Because Booster Gold is a comic book character, Boosterrific.com is usually pretty much alone in its field reporting on his copious public appearances. If Booster was a real person, there would be, like, hundreds of sites stumbling over one another to repost paparazzi photos of him eating a burrito while headed to the gym wearing sweatpants in a desperate ploy to seduce your valuable click.

I might be a niche site, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to use those other sites' playbook! I'm the Internet, too, guys.

On October 4, former Justice League International artist Kevin Maguire tweeted an image promoting social distancing that he created in an intentional homage to his own 1987 cover to Justice League #1.

On October 7, former comics news website that now specializes in clickbait listicles, CBR.com, reposted the image with only the bare details necessary to inform the uninitiated of its visual significance without adding any significant commentary. (Shame on me. That was snarky. CBR doesn't deserve to be made fun of like that. To be fair, there must be plenty of people encountering the image for the first time who are unaware of the JL cover. "CBR: the best comics website for people who don't read comics!")

On October 8, the comics gossip tabloid that Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens recently called "disreputable," BleedingCool.com, also reposted the image. They went a step further than their click competitor and added a gallery of other images Maguire has drawn that also homage the aforementioned Justice League #1 cover. Reputable or not, that seems like at least some value added in return for your click.

Now, on October 9, I will repost the same image because, like the other sites, I don't really have anything better to post. And I'm adding nothing of value other than the unenlightening observation that my doing the same thing as everyone else does nothing to advance the human condition in any meaningful way. And heck, I'm not even getting paid. (#nihilismnow!)

Hopefully, if you saw the following image on Twitter or CBR or Bleeding Cool, you'll still enjoy seeing it again as much as I do. Personally, I never get tired of Maguire's art.

No, sir, Mr. Gardner.

Footnote: I'm a little surprised I haven't yet seen Maguire's image posted at the former Newsarama, but it seems they've been too busy posting bigger news to resort to reposting social media pics. Check out their latest "feature" piece, "Marvel characters who have wielded Captain America's shield." (Double shame on me. There's always the weekend.)

UPDATE 2020-10-09: ComicBook.com is getting in on the action! Hi, Russ!

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You may have noticed that Modinda dropped by the comments in Wednesday's post to chastise me for my omission of a six-year-old comic from the Boosterrific.com database. Could I really have been ignorant of a Booster Gold comic appearance from as long ago as 2014? The answer is yes.

Set your eyes on this panel, from Scribblenauts Unmasked: A Crisis of Imagination #6:

That's obviously Nu52 Booster Gold (and original Skeets) partaking in a reference to the famous "one-punch" from Justice League #5. How could I have missed that?

That panel is just a small fraction of a delightful two-page spread, by the way. (It did my heart good to see the Dibnys back together!) A very belated kudos to issue artist Adam Archer.

Rest assured that the now-more-complete-than-ever-before Boosterrific.com database has been updated to include both Scribblenauts Unmasked: A Crisis of Imagination #6 and the series collected edition. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Modinda. And if anyone else spots anything they think I've missed, please do not hesitate to let me know.

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DC took advantage of Fandome to release their 2020 December solicitations. These are the places we should expect to see Booster Gold in coming months:

DEATH METAL: THE LAST 52: WAR OF THE MULTIVERSES #1
written by SCOTT SNYDER, JOSHUA WILLIAMSON, MAGDALENE VISAGGIO, JAMES TYNION IV, KYLE HIGGINS, MARGUERITE BENNETT, MATT ROSENBERG, JUSTIN JORDAN, REGINE SAWYER, and CHE GRAYSON
art by DANIEL SAMPERE and others
cover by DAN MORA
variant cover by GARY FRANK

What would it take to get every being left in the Multiverse to side together in the ultimate, final showdown? Total decimation and the complete undoing of all existence? The Batman Who Laughs has made his final move, bringing the most horrifying opposition to the battleground, and now every hero and villain left alive will stand and fight together. This epic battle book details every side of the last war across the Multiverse—Wonder Woman leading the heroes, Superman leading the villains, and Batman leading the dead—everyone has to play their part. Everyone and everything is at stake...so join here for the last of the DCU as we know it! $8.99 PRESTIGE FORMAT ONE SHOT, ON SALE December 29, 2020

I know the text doesn't explicitly mention Booster Gold, but he appears on *both* covers seen above. Am I willing to shell out $17.98 for the pair? I'll see how I feel about that decision when I complete my Christmas shopping.

UPDATE 2020-09-14: BleedingCool.com reports that the second cover by Gary Frank was original intended for the abandoned 5G event, so it doesn't have anything to do with the book's contents. I wish that made my math easier, but it is a beautiful, cheerful cover.

(By the way, there are four other Dark Nights: Death Metal books and three new Tales of the Dark Multiverse being solicited — because Eddie of Iron Maiden makes all of DC Comics' publishing decisions in 2020. Booster Gold could conceivably cameo in any of these books, so if anyone notices our boy, please pass word along. Thank you.)

Next up is the book DC teased last week:

GENERATIONS SHATTERED #1
written by DAN JURGENS, ANDY SCHMIDT, and ROBERT VENDITTI
art by IVAN REIS, BRYAN HITCH, KEVIN NOWLAN, AARON LOPRESTI, FERNANDO PASARIN, PAUL PELLETIER, and others
cover by IVAN REIS and JOE PRADO

A threat of cosmic proportion to DC's newest (and oldest) universe compels one of the most unusual groups of heroes ever assembled to take on the most mysterious foe they have ever encountered. What started in Detective Comics #1027 explodes out of Dark Nights: Death Metal to tell the story of the generations-spanning history of the DC Universe! Join the original Batman, Kamandi, Starfire, Sinestro, Booster Gold, Dr. Light, Steel, and Sinestro in their quest to save the universe before time runs out...
$9.99 PRESTIGE FORMAT ONE SHOT, ON SALE January 15, 2021

There are two covers for this one, too, but so far we've only seen the one I showed on Generations Shattered on Friday. Will the second one have Booster Gold on it also? That'd be useful information, DC, as my Local Comic Shop only orders for me exactly what I tell them to, and I don't need to buy two copies of the interior pages.

Note that the solicitation above text name checks Detective Comics #1027, which is due in my store tomorrow with a $9.99 cover price. What is up with all these $9-$10 comics, DC? Haven't you heard that there's a pandemic-inspired economic crisis on? Why are you making me choose between skipping meals or comic books? I feel I should warn you that food is pretty darn important to me.

Also in the solicitations is the news that Booster Gold will also be appearing in the JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL BOOK TWO: AROUND THE WORLD TP reprint collection coming in January. I recommend it highly for fans of Blue and Gold, though I have to admit that I won't be buying it on release. Its cover price is a very reasonable $29.99 for 20 comics, but it'll be March before I recover from buying all those other Booster Gold books.

You can find all of DC's December 2020 solicitations at GamesRadar.com.

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When I first made my list of the twelve best Booster Gold comics, I decided that the Formerly Known as the Justice League mini-series belonged at number 7. But I wasn't sure which issue to spotlight.

Frankly, the entire mini-series is worth a read. It's a great call back to the best of the humorous yet heroic "Bwah-Ha-Ha" era of the Justice League International by the very creators who made that series such a hit.

Ultimately I've chosen to highlight issue #4 in part because it does such a good job of making the badly threadbare plot of a hero-vs-hero fistfight into a truly delightful read.

The issue sees the newly formed "Superbuddies" super team abducted by the villanous Roulette and forced to fight one another to the death. The joke is that no one takes the Superbuddies seriously or expects them to win. This is in keeping with the reputation of the JLI itself, which was at something of a nadir when the issue was published. Of course, fans — and team creators Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis — knew that the JLI was far more competent than their reputation (even if the team itself didn't).

In addition to the ton of jokes and familiar characterization of a bunch of friends who also happen to be teammates, this issue really highlights the strengths of original Justice League International artist Kevin Maguire's storytelling ability. His expressions, body language, pacing... it's all perfect.

(And the cover's not bad either!)

If there's any complaint to be made about this series, it's that the comedic roles of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle have been swapped. Back in the day, Booster was the straight man. Here he's the fool. Some might find that offputting, but Booster boosters know it's only an act. Booster will do anything to be the center of attention.

Besides, you know it's only a comic book.

As far as comic books go, it's a pretty good one. It easily deserves to be counted among the The Best Booster Gold Stories Ever.

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Not so long ago, Booster booster Fin called my attention to a comic I had long overlooked. It wasn't a missed Booster Gold appearance. Not quite, anyway.

Just see if this banter doesn't sound familiar:

art by David Williams and Kelsey Shannon

Those panels are from The Authority: The Lost Year, a series in which the Authority bounced from one alternate universe to another. (This was back in 2010, before the New 52 folded the Wildstorm Universe into the mainstream DCnU.)

Issues #8 and #9 were written by Grant Morrison, Keith Giffen, and J.M. DeMatteis and featured an alternate universe in which the local Authority looked and acted a lot like a particular, best-selling DC Comics team of the late 1980s.

The meta-textural take on the Justice League International by the JLI's original writing team is delightful, especially as contrasted with the modern, no-nonsense Authority concept (itself strongly reminiscent of the extreme 1990s love affair with "mature" sex and violence content).

As you can see, that's Blue Beetle in the role of the Authority's Midnighter (a Batman-like vigilante) and Booster Gold as Apollo (whose character is a riff on Superman — so fitting!) In their original continuity, Apollo and Midnighter are a homosexual couple, allowing the issue's writers to directly tackle the longstanding Boostle phenomenon 'shipping Blue and Gold into a romantic relationship.

I'm sorry I hadn't realized this book existed sooner. Thanks, Fin.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: apollo authority blue beetle david williams fin grant morrison j.m. dematteis justice league international keith giffen kelsey shannon midnighter wildstorm