Twenty years after he debuted in 1985's Booster Gold, Volume 1, #1, Booster Gold had faded from sight into the background of the DC Universe. Considered a laughingstock by other heroes and readers alike, his career and popularity was at its lowest point. That all changed thanks to Infinite Crisis.

Following the death of Blue Beetle (and the disassembly of Skeets) in Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Booster Gold became DC's avatar of pathos as he searched for the man responsible for the murder of his best friend (and sidekick). From death came rebirth as this ultimately led to Booster reclaiming his time travel ability as well as his position among the more prominent DC heroes.

Today, DC releases to comic shops The Infinite Crisis Omnibus. This 1,152-page hardcover collects all of the key books in the Infinite Crisis event and its four mini-series lead-ins. That's a lot of Booster Gold! The edition will retail for $150.00, which is about what it would cost you to pick up all these issues individually at your local comic shop.

As mega-crossover events go, Infinite Crisis is about as good as it gets. Too bad that Flashpoint, an example of how bad mega-crossover events can be, removed the story of Infinite Crisis from continuity. It's equally too bad that DC doesn't realize that by reminding us how entertaining their character development and continuity used to be, we won't ever be satisfied with the confusing and misguided post-Flashpoint DCnU.

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Booster Gold's one-panel appearance in Wednesday's Blue Beetle, Volume 3, #10 caught me entirely by surprise, despite the fact that we all knew Booster would be guest starring in next month's issue #11. (We did all know that and were already planning to purchase it, right?) Thanks to Morgenstern for pointing this appearance out.

To make up for my lax oversight, I present to you the Blue Beetle comic I wish Booster Gold had appeared in this week:

The above image must be the best All Star issue that DC never published. Unwilling to wait for DC to get around to publishing this series, clearly the greatest idea in the history of comics, Thormeister created this as the cover to an entire 7-page story pitting the pair against Darth Vader. You can find that whole story and more in Thormeister's gallery at Deviant Art.

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The last time Booster Gold didn't appear in a comic for a whole month was in 2006, an otherwise very busy year for our hero. In addition to the events of Infinite Crisis and 52, Booster Gold had time to make a cameo in another major event: Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers.

In Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer #3, Booster steals the scene in his one panel appearance as a presenter at the Zenith City Superhero Convention. That's right, Booster Gold was the Neal Patrick Harris of 2006. In fact, Booster's performance was so good that DC will collect it for a second time in Seven Soldiers of Victory Volume 2, scheduled for release today.

Even putting Booster Gold aside, the Seven Soldiers saga is pretty darn good. The story makes far more sense and is far more satisfying than Grant Morrison's more recent mega-event, Final Crisis. In many ways, this story is reminiscent of Morrison's best days on JLA, but with a more diverse cast and scope. Recommended.

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Remember those bombers who destroyed the Hall of Justice and then hospitalized half the JLI team? DC's solicitation for today's Justice League International #10 finally gives the group a name.

The JLI team — BOOSTER GOLD, AUGUST GENERAL IN IRON, GODIVA, GUY GARDNER, BATWING, O.M.A.C. and FIREHAWK — face off against THE BURNERS, who want to create anarchy by any means necessary!

That's right, an anarchist group that calls themselves The Burners. All things considered, it's probably a better name than Justice League Anarchy or Mutant Liberation Front.

Buy this issue and tell DC that we want Skeets!

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The cliffhanger story from Justice League International #9 is continued in today's The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #9. Bombers are on the rampage in Paris! Firestorm has transmuted the Eiffel Tower into rose petals! New Firestorms appear on every page! With so much going on, how does DC tease the issue in their solicitation text?

Don't miss this crossover with JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #9!

Oooh, Doesn't that sound exciting! At least it doesn't give much away since the JLI is on the cover and all. Certainly, it sounds better than "we care so little about Firestorm that we're going to promote it with a tie-in to a book we've already canceled."

For those of you interested in the events of this issue despite the fact that it will have Firestorm in it, you can read a 4-page preview at IGN.com. You gotta admit, Ethan Van Sciver's Yildiray Cinar's Booster Gold looks pretty darn good. (My fault. Van Sciver is only drawing the cover. Cinar handles interior art.)

Buy this book and... well, just buy it. There's no consoling Skeets right now.

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