On this day in 1988, Booster Gold made the cover of Time magazine.

Starman #1 (June 1988) by Stern, Lyle, Smith, Ferriter

It might be hard for modern audiences to believe, but for most of the 20th century, the cover of Time magazine was among the most prestigious pieces of real estate for notable newsmakers. In other words, if you made the cover of Time magazine, you had arrived.

Even if you had already appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Animal Man #1 (May 1988) by Morrison, Truog, Hazelwood, Wood

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It is a cliche in superhero comic books that characters die and then get better. The trope was well established by the time Superman's funeral ignited the general public's imagination, but ever since 1992, you simply aren't a real super hero until you've returned from "the other side" at least once.

Booster Gold joined that not-so-elusive club on this day in 1994 between the panels of Justice League Task Force #13.

At the time, the Justice League had been fractured into three groups with incompatible philosophies about what constituted "justice." Wonder Woman's "international" faction was most in line with the historic methods of the team as the strong arm of traditional, established political authorities. Martian Manhunter's task force was also aligned with the United Nations, though it preferred less direct means of diffusing problems. Captain Atom, on the other hand, championed more unconventional and forceful means of "extreme" justice, fighting fire with fire, so to speak.

These internal differences were exacerbated by the threat of the alien Overmaster, who had returned to Earth (after a previous encounter with the Justice League a decade earlier) in order to eradicate humanity. He had the power to do it, too. The dysfunctional Justice Leagues America, International, and Task Force have to put aside their differences to stop him. The crossover event, titled "Judgement Day," reads better than many of DC's official "Crisis"s.

Usually, comic book deaths are used as a cheap trick to ramp up the stakes, tug at the heartstrings, or inflate the threat posed by the bad guy. Booster was lucky. He died in a good story that respected established characterization. Specifically, his death was a side-effect of his overconfidence that history couldn't ever be changed, a misunderstanding with tragic consequences.

Of course, that wouldn't mean much unless Booster recovered to learn from his mistake. Spoiler alert: he did.

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Logan Peterson has called me out on my failure to mention that in addition to Heroes in Crisis #3, Booster Gold also appeared last week in two additional comics!

First was Aquaman/Justice League: Drowned Earth Special #1, where our hero can bee seen among the Leaguers admiring the new Aquaman statue.

Second, Booster is barely visible on the dance floor in the story "The Birds of Christmas Past, Present, and Future" in DC Nuclear Winter Special #1.

As you can see, both were cameo appearances rather than the starring role Booster has in HiC, but any Booster is good Booster! Thanks, Logan.

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On this day in 2003, DC Comics began publication of JLA-Z, a Who's Who-inspired excuse for a pin-up anthology of Justice League characters. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle were judged so important to the history of the JLA that they appeared in the very first issue!

(It probably didn't hurt that their codenames both begin with the second letter of the alphabet.)

Art by Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein, Tom McCraw.

On a related note, BleedingCool.com reports from Fan Expo Canada that Ted Kord might be rejoining the Justice League in some capacity in the near future. The sooner the better, if you ask me.

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Last month, Logan Peterson recommended that I include Guy Gardner's 1990s armor in the Boosterrific database. I've decided that Logan was right, but I haven't yet gotten around to validating and adding those issues yet. And now it looks like that will have to wait a little longer . . .

[CORRECTION 2018-04-27: Because I have to pause here and correct myself. It was José Fridman who suggested the armor. (In the same post, I noted that Logan found a Booster Gold appearance in Superman/Batman Secret Files 2003, and I somehow confused the two of them.) José has clarify his suggestion (you can read his comment below), which is even simpler than I first thought. You got it, José. I apologize for misattributing your suggestion, and I've already updated the costumes with your credit to make sure I don't forget again.]

. . . What Logan Peterson did do was find yet another Booster Gold appearance. Per his latest email:

I've been doing a fair bit of back issue hunting recently, and I've struck some Gold. Look what I found in JLA: Classified #35. I didn't see it in the database, so I wanted to bring it to your attention.

JLA Classified #35, Late April 2007

That's Gold all right, Logan. How did I miss that? (Maybe it was the miscolored boots/pants!) Database updated!

And I can do one better. While checking Logan's information, I found Booster also makes a cameo in the previous issue, JLA Classified #34, alongside best friend Blue Beetle!

JLA Classified #34, Early April 2007

Not coincidentally, both issues were co-scripted and co-pencilled by Booster's creator, Dan Jurgens. Also in both cases, the Booster we see is just one of billions in the alternate realities created by the villainous Red King, so neither is an in-continuity appearance. Still, it's always great to find our hero in action.

Thanks, Logan. Keep up the good work. (I promise to get to Gardner's armor eventually.)

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