The life of any comic book hero would be a lonely one if not for the many characters who have made up their supporting cast. Just as Superman has Lois Lane and Batman has Alfred, Booster Gold has also shared his adventures with quite a few people over the years. Today we look at one of those, Ripley "Rip" Hunter, also known as the Time Master.

The details of Rip's early life are vague, and that's just the way he wants them. In one telling, Rip was a wealthy adventurer who invented time travel to "solve mysteries that have plagued mankind for centuries." In another, he was an MIT graduate obsessed with conquering the mysteries of time travel to save the world from Vandal Savage. In yet another, he was a member of the time policing Linear Men. The truth has been intentionally obfuscated to prevent interference from those who would change history for their own nefarious means. Even "Rip Hunter" is a pseudonym.

How deep do Hunter's deceptions go? He would have Booster Gold believe that they first met in Booster Gold #13 (1987) when Booster was desperately looking for a way to return to his own future for medical treatment. From Booster's chronological point-of-view, that's true. However, only Hunter knows that he is actually Booster's son — revealed in Booster Gold #1,000,000 (2008) — sent from the future to ensure that his father got the help he needed. Talk about your classic time paradoxes!

Once Booster was out of danger, Rip continued as a consultant for Booster's B.G.I. corporation while still managing to have his own adventures elsewhere. After B.G.I. closed its doors, years would pass before the two would work together again -- but what's a few decades for a time traver? Together, Rip and Booster (and Booster's 20th-century ancestor, Daniel) saved the multiverse from Mister Mind (in 52).

In the wake of their success, the two joined forces on a more permanent basis. As the new Time Masters, they have saved history from the likes of Per Degaton's Time Stealers (in Booster Gold Volume 2, #10), Black Beetle (Booster Gold Volume 2, #19), Darkseid (Time Masters: Vanishing Point), and Maxwell Lord (Booster Gold Volume 2, #34) to name a few. And they did it all in secret.

Hunter played an essential role in helping Booster resolve the multiverse-colliding events of Convergence, but he has managed to stay otherwise mostly hidden since Doctor Manhattan meddled with known history behind the scenes of Flashpoint. Where will we see the Time Master in action next? If the past is any indication, he'll return when Booster needs him most. That's what family is for.

Interested in meeting other "People in his Neighborhood"? Get to know Trixie Collins, Daniel Carter, Jack Soo, Rani, Dirk Davis, Skeets, and Mackenzie Garrison.

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Booster Gold was still the new kid on the block when he made a guest appearance in the inaugural issue of the Time Masters limited series 29 years ago today.

Booster Gold, Volume 1, #13 had reintroduced Rip Hunter to the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe, and Time Masters fleshed out Hunter's obsession with time (hint: it started with his family).

The familial relationship between Booster Gold and Rip Hunter wouldn't be established for another 18 years (and several continuity reboots), so anything in this issue that connects the two as father/son is purely coincidental. Still, given that this story is obsessed with conspiracy theories, it's fun to re-read with an eye for what the future actually holds.

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DC Nuclear Winter Special #1 will be coming to your Local Comic Shop later this week. It will be an anthology that includes a story about Rip Hunter being trapped in a post-apocalyptic future with a malfunctioning time sphere. The writer for that story is Mark Russell.

Russell — who ranks high among my favorite writers — was recently interviewed by Ernie Estrella for SyFy Wire in which he hinted that he'd like another shot at writing Booster Gold.

Russell has also written backup Superman stories, and has Harley Quinn #56 due out in December. He is inching closer to writing a DCU title regularly. His next project is to establish The Wonder Twins as a part of Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint in February of 2019. As for Rip Hunter, Russell had so much fun but had to leave much of it on the cutting room floor, similar to writing the Booster Gold / Flintstones crossover.

"What I would like to do someday is write a Booster Gold - Rip Hunter crossover that involves a time sphere, that expands on the two stories that I didn't get to tell in their totality," Russell openly pitched. If fans are lucky enough, Rip's future looks gold.

I could never be that lucky, so I hope that some other Booster booster is. I need more Booster Gold & Son stories in my life!

You can read more of the interview and see a preview of the DC Nuclear Winter Special at SyFy.com.

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The latest thing to be reborn at DC Comics is Direct Currents, their free in-house advertising periodical. I found issue number 1 in my Local Comic Shop this week. Booster Gold isn't inside, but his little buddy is!

"The Further Adventures of DC Co-Pub Dan DiDio", Direct Currents #1 (2017), page 16

Yup, that's definitely Skeets, among the "hidden items" like Aquaman's trident and Green Lantern's power battery in the corner of Dan DiDio's office playset. (What's that you say? They're not very hidden? Perhaps you expect too much from a free advertising periodical.)

Although it's not listed among the hidden items in the office, I have to think that's Rip Hunter's whiteboard there behind Doll DiDio. Why Rip might be doodling Batman's head is anybody's guess, but I have to assume that its because his old foe The Eraser will be appearing in the next wave of Rebirth titles. It could happen.

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Comic fans love a good Easter egg. There has been a lot of speculation why Rip Hunter's real name was revealed to be "Michael" on DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Is that a Booster Gold reference? Inquiring minds want to know!

Fast forward to the 2:48 mark in the video below to hear Andy Behbackht of TVOVermind.com put that question to Darvill himself at Comic Con.

Darvill's reaction to the question reminds me of William Shatner's response to the question "What was the combination?" on a rather in famous Saturday Night Live skit. That's what Comic Con is all about. Gotta love it.

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