I hope everyone has awesome Labor Day plans, so I'll keep this brief.

Booster Gold may or may not be in Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 this week. He's not in the preview at aiptcomics.com. He wasn't in issue #2, so maybe Booster is taking the even-numbered issues off.

UPDATE 2022-09-06: Nope, he's in there, smiling away in a one-panel cameo appearance on page 6.

Booster probably isn't in Flashpoint Beyond #5 this week, but Rip Hunter's pre-Flashpoint Time Masters definitely are, as is Rip Hunter's secret time laboratory and future-teasing chalkboard. All of those things are visible in the preview at aiptcomics.com, which also seems to provide some spoilers to the ending of Dark Crisis, so beware.

Booster is almost guaranteed not to be in New Champion of Shazam #2, but I recommend you take a look at it anyway. I bought the first issue last month, and I loved it. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Hoppy the Marvel Bunny, especially when drawn by Doc Shaner. Some comics can be good even without Booster Gold.

Thank you for your consideration. I now return you to your regular scheduled holiday.

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While our hero doesn't actually appear on the pages within, this week's Flashpoint Beyond #0 can be considered Booster Gold-adjacent thanks to the inclusion of Rip Hunter's famous chalkboard of hints.

words by Geoff Johns; art by Eduardo Russo, Trish Mulvihill, Rob Leigh

Hunter's chalkboard made it's first appearance in 52 Week Six (written in part by Geoff Johns) and could be seen frequently in Booster Gold Volume 2 (written in part by Geoff Johns). That Geoff Johns sure knows a good idea when he sees one!

A variant of the Silver Age Rip Hunter and his team of Time Masters will clearly be playing a key role in Flashpoint Beyond as it goes forward. The zero issue also makes several references to other famous DC Universe time-travelers, such as Chronos, Abra Kadabra, and Professor Zoom. Of course, the original Flashpoint story was all about the chaos unintentionally unleashed by a time-traveling Flash, and the only DC Universe hero other than Flash to visit the Flashpoint Timeline was Booster Gold (in Booster Gold #44).

Will we see Booster in future issues of this mini-series? Only time will tell.

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Everyone has read Blue and Gold #6 by now, right? Good. Because I can no longer not talk about the issue's most shocking revelation!

No, I'm not talking about the outcome of the fight to the death between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Sheesh. "Death" is only a temporary problem in comic books. (Personally, I blame Superman.)

What I *am* talking about is this sequence from pages 11/12:

Let's clarify what happens here....

A. Rip Hunter establishes that a threat to the life of his parents is also threat to his own life.

B. Teresa Collins jokes that he might have to kill her.

C. Rip Hunter makes it clear that it would be "healthier" if she doesn't die.

Idioms are funny things. We are expected to assume that Rip's reponse means that it would be "healthier" for Terri if he didn't have to kill her. Sure, that would be bad for Terri, but what if Rip wasn't talking about her health but his health.

Because, as he just said, parents are pretty important.

Oh, I think you know.

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If it feels like a long time since we've had an issue of Blue and Gold, it's not your imagination. Blue and Gold #4 was released over two months ago!

Sadly, a pandemic-triggered paper shortage and international shipping restrictions have combined to make issues of Blue and Gold few and far between. I hope that difficulty in getting your hands on a comic book was the least of your problems in 2021.

The good news is that 2022 is starting on a better note. At long last, Blue and Gold #5 is due to arrive in your Local Comic Shop tomorrow.

A preview of the issue — with Rip Hunter and The Beatles! — is available at aiptcomics.com, but I know you don't really need the extra taste before buying.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

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Booster booster Rob Snow sent me an electronic-mail to share the news that Ryan Sook has already released his original pen and ink page art for Blue and Gold #5 for sale at felixcomicart.com.

Naturally, I went and took a look, and what I found blew my—hold on.

Since there is no dialogue in the line art (these days, the letterer places the speech balloons digitally over colored artwork), and we already know that Rip Hunter is on the solicited cover for the issue (as reported on the Boosterrific Blog back on September 20), I don't think telling you that a red-headed, bearded Rip Hunter appears in the pages qualifies as much of a spoiler.

But if you don't want to see what follows before the issue is released, I'll give you to the count of three to look away.

One.

Two.

Two-and-a-half.

Three.

Still here? Good, so am I. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Here:

Blue and Gold #5 page 18 ($250 at felixcomicart.com)

Rip Hunter and Trixie Collins hugging? Needle drop!

As Rob said in his email

I swear if Rip calls her Mom imma lose my $#!+

You and me both, Rob.

I guess we'll find out what sweet nothings they are whispering to one another when Blue and Gold #5 is released next week.

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