended the legacy of the Justice League International.

Everyone always thinks of it as the funny Justice League book. That's how it's always referred to, with the emphasis on the bwa-ha-has, the "One punch!" scenes, and Beetle and Booster's wacky schemes, but that's not really accurate. All that stuff is in there, sure.
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The point is, while JLI was a book with a lot of very funny, very memorable parts, comedy was never really the main focus of the series. Or at least, it wasn't the focus at the expense of anything else. See, the thing that marked JLI more than being a funny book was that it was a balanced one.

Of course he's right. If you've never read the original Justice League International comics, come for the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, stay for the action, adventure, and drama. You'll be glad you did.

You can read the rest of Sims' "Ask Chris" article at ComicsAlliance.com.

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Blastr.com has some of the solicitations for the second wave of Convergence minis, and it looks like there's at least one that will include Booster Gold:

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
(Writer: Ron Marz; Artist: Mike Manley, with color by Sotocolor)
The levity of the JLI team collides with the severity of the world of Kingdom Come.

I didn't include the pic from the solicitation — you can see it at Blastr.com — specifically because it doesn't include Booster Gold. For that matter, neither does the solicitation text. But DC can't revisit the JLI without including Booster Gold, can they?

For those of you too young to remember, Ron Marz never actually wrote a single issue of Justice League International. Most of us know Marz as the man who turned Green Lantern Hal Jordan into the villain Parallax and introduced his replacement, Kyle Rayner. It should be interesting to see Marz's take on the signature stylings of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis.

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Do you remember What comics you were reading 25 years ago? If you were a Justice League International fan, you were treated to the first on-panel appearance of the tiny Pacific island KooeyKooeyKooey 25 years ago today.

Justice League International #33

One month later, KooeyKooeyKooey would be the home of the ill-fated Club JLI, a Justice League-themed resort and casino. Club JLI was built by funds embezzled from the United Nations and was robbed by future Leaguer Major Disaster, but neither of those problems were what ultimately doomed it. But you probably know all about that already.

(If you don't, find yourself copies of Justice League International #33, #34, and #35, or the 2011 reprint in Justice League International Volume 6).

(And if you miss the madcap adventures of Blue and Gold, be sure to pick up the duo's return in Justice League 3000 #12 on December 3.)

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Remember last month when Bleeding Cool told us that Booster Gold and Blue Beetle would be turning up in Justice League 3000 #12? Well, Vaneta Rogers and Newsarama.com finally confirmed it at 10AM this morning.

Newsarama: Keith, we've been hearing that issue #12 has some new characters that people should be happy to see. And now that issue #12 is about to be solicited, are you ready to reveal who's coming to Justice League 3000?

Keith Giffen: Yes! Booster Gold and Blue Beetle are coming to Justice League 3000, as of issue #12.

I'm not going to keep this a secret anymore. I mean, if Beetle and Booster are coming back, we should scream it from the rooftops, right? Maybe more people will buy it who are Beetle and Booster fans, and not be surprised and miss the issue. So I'm not really big on hiding stuff anymore.

O frabjous day! I'm already reserving a place in line to buy Justice League 3000 #12 when it hits stands in December.

I know that many fans weaned on the Johns/Katz volume of Booster Gold don't care for Giffen/DeMatteis' take, and that's okay. However, even the news that Justice League 3000 takes place in an alternate universe free from the shenanigans of the New 52 fills me with unbridled glee.

This revelation means that despite all of DC's posturing in recent years over the inviolability of the New 52, the multiverse — or hypertime or elseworlds or whatever you want to call it — is alive and well and somewhere the "real" Justice League International continues its never-ending battle for truth, justice, and a little bit of respect! Somewhere, Wally West is still the Fastest Man Alive and Captain Atom isn't Dr. Manhattan.

It also means that somewhere, Michelle, Rani, and Rip Hunter are running from rampaging dinosaurs, and that the Black Beetle and Rex Hunter could return to take their revenge on Booster Gold's wife. What's not to love?

For complete details, I recommend that you read the rest of the article at Newsarama.com.

EDIT: This post original ran on Friday, September 12 at 4PM EDT.

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I'm sure most fans remember their first encounter with their favorite hero. I remember when I first saw the cover to Booster Gold, Vol. 1, #1 back in 1985. The author of the Super Fan articles at imstillakid.com remembers his first encounter with Booster Gold too:

I had started collecting the retooled Justice League title in 1987 from the first issue of this new series. In the fourth issue, weasely businessman Maxwell Lord found his way into the JL's headquarters and immediately demands Booster Gold's inclusion on the team. Having no familiarity with the character whatsoever (this was long before the halcyon days of the Internet to look things up), I thought "who's this nerd"?

Visit imstillakid.com to read more and see panels from Booster's classic first encounter with the Royal Flush Gang in Justice League #4.

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