r/BlueBeetle • u/Mindless_Juice_1274 • 8d ago
Comic Order Help Plz ✨️
Once I finish my current read, I was going to get into Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. I know that they each have their own comics and reading orders, but I know they also have stories together. Can someone please tell me what the reading order is altogether? And when I say altogether I mean everything, Booster Gold (all comics), Blue Beetle (all comics), and then also when they're together (all comics). Thanks in advance 🫡
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u/eddiegibson 8d ago edited 8d ago
They first meet in Justice League Vol.1 issue 4 (1987 series). From there they stay until after the events of Doomsday/Death of Superman.
After that is Extreme Justice that ran for 18 issues and includes a 0 issue.
While Ted had a series for a time, I don't believe Booster appeared in it. It ran for 24 issues between 1986 and 1988.
Then there's a peppering of guest appearances others might be able to fill out.
Then there's Formerly Known as the Justice League and it's sequel I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League miniserieses.
Then Ted appeared in Booster's comic for the Blue and Gold arc, issues 0, & 7-10.
Then there's the Blue and Gold miniseries from 2021.
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u/Saboscrivner 7d ago
I wrote this yesterday in r/BoosterGold:
I would honestly start with Justice League International. That series is the main reason people love Beetle (Ted) and Booster today, and it's where they became best friends and developed their comedic personas.
The legendary run by co-writers Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis went from 1987 to 1992, and it is collected in its entirety in Justice League International Omnibus, Volumes 1-3. Those volumes compile Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-25, Justice League America #26-60 (the same series went through three different titles over those five years), Justice League Europe #1-36 (a spinoff series that started after Justice League International #24 and often crossed over), some Annuals, and two miniseries that came along in the 2000s: Formerly Known as the Justice League and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.
Around the same time (1986-87), Blue Beetle had his own series by Len Wein and Paris Cullins (#1-24), and Booster Gold was first introduced in his own series by creator Dan Jurgens (#1-25). Those are fine, but they may feel slightly more dated and more generic at the same time, compared to JLI, which was unique in that it was written like a workplace sitcom but with superheroes.
Beetle and Booster stayed in the Justice League long after their solo series ended and after Giffen and DeMatteis left. Booster's creator Dan Jurgens took over writing and occasionally drawing Justice League America (#61-76), but it was more serious in tone, and the League got caught up in Jurgens' "Death of Superman" storyline around 1993.
After Jurgens left, Dan Vado continued as the Justice League America writer from #77-92, or something close to that. Then there was a creative shake-up in the Justice League titles, and Vado took Beetle, Booster, and Captain Atom and made them into a more proactive team in a new series, Extreme Justice (inspired by the Image Comics of the '90s, which were all about style over substance). It wasn't good.
Beetle and Booster fell into obscurity until the 2005 stand-alone issue Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1, which had major implications for both characters. That led into the OMAC Project miniseries and then the Infinite Crisis miniseries, which is where the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, first appeared. OMAC Project deals with the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, but I didn't like Infinite Crisis at all, and I think you can safely skip it.
Infinite Crisis led into the series 52, and Booster was one of the main characters in that epic. And 52 led into the 2007 Booster Gold series, which was mostly excellent. It ran until 2011, and it was recently collected into three Booster Gold: The Complete 2007 Series trade paperbacks, which I highly recommend. Ted has many important appearances in that series too.
A real Booster Gold/JLI fan would want to read Justice League: Generation Lost #1-24, which came out in 2010-2011.
More recently, Booster and Beetle appeared in Tom King's Heroes in Crisis miniseries (which I really didn't like, despite some beautiful Clay Mann artwork), Tom King's Human Target miniseries (kind of an alternate take on the JLI characters that fit them into a noir detective story, with gorgeous Greg Smallwood artwork), and Dan Jurgens' comedic Blue and Gold miniseries.
And if you're up for an alternate reality, track down Injustice 2 #5, 21, and 33. You don't need to worry about reading the entire Injustice series that came before it, or the rest of Injustice 2. Those are the only appearances of Beetle and Booster, but I guarantee that if you're a fan, you will want to read those three issues.
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
Yes thank you again for your comment! I've posted it here, and on the Booster Gold reddit so I had a better chance of getting answers I also just found the Blue Beetle Reddit page too!
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
Blue Beetle 1-8 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)
Booster Gold 1-10 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)
----------------------
*Legends 1 1986\*
(Booster Gold 11-12 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986))
*Legends 2 1986\*
(Booster Gold 13-15 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986))
*Legends 3 1986\*
*Blue Beetle 9 [#1987](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1987)*
*Legends 4 1986\*
*Blue Beetle 10 #1987*
*Legends 5 1986\*
*Legends 6 1986\*
---------------------
Booster Gold 16 #1986
Justice League 1-3 #1987
Blue Beetle 11-15 #1987
Justice League 4-6 #1987
Booster Gold 17-22 #1986
Blue Beetle 16-19 #1987
Justice League International 7-8 #1987
----------------------
*Millennium 1 1988\*
*Justice League International 9 [#1987](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1987)*
*Millennium 2 1988\*
*Blue Beetle 20 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)*
*Millennium 3 1988\*
*Booster Gold 23-24 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)*
*Millennium 4 1988\*
*Millennium 5 1988\*
*Justice League International 10 [#1987](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1987)*
*Millennium 6 1988\*
*Blue Beetle 21 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)*
*Millennium 7 1988\*
*Booster Gold 25 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)* (Booster run ends)
*Millennium 8 1988\*
-----------------------
Blue Beetle 22-24 [#1986](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1986)
Justice League International 11-21 [#1987](tg://search_hashtag?hashtag=1987)
I'm doing Crisis to Crisis run and fortunatly i included BB and BG in my run, so it's what i listed as my attempet to going on in a chronological order till Invasion! event. hope it's useful to you.
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
Thank you so much for this indepth guide of both characters! After 1987 though where do I go next? Lol.
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
Honestly i'm not reached that far i myself am in the Post Legends Buildup right now, and i didn't make my list go ffurthur than Invasion! right now. but if i get more info about that i will come here and update my comment.
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
Oooo I gotcha, and yes please come back to update thank you again for the list!!!!
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
Also have you read Batman Beyond or any other series you recommend/have a guide to? Lol
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
No, Honestly i'm new to Comics and i just started reading DC Comics like 2-3 weeks ago with Crisis on Infinite Earths.
But I know a site which i look often into when i'm preparing my lists (that list just covers Events Chronological order)2
u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
Oh wow thats awesome I am new to comics too! And thank you for the website imma check it out!!
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
and one more thing is I also read Watchman, i guess you read it already but if not go for it. Cliche recomendation but it's best i can do at this moment with my knowledge :)
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
I actually haven't read that, but I am gonna check it out and add it to my never ending list! Lmao but from thank you for all the info and a nice chat :D
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
Me too i have many comics in my list which i didn't read, bu i heard they are good. like Hellblazer 1988, The Question 1987-2010 etc. but i didn't read them yet so i didn't think it's good to suggest them when i myself don't know are they really that good or not.
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
I get it I don't like to recommend things either.If I don't know well myself. I'm actually interested in reading The Question he's one of my favorite superheroes and I have heard of Hellblazer and it's on my list!
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
I liked The Questions first Appearance in Blue Beetle he was like Badass and Mysterious and at the same time thinking how to aura farm in front of others :)
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 6d ago
Omg I didn't know The Question's first appearance is in Blue Beetle! And for real he is always aura farming lmao thats how he got Huntress in the JLU. Seeing him in JLU and other heros is what made me like him!
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
By the way, for Watchmen, are you talking about the one by Alan Moore its 12 issues?
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u/Inevitable-Age3622 7d ago
Yeah yeah, i read that during 12 days Iran-Israel conflict (I live in Iran) and it was some hell of a coinsidence like when i started reading them the conflict started and with it's end i ended the series :)
and man every step it was like i was one of them2
u/Mindless_Juice_1274 7d ago
That's crazy to have been there during that time I'm happy you're okay and that it's over. It's crazy that as you were reading the comic, you started it and ended it during the same times.
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u/unxolve 3d ago
This Tumblr post has a great guide of everything from the beginning through 2017: https://www.tumblr.com/mc-dude/166657159245/all-booster-ted-comics-spreadsheet
The Notes section also has interesting tidbits and helpful pointers, or specific moments.
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 3d ago
Thank you so much this is awesome 🙏✨️
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u/unxolve 3d ago edited 3d ago
https://www.boosterrific.com/comics/booksall.php
You're welcome, it's what I used for reading them (invaluable haha)
This is also the complete Booster, up to present day, even small cameos and things! If you find something that's up to date for Ted anywhere I'd love to have it.
Edit: https://www.boosterrific.com/characters/books/Blue+Beetle+II
That website does also have a list of all the times Ted + Booster have appeared together, just not Ted's solo appearances.2
u/Mindless_Juice_1274 3d ago
Omg thank you again! I am so excited to start his series! Also does this site have other guides for other comics?
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u/unxolve 3d ago
That site has everything you could possibly think of that's Booster-related! For other comics, in his FAQ he lists several sources that might have more broad Comic Chronologies:
https://www.boosterrific.com/faq.phpHe highlights these sites:
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u/Mindless_Juice_1274 3d ago
Omg this website is peak, your a real one for sharing this! Thank you! 😭🙏
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u/Oldberserk123 1d ago
I tried to make this list as easy as possible. I skipped over some Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis Justice League stuff because Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are reduced down to just jokesters who barely help the League, except as an occasional chauffeur and force field, though those stories are fun. That creative team was juggling a lot of characters, so it's not surprising that happened. There are also some events that one of the duo is inactive: Booster temporarily quits the team, and Beetle gets put into a coma; this is before the Doomsday coma (guys had a few comas), etc. I also tried to skip stories that focus mainly on one of them rather than on them as a duo (excluding their respective origins and the origin of the League, which I did include). Unfortunately, Ted Boxing Guy didn't make the cut, but that's also a good, fun story.
DC Universe: Legacies (2010-2011) issue 10 back-up story called Snapshot: Redemption (Ted Kord's history condensed and retold continues directly into Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Secret Origins (1987-1990) issue 35 (Booster Gold origin is the first story in the issue)
Legends issues 1-6 (1986-1987) (formation of the Justice League)
Justice League of America (1987-1994) issues 1-4, 25 (Booster joins the League and the best blue and gold story from this era in my opinion with issue 25)
Justice league quarterly(1990-1994) issues (1,6-10,14)
Justice league of america(1987-1994) issues 60-77, 89-91
Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005) Ted Dies)
Booster Gold (2007-2011) issues 1- 10
(New 52 happens; this is the only story with Ted and Michael together in that era )
Justice League 3000 (2013-2015) issues 11- 15
(Rebirth happens and Ted's alive now)
Blue and Gold (2021-2022) issues1-8
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u/rincewind120 8d ago
1 Blue Beetle (1986) - Introduces Ted Kord as the Blue Beetle in the post Crisis DC Universe
Legends (1986) Crossover event where Blue Beetle joins the Justice League
Booster Gold (1986) - Introduces Booster Gold as he launches his career as a hero.
Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America/Extreme Justice (1987) - Beetle is a founding member and Booster is the first recruit for the Justice League team and stayed there until Zero Hour, then jumped to Extreme Justice. Their time o n the team before the Grant Morrison JLA launch.
Countdown to Infinite Crisis/OMAC Project (2005) - In teh build up to Infinite Crisis, Beetle and Booster go through the harshest challenges ever.
Booster Gold (2007) - Booster begins his tenure protecting the timeline as the greatest hero you've never heard of.
Blue Beetle: Graduation Day/Blue Beetle (2023) - Ted Kord is back in action and co stars in this series that features Jaime Reyes