I do not yet own a copy of yesterday's Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last 52: War of the Multiverses #1, not because I couldn't make it to my Local Comic Shop but because they were shorted the issue in their weekly comic shipment. New distributor, same old problems. What a fitting way to end 2020.

Actually, that's not entirely true. (The part about the issue's availability, not 2020 sucking. 2020 objectively sucked.) My LCS did have 1 copy of the issue: the 1:25 variant Gary Frank cover. It looks great, but I'm not going to pay $40 for a comic in which Booster only appears on the cover. (Well, *maybe* if Dan Jurgens drew it....)

Yes, that's right: Booster appears on both the standard and retailer incentive variant covers of the issue without showing up on any pages inside. Has this happened before? I suppose I should be the one to know; According to the Boosterrific.com database, the answer is no. It figures that it would finally happen on a squarebound book with a $8.99 cover price. Another nice twist of the knife from 2020 on the way out the door. At least I still have my health.

While we're on the subject of books that Booster Gold doesn't appear in, I wouldn't be doing my duty as chronicler of all things Booster Gold if I didn't draw your attention to this sequence from pages 12 and 13 of this week's (surprisingly enjoyable) Jinny Hex Special #1:

words by Magdalene Visaggio, art by Gleb Menikov, Luis Guerrero, Gabriela Downie

No respect!

(It was not lost on me that in the story, Jinny "descendant of Jonah" Hex finds herself involved in shenanigans with a foe whose origins lie in the Old West. Booster Gold might have been the right ally to summon after all!)

Here's hoping we *all* have better luck next year, Booster boosters.

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What makes a hero super? The super powers! From awesome strength to zero-to-sixty speed, great superpowers are the most useful tricks in every famous costumed crime-fighter's tool kit. Michael Jon Carter knew this, and that's why he started his career with high-tech goggles.

Energy blasts, impenetrable force fields, flight: Booster Gold's best known powers are also the ones that show up the best on action-oriented comic book panels. But Booster's arsenal contains more than just power gauntlets and powered tights. He's also got a fancy pair of glasses which, while less flashy, can be just as useful.

Booster's goggles have been a part of his costume from the very beginning. Using components he stole from the Space Museum in the 25th century, Booster and Skeets integrated the goggles into the hood of his power-suit and fueled them with the same "little power rods" that supplied energy to his other technological abilities, as detailed in Booster's very first chronicled adventure detailed in Booster Gold volume 1 #8.

Though their technology isn't traceable to any particular hero or villain, their powers were clearly inspired by the incredible range of abilities of a certain Man of Tomorrow's Kryptonian eyes.

Booster has used the goggles' infrared filters to help him defeat the mad bomber Mister Twister in Booster Gold #5 (1986) and infiltrate the 1000's waterfront stronghold in Booster Gold #12 (1987). The magnifying ability came in handy when the Justice League needed to find a weak point in the otherwise indestructible hull of the alien Klaarsh spaceship in Justice League Quarterly #7 (1992), and the telescopic function was useful when traveling into the Old West to help Jonah Hex bring the warped Hootkins Gang to justice in All-Star Western #20 (2013).

Super strength is great if you want to break through walls, but a hero always knows which walls can be broken safely. Knowledge is real power, and nothing is better at gathering information than high-tech magnifying infrared goggles, just like the pair Booster Gold wears.

If you'd like to read about other powers in Booster Gold's arsenal, check out previous spotlight posts on his Force Field Belt, Booster Shots, and Flight Ring.

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Remember that time when there was a raging debate about whether Booster Gold, who had been missing from the DC Universe for months, was going to reappear in another character's comic set in the past?

I'm talking about All-Star Western #19.

Believe it or not, that issue was released 4 years ago today. Ah, it feels like only 3.

In the 4 years since then, Booster Gold has appeared in exactly 11 DCnU comics (4 All-Star Westerns, 3 Convergence tie-ins, 2 Bat-Mites, 1 Futures End, and 1 Flintstones, which may or may not be in continuity). That's less than one comic every 4 months.

Obviously, I think that's not often enough. Get on the stick, DC! I want more Booster Gold.

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Today at your Local Comic Shop you'll find the continuing adventures of Jonah Hex and Booster Gold in All-Star Western #21.

When we last left our heroes, they were returning to Red River Junction with the recovered gold and the sole surviving member of the Clem Hootkins Gang. But if the preview pages at CraveOnline.com are any indication, the trouble is just beginning for this odd couple.

Buy All-StarWestern #21 and make Skeets happy.

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Last time we saw Booster Gold, he was hungover and being laughed at by Jonah Hex. It's a pretty sure bet that things are going to get worse for our hero in today's All-Star Western #20.

You can find a preview of the (very gory) issue online at nerdist.com.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy, pardner.

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