Write Eskana:

I was reading something and didn't see it in your database, although maybe you don't keep these... I found a picture of Booster on a variant cover for Dark Knights of Steel #1, with art by Alan Quah. He's not looking very knightly but I guess he is probably time traveling...

"Don't keep these"? That's exactly what the Boosterrific Database keeps! I just didn't know it existed. For reference, here's the cover, with Booster highlighted:

This was released in November 2021, which raises the question of how did it get past me? The answer appears to be because it's not a regularly solicited cover or cover variant or even a retailer incentive variant. This cover was an exclusive variant available only to shoppers at Midtown Comics. Midtown has stores in New York City, and I don't live there.

Fortunately for me, Midtown also has a website, midtowncomics.com, and they claim to still have some of these in stock. So I hope to soon correct for this oversight.

Thanks to Eskana for helping keep Boosterrific.com more complete than ever.

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: dark knights of steel eskana midtowncomics.com

Booster booster Eskana has recently found Booster Gold in a very unexpected place: a 1987 issue of the academic Journal of Consumer Research.

The journal article, "Material Values in the Comics: A Content Analysis of Comic Books Featuring Themes of Wealth," as its author Russell W. Belk explains, "seeks to investigate a more detailed agenda of materialistic themes expressed in comic books." To do this, he studied stories from popular series featuring wealthy characters, specifically issues of Fox and Crow, Archie, Uncle Scrooge, and Richie Rich.

Comic book aficionados will not be surprised to learn that the results of this qualitative and quantitative analysis of American pop-culture reveals that American pop-culture generally reflects Protestant Christian values. "In terms of wealth and consumption per se, the message in the stories seems to be that material possessions can be both good and bad."

Booster Gold appears more or less as a footnote following the article's conclusion, wherein the author concedes that the stories of yesteryear may not be indicative of future themes, especially considering the more "fallible and human superheroes" who began appearing in the 1970s and 80s. Particular attention is drawn to — you guessed it — Booster Gold Volume 1. "If Booster Gold is a prototype, it will be extremely interesting to examine the messages about materialism that are delivered to the next generation of comic book readers."

Given that nearly four decades later, Booster continues to be a polarizing figure explicitly because of his unquenchable twin desires for wealth and fame, I'd say not all that much has changed. Thank goodness. (And thanks to Eskana for bringing this article to our attention.)

REFERENCES

Russell W. Belk, Material Values in the Comics: A Content Analysis of Comic Books Featuring Themes of Wealth, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 14, Issue 1, June 1987, Pages 26—42, https://doi.org/10.1086/209090

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: eskana journal of consumer resarch russell w. belk

Once a week, Brian Cronin asks Twitter for silly superhero suggestions for random artists to draw for his "Line it is Drawn" column at CBR.com. Last week, the topic was

That delightful exchange got the world this drawing, from artist Caanan Grall:

Brilliant! I think this is a masterful expression of everything I want in a comic book.

Thanks to Eskana for pointing this out.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: brian cronin caanan grall cbr.com eskana fan art werehawk

Booster booster Eskana writes in to say:

Not sure if you saw it, but in your quest to account for every appearance of the Corporate Crusader, I found one out of the ordinary... My comic shop's "Comic Shop News" had a FCBD special with what seems to be original art on the cover, showing Blue and Gold (alongside the Hulk, Black Panther, and Invisible Woman) by Fred Hembeck. Just thought I'd let you know!

Most comic shops that carry Comic Shop News pamphlets give them away for free, especially on Free Comic Book Day, which is next Saturday, May 7.

But if your Local Comic Shop doesn't have any, you may be able to find copies for sale online at ebay.com, which is where I found this image:

sold by comrus1

Thanks, Eskana! Happy hunting, completionists!

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: 2022 comic shop news eskana fred hembeck free comic book day

Booster booster Eskana dropped me this note last week:

I don't know if you've seen these yet, but the Comicstorian channel on YouTube has been posting videos that contain some major Booster Gold. The host, Benny, has been holding "Dungeons & Dragons"-style role-playing games for the DC universe, and in each one the two guests are playing as the characters of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (Ted.) I've never played D&D, but the videos are pretty entertaining as the guests do a pretty good job of acting out their roles as Ted and Booster. The episodes seem to feature the two working with the new Blue Wally West to fix anomalies in time and the multiverse, so you see them acting out storylines such as DCeased.

I'm not a frequent consumer of YouTube videos, but I have played my share of D&D. More than my share, if the truth were known. (Full disclosure, an rpg campaign I ran in 2001 is the basis for a series of novels I wrote in 2016. *plug, plug*)

These guys at Comicstorian seem to know what they're doing, and, more importantly, they're obviously having a pretty good time role-playing as our favorite heroes. Given the current health crisis, a podcasting video might be as close as many of us will get to a real gaming session in the near future.

If you're interested in such things, you can find the video at YouTube.com.

Thanks for the link, Eskana.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: eskana role-playing game youtube.com