Monday, August 23, 2010

DC 75: Twenty-One Cool Booster Gold Covers

I was inspired by Frank's collection of top covers he's compiled.  I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring.  I already picked out some Adam Strange covers a while ago, and now I decided to pick out some Booster Gold covers.  I don't think I'm really qualified to say what's the best and what isn't, so don't put too much stock in the order here.  I mostly judged by the quality of the art and just personal preference.  With artists like Dan Jurgens, Kevin Maguire, and Adam Hughes drawing most of Booster's solo covers, you really can't lose.

Anyway, without further ado:

Twenty-One Top Booster Gold Covers

21.  Booster Gold v2 #34, 2010
A moment from the JLI is reflected in Booster's goggles.  Drawn by Kevin Maguire.

20.  Booster Gold v2 #3, 2007
Did I ever tell you how much I like word bubbles on covers?  A lot.  Plus, this is amusing.

19.  Justice League Unlimited #43, 2008
Blue and Gold dreaming of fame and glory, JLU-style.  Awfully cute.

18.  Booster Gold v2 #21, 2009.
Booster Gold reconizes the poser Batman, Dick Grayson.  He's not as dumb as he looks.

17.  Booster Gold v1 #20, 1987
Dramatic cover, and Booster sans-goggles.

16.  Booster Gold v2 #23, 2009
*Edtied to add: Thanks to Saranga's suggestion.  Somehow, while throughout hours of looking at Booster Gold covers, I remembered this one, but then forgot to put it on my list.  What can I say?  I get distracted easily.  The photo cover is unusual, but it works so well here becuase it's a real-life fan wearing a real-life t-shirt (that you can actually buy!).  That kind of product placement would make Booster proud.  I find it all rather hilarious.  And now I want that shirt, and when someone asks me who Booster Gold is, I'll be obligated to reply, "The Greatest Hero You Never Heard Of!(TM)"

15.  Booster Gold v2 #10, 2008
More of a Blue Beetle cover than a Booster Gold cover, but dramatic nonetheless.

14.  Booster Gold v2 #13, 2008
I mentioned how much I like word bubbles earlier, right?  A nice cover by Chris Batista.

13.  Justice League Quarterly #7, 1992
Just simple and sweet, with lots of smiles.

12.  Booster Gold v2 #1, 2008
The first issue of Booster's new series.  A really cool cover.  It's unfortunate that the headshot of Max got covered up by the title.

11.  Booster Gold v2 #17, 2009
I know, I'm going a little heavy on the new series.  But the covers are so pretty!  Look at all the colors!  And the shininess!

10.  Booster Gold v1 #25, 1988
The cover from Booster Gold's final issue of his first series.  Anyone else notice how much he's sucking in his gut?

9.  Booster Gold v2 #18, 2009
Just Booster and Rip looking cool.  And a time sphere.  And the scarab.  And a sword?

8.  Booster Gold v2 #32 and #33, 2010
Could he get any shinier?!  The first one deserves to be a foil cover.  I consider these a set, so I didn't break them up.  Much like the Lobo vs. Guy Gardner pair of covers back in the JLI years.  Oh, that Kevin Maguire....just look at that crooked smile.  It's perfect.

7.  Justice League Quarterly #1, 1990
Nevermind Booster for the moment, what's going on between Gypsy and J'onn?  Not to mention Ice hiding in the background and Ted's holding up the UPC symbol, and Flash is asleep.  But you know what's really hilarious?  Batman's head being completely covered by the title.  Adam Hughes hit this one out of the park.

6.  Booster Gold v2 #11, 2008
Dramatic and well-drawn by Dan Jurgens.  Check out the reflections.  You just can't have images inside your costume unless it's shiny.  Take that, Batman.

5.  52 #37, 2007
Guess who else is shiny?  Skeets.

4.  Justice League International #8, 1987
An iconic cover of the JLI era, and very amusing.  Wouldn't it be cool if you could hire superhero movers?

3.  Booster Gold v2 #7, 2008
Really awesome composition and use of perspective here.  Just look at all those angles (not just the angles of the buildings, mind you) and see how they all come together.  That's skill.  Dan Jurgens is an artist I really admire.

2.  Justice League America #37, 1990
One of my all-time favorite JLI issues.  (Heck, one of my all-time favorites issues, period.)  Adam Hughes evokes pure horror on the expressions of all four characters (gotta love Beetle in Ice's arms) all because of, yes, a stray cat.

1.  Justice League America #34, 1990
Well, here it is: my all-time favorite Booster Gold cover.  Also, my favorite Blue Beetle cover.  And my favorite JLI cover.  It's a trifecta of awesomeness.  I can't figure out which is more hilarious: the fact that Booster shaves his chest, or the fact that Ted doesn't.  I also never realized until now that Booster appears to be wearing a Speedo and Ted is wearing scarab beetle trunks.  It can't get better than that!  And bonus: angry Max being restrained by Batman and J'onn.

Honorable Mentions:

Booster Gold #36, 2010
Okay, so it hasn't been released yet, but it's really cool.  Not only is it symbolic (the red on the back of the puzzle piece makes it), but Kevin Maguire shows us once again that not only is he a master at drawing anatomy, but that he can pull off difficult perspectives with ease.

Cover from 52 trade paperback, Volume 4, 2007
Well, it's not from a single issue, so I didn't count it.  But it's nicely done and I like the color scheme.


So, there you have it!  I hope you enjoyed the list!

15 comments:

Saranga said...

what, the issue with the model in the t-shirt didn't make it?! that's the last booster gold issue i bought. i'd got bored with the series by then but in loved that cover.

Good JLA choices there!

LissBirds said...

Ahh! I forgot about that one!! Now I'm going to have to add it in up the count to 21, becuase I always wanted that shirt.

I hope when the 5th JLI hardcover comes out that #37 better be in it, because that cat story is hilarious!!!

Eyz said...

Great choics!
I really like Dan Jurgens covers! I love his style, pretty fun artists^^

Most Booster covers are pretty funny and fresh! (like the T-shirt one!)
I also like bubbles on my covers :)
A bit "old school", but it makes them more entertaining and "alive"! In this era of gritty and realistic comics, it's always nice to come to this kinda of throwback to the past.

I would have made Bettle talkin' to Wonder Woman on the cover of "Justice League Unlimited #43" since he always had that big crush on her :P

Great selection!

Diabolu Frank said...

You know, I was going to add your Adam Strange to my master list, and was like "nah-- it was just a one off thing, and it'll drive me nuts to list Adam under 'A' instead of 'S,' right there on top." Well, nuts I'll be, and Booster is in there, too.

LissBirds said...

Thanks, Eyz! I loooove Dan Jurgens's style. It's so sleek and clean.

Frank--I wouldn't mind one bit if you put my selections down the bottom of the list as "Other Blogger" or what have you! Or you could always reverse alphabetical order and put Zee first.

SallyP said...

So much Booster goodness! A feast for the eyes.

Aaron said...

Those are great! JLI 8 is prob still my favourite. I love Booster's episode of Justice League Unlimited, it was so funny he got stuck on crowd control then had his own side adventure...

LissBirds said...

Thanks, Aaron! I love that episode, too. Skeets's voice was just so perfect, too!

That and, "Here are your...ANTS."

Saranga said...

did you ever see this?
http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/864105073/boostle

Not sure if you view her tumblr or not. What a perfect Booster!

LissBirds said...

YES. That just made my day! No, I've never seen that. I don't know much about Tumblr. And that guy makes a pretty good Ted Kord, too. And Ice is holding Oreos! And Booster's all shiny!

Did you click the link underneath the pic to see Dan DiDio choking Beetle?

http://letao.tumblr.com/post/853658628

LOL.

Diabolu Frank said...

Pshaw! You're either all the way in or you're out. This may only be your second cover selection, but you've already contributed more "Memorable Moments" to the master list than I have! Besides, I finally succumbed and moved Vandal Savage out of "S" and into "V," so the internet was already dictating its own alpha-computic order.

Diabolu Frank said...

Oh-- and will you be differentiating between Dan, Ted and Jaime on your Blue Beetle companion countdown? ;)

LissBirds said...

Who are these "Dan" and "Jaime" of which you speak, Frank? Those names just don't ring a bell.

Muahaha.

Saranga said...

i think i vaguely understand how tumblr works. the main reason i started paying attention is lots of twitter folks post links to their tumblrs and that particular one is full of DC goodness.

Anonymous said...

AWESOME