By now you've got your hands on last week's Harley Quinn #74, right? So you've seen this:

I have mixed feelings about this.

On the one hand, if Booster and Harley were real people and not comic book characters, they'd deserve the same chance at happiness as everyone else. Regardless of the fact that she was trying to kill him as recently as a year ago, the pair would still have the right to seek happy, fulfilling romantic relationships regardless of their past history or public opinion. Whatever anyone outside the relationship (read: me) thinks about the suitability of the pairing of a jock from the future and a psychopath's gun moll should be irrelevant to that relationship.

On the other hand, neither Harley nor Booster is a real person. They are comic book characters who have become widely recognized by fans for being in decades-long relationships with other members of their same sex. Booster's relationship with BFF and fellow hero Blue Beetle has always been intimate but canonically platonic, yet the dastardly damsels Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy have chosen a more physical relationship. (As is the norm in American popular entertainment, the good guys have to play it straight while the femme fatales enjoy "forbidden" love.) Is it a coincidence that these two standard-bearers of non-traditional relationships were chosen to enter into a gender-conforming heterosexual relationship by publishers, editors, writers, and artists who should be aware of the characters' metatextual associations? I find that hard to believe.

As I said, mixed feelings.

Am I reading too much into it? Maybe. That might be the fault of my liberal arts education: looking for meaning where none exists. Maybe I'm grasping at external reasons to justify my own irrational expectations of my hero's choice of girlfriend. Who knows? Since I strongly believe that one should never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence, I think I will choose to look on the bright side and give love a chance.

Good luck, you crazy kids.

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: boostle harley quinn romance sami basri sexual politics

In a recent interview with SyFy Wire, Ngozi Ukazu revealed she almost had a job at DC writing for Blue and Gold.

SyFy: There's a rumor that one of the Big Two came knocking after your second huge Kickstarter. What happened with that?

Ukazu: It was actually DC Comics that came knocking and it just didn't work out. And that was fine. I think one reason it didn't work out is because I made a lot of demands. My attitude was like, "I don't have to work for you guys."

SyFy: Because you had a Kickstarter that just made $350,000.

Ukuzu: I'd love to write a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold epic. But if y'all don't want to collaborate, then we don't have to. I really like those comics but it just didn't work out.

Ukuzu has made quite a name for herself with her creator-owned, character-driven, award-winning Check Please! webcomic that follows the misadventures of a young gay man finding his way in the world of collegiate hockey. Given her oeuvre and her success at building a devoted audience, it would have been interesting to see what she might have created if DC had given her the green light. Could we have had an official, DC-sponsored Boostle?

Whatever her plans, we'll never know exactly how close DC came to signing on, nor should we read too much into the fact that DC was holding talks about a new Booster Gold comic. It happens all the time. For example, last year, writer Tony Lee, perhaps most strongly associated with Doctor Who comics, revealed via Twitter that he also had talks with DC sometime in the past decade about rebooting Booster. That obviously never happened either.

The takeaway is that DC is always exploring new avenues to merchandise their characters. Sooner or later, when the company feels that the idea and artists are right, Booster Gold will be back making monthly appearance on the racks of your Local Comic Shop.

You can read the whole Ukazu interview by Kamara Horne at SyFyWire.com.

UPDATE 2019-03-25: Ukazu confirmed the meeting and her plans via Twitter.

Who knows? Maybe she'll get a chance eventually.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: boostle kamara horne ngozi ukazu syfywire.com tony lee twitter.com

DC's latest round of solicitations have been revealed, and believe it or not, we'll be getting two comics with Booster Gold in them! The catch is that they're both reprints.

WONDER WOMAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA BOOK TWO TP
Written by DAN VADO
Art by KEVIN WEST, KEN BRANCH, MARC CAMPOS and others
In these 1990s tales, Wonder Woman takes over as leader of the Justice League of America, whether members like Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Booster Gold or Blue Beetle like it or not. After a final battle with her brother, Ice decides that her destiny lies with the Justice League! Plus, a cult that worships an alien intelligence must stop the team from discovering their dark aims—at any cost! And then, it's judgment day as the Overmaster returns...and the U.N. sanctioned Leaguebusters are taking Overmaster's side in this battle! Collects JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #65-66, JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #86-91 and JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE #13-14.
On sale OCTOBER 4 • $24.99 US

Heads up, those of you who came on board during the Geoff Johns years. In the Justice League International collected here, Booster Gold dies! (No, I'm not exaggerating.)

INJUSTICE 2 VOL. 1 HC
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by BRUNO REDONDO, JUAN ALBARRAN, DANIEL SAMPERE and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Tom Taylor continues his hit series Injustice: Gods Among Us story as Superman is imprisoned, and it's up to Batman to put the world back together. But with Superman's iron-fisted regime eliminated, other forces rise up to fill the void. And Batman doesn't have a lot of allies left to help stop them. But when Harley Quinn has an encounter with Amanda Waller, the new Suicide Squad ends up breaking into the Pentagon. Featuring appearances by Harley Quinn, Superman, Damian and many more. Collects INJUSTICE 2 #1-6.
On sale OCTOBER 25 • $24.99 US

As you can see, this hardcover will collect Booster's appearance in Injustice 2 #5, which hasn't even been released yet! How much longer until comics go straight from digital releases to hardcover collections with no floppies in between?

(By the way, this is probably an opportune time for me to comment on the rumor that seems to be winding its way across the internet — starting at i09.com — that Booster and Beetle have a romantic relationship in Injustice 2. If they do, that's fine, but there's nothing in the text that explicitly indicates it. To my eye, the pair appear to just be good friends, but others seem to believe that two grown men can't care deeply for one another unless they are kissing. Your interpretation of their relationship is up to you.)

In addition to these reprint collections, Blue Beetle #13 looks to be returning to the Justice League 3000 universe. Perhaps we'll be getting new Booster Gold adventures there soon, too. We'll see how that turns out in November.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: boostle solicitations

No, I don't normally run Boostle posts, but this isn't a bromance, it's a fusion.

Artist Stark-liverbird at Deviant Art combined the costumes of Booster and Beetle (and Skeets and the Bug!) to create this "Booster Gold + Blue Beetle fusion." Could this be the Beetle Gold of Earth-2? Maybe I'm old-school, but I think those gold boy shorts are quintessentially super heroic.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle boostle costumes deviantart.com fan art skeets stark-liverbird

I suspect that the results of this poll pretty accurately represent the ratio of Boostlers to the larger Blue and Gold fan base.

Last week's poll question: What should Booster Gold fans be most thankful for from 2012? (45 votes)

No matter how you look at it, 2012 wasn't a very good year for Booster Gold fans. Besides the news that there might be a Booster Gold television show, there isn't anything else to crow over. So I put it to you, Booster boosters, what made you happy in 2012?

Comments (6) | Add a Comment | Tags: 2012 blue beetle boostle polls