I have an apology to make: Boosterrific.com has had some data about Booster Gold wrong for years. Specifically, I have failed to identify Booster's mother's first name as "Ellen."

Mrs. Carter has never been named in any story, so I had always acted as though she had never been given a name. But somehow I totally overlooked the "Known Relatives" section of the loose-leaf format Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, which clearly says "Ellen."

I cannot explain why I've overlooked that all these years. I've certainly had this volume since, well, probably since it came out in 1990. (I didn't buy all every loose-leaf Who's Who at the time; some I picked up some later. Maybe this was one of the latter.) Its text is attributed to the character's creator Dan Jurgens, who I would certainly trust to give her a name.

I can only guess that once upon a time I decided that Who's Who entries weren't canon. That seems an antiquated notion in this modern era of "everything is in continuity somewhere." In any event, it's well past time I recognized it throughout Boosterrific.com.

Big thanks to Pigeon for drawing my attention to this mistake so that I could correct it.

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Required summer reading since 1987:

Who's Who Update '87 #1

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As the first character introduced to the DC Universe after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Booster Gold was too new for his own entry in the original Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe character encyclopedia. (Volume III: Black Lightning to Byth was cover dated May 1985, nearly a year before Booster's first appearance.)

While Booster would have to wait for the 1987 Who's Who Update to receive his own listing, Booster's impact on the DC Universe was felt much sooner. Therefore, Booster first appeared not in his own entry but in support of one of the DCU's more established characters (insofar as a seldom used star of a back-up feature in Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane in the early 1970s can be considered "established").

If you look closely, you'll see our hero in the background of the entry for Rose and Thorn in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Volume 19, released 31 years ago today.

Art by Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano

(The less said about Thorn's costume the better. Obviously Thorn and Batman and the Outsider's Looker shopped from the same designer label in the 80s.)

Whereas Booster went on to become an integral member of the Justice League International, Rose has rarely been seen in the decades since. Maybe it's time for Booster to return the favor.

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Carmine Infantino was a key figure in the Silver Age of DC Comics, both as an artist and later serving as DC Comic's editorial director and publisher. Infantino died earlier this year, and I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate his birthday by showing the only time Infantino ever drew Booster Gold in a DC publication: 1986's Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Volume XXI.

Starting in 1959, Infantino drew many of Garnder Fox's Space Museum stories in Strange Adventures a quarter century before Booster Gold would steal the museum's treasures (and Skeets!) to start a career as a time-traveling crime fighter.

If you think about it, even though Infantino drew Booster Gold only once in his professional career as an illustrator, there wouldn't have been a Booster Gold without the work of Carmine Infantino. Thank you and Happy 87th Birthday, Mr. Infantino.

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It may be hard to imagine in this day and age when Booster Gold has all but disappeared from DC continuity, but 26 years ago today, DC published three different books that contained Booster Gold!

Chief among these books was Booster Gold, volume 1, #15. This issue saw the conclusion to Booster Gold's first true time-travel adventure. Rip Hunter had been instrumental in returning Booster to the 25th century, but he plays little role in Booster's escape. Knowing in hindsight that Rip knew that Booster was his father, is Rip intentionally letting his dad get out of trouble because he knows that is the course that history naturally takes? Hmm?

Another storyline drawing to a conclusion this day was found in New Teen Titans #30. Although Booster appears in just a few panels in this book, this adventure is in many ways his introduction to the heroes of the larger DC Universe. This is Booster's first adventure with Green Lanterns, members of Infinity, Inc., and notably his idol Batman! Welcome to the DCU, Booster Gold!

The final book published this day was the the final issue of a series: Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe. Booster makes an appearance in the entry for the 1000. Booster was too new to the scene to earn his own entry in the first volume of this encyclopedia, but as usual he gets the last word, appearing inside the back cover in a promotion for Booster Gold #15. That's pretty much the Booster Gold motto: if you can't join 'em, buy some advertising space to make sure they at least know your name!

So take heart, Booster boosters. If it has happened before, it can happen again. The only thing separating us from three comics is time, something that a Time Master has plenty of!

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