Ever wonder how Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis work together to produce a classic Blue and Gold comic? Last week DeMatteis welcomed us behind the curtain, from plots to pencils to dialogue to finished product.

By all means, if you've any interest in the creative process that goes on behind many of Booster Gold's comic book appearances, you should visit J.M DeMatteis's website, Creation Point, and read all about it. Thanks to DeMatteis for sharing (and co-creating the greatest comic book duo of all time!).

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: j.m. dematteis justice league 3000 keith giffen

Matt Santori-Griffith has started "Super Buddies," a series of articles exploring "enduring comic book friendships" for Comicosity.com. Naturally, his first pairing is Blue Beetle and Booster Gold.

Matt invited Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, the original writers of Justice League International, to have a chat about the origins of comicdom's favorite comedy duo.

Matt Santori-Griffith: So, you guys have been writing Blue Beetle and Booster Gold for a long time. Going all the way back to when they first met in Justice League, when do you feel they first started to click as a friendship for you?

Keith Giffen: I know when I felt it. It was the sequence when they first met Catherine Cobert. One of them made a fool of himself and the other just wouldn't stop laughing.

J.M. DeMatteis: Was that "Moving Day" [Justice League International #8]?

KG: I'm thinking it was. That was the issue where everything clicked.

JMD: Yeah. That also, if I'm not mistaken, was the first "Bwah-ha-ha."

That's true. The first appearance of Beetle's signature laugh was indeed at Booster's expense in JLI #8. That's the stuff that friendships are made of!

You can (and should) read the rest of the article (with pictures!) at Comicosity.com. (And don't forget to pick up the return of Blue and Gold in Justice League 3000 #12 next week!)

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicosity.com j.m. dematteis justice league 3000 keith giffen matt santori-griffith

Remember back in September when Newsarama.com broke the news that Blue Beetle and Booster Gold would be coming to Justice League 3000? Let me refresh your memory:

Keith Giffen: It's Beetle and Booster. This is them. Basically, a cryogenic chamber is found on Takron-Galtos while they're excavating, and inside are Beetle and Booster. It's Ted and Michael. It's really, really them.

That's been solicited as happening in next month's issue (#12). But those of you who are Booster Gold completists — one panel cameo appearances count too! — pay attention to this DC Comics solicitation for today's Justice League 3000 #11:

The Five have been defeated — but the Justice League has no time to catch their breath with the forces of Etrigan, the Demon massing for attack and the threat of the new Injustice League rising. Plus: a stunning discovery on Takron-Galtos!

I have a feeling I know what that stunning discovery is going to be. I'm going to find out for sure at my Local Comic Shop this afternoon.

UPDATE: Blue and Gold appearance confirmed. If you want issue #12 to make any sense, run to your LCS and pick up your copy of #11 today! (Ok, so maybe they just make a one panel cameo that has little if anything to do with the rest of the issue. But still. Buy it and make Skeets happy.)

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle justice league 3000 keith giffen new releases newsarama.com

Do you think that comic book companies and their employees have gotten too tight-lipped and secretive about the business and their plans? Then you need to read Steve Sunu's refreshing interview with Keith Giffen.

CBR News: I want to discuss the slowly increasing connection between "Justice League 3000" and "Justice League International." Was it the plan from the very beginning to bring in these elements from your original "Justice League" run?

Keith Giffen: No, not at all. The original idea was just to get a "Justice League 3000" book out there. Our initial fight was to get our characters through with their personalities the way they are -- Superman's a douchebag, the Flash was our Kenny -- that was the initial fight. Once we got through that, as the stories progressed, I just kept thinking, "What would no one expect? What would be the weirdest thing I could do in this book? ... Beetle and Booster in a refrigerator."

We're bringing Beetle and Booster back, and yes, I'll say it again: It's really them, it's not a trick. In a year from now, I'm not going to be going, "Ha ha! I gotcha!" No, this is the same characters from "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League" book that ends with "They all lived bwa-ha-happily ever after." This is a direct sequel to that.

Elsewhere in the interview, Giffen is critical of editorial positions, past and present, at the companies that employ him. That he's been a star for decades is probably how he can get away with speaking in a direct way that younger talent might be chastised for.

You can find the rest of the article at ComicBookResources.com. NSFW Warning: there's some blue language in there, if you're offended by such things. Thanks to Morgenstern for the link.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicbookresources.com justice league 3000 keith giffen morgenstern steve sunu

Ok. We know for sure that Booster Gold and Blue Beetle will be reunited in the year 3000 in the pages of Justice League 3000 #12. But what does that mean, exactly?

Russ Burlingame discussed what to expect with Marlene of I Like Comics, Too! on Sunday:

Russ: One of my readers pointed out that he didn't understand why a future based on Giffen & DeMatteis's stories would be any different from the future of the pre-New 52 DC Universe. I figured it couldn't hurt to look at that a little bit.

I mean, there are some obvious differences, right? Dan Jurgens actually wrote a line into Booster Gold Vol. 2 to accommodate the whole "married a rich old heiress" thing (even if the line was that he was joking) but that's about it. There are plenty of other things that happen in the Keith and Marc stories that don't seem to have any bearing on the rest of the DC Universe, and/or conflict with existing stories.

Marlene: There are definitely some differences in how the characters are written, especially Booster. Though Jurgens created him as an unconventional, mildly air-headed superhero-for-hire, it was the original Justice League International run that really shaped the character as most fans know and love him. It's also where his relationship with Blue Beetle was fleshed out.

Compared to Jurgens' original design through Booster's self-titled series and his eventual modern adaptation with the New 52 reboot, Giffen & DeMatteis's version was far sillier and more immature. While he and Beetle certainly had their clever moments, they primarily served as the comic relief of the team.

You can read the rest of their discussion at ComicBook.com.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle comicbook.com ilikecomicstoo j.m. dematteis justice league 3000 keith giffen marlene russ burlingame