Don't worry, there are no spoilers for Blue and Gold #8 in today's post, but I can't say the same for the following link to ComicBook.com!

Now that you've been appropriately warned, here's the link to ComicBook.com where Russ Burlingame has a recap of how it took DC thirteen years (!) to finally tell us who the Black Beetle was:

The original plan to reveal the Black Beetle's true identity, was to do it in Booster Gold #25. The mystery proved so intriguing to readers, and the story for #25 was already so full, that Jurgens and DC opted to put it off until a planned double-sized story in Booster Gold #50. Unfortunately for Booster fans, Flashpoint happened, and the series ended with Booster Gold #47 in 2011 as part of the line-wide "The New 52" reboot. This is the villain's first significant appearance since.

To add a little extra salt to that wound, I will remind you that Booster Gold #47 was actually the 49th issue for the title. In addition to the 47 conventionally sequential-numbered issues, there were also 0 and 1,000,000 issues as well. So we could have had the reveal in a double-sized 50th issue number 48 if DC had let the series go on for just one more month.

And while we're on the topic of salty wounds, can we even be sure that the Black Beetle we got in Blue and Gold was the same character who put together the villainous Time Stealers in Booster Gold Volume 2 #7? As Russ points out, DC History is not what it used to be.

Honestly, I was so angry that the New 52 reboot truncated the continuity of my favorite characters that I strongly considered swearing off DC Comics entirely. (I meant it, too. As several ex-friends can tell you, I'm the sort of guy who can hold a grudge forever. It's not healthy.)

Several reboots and rebirths later, I still don't buy as many DC comics as I used to, but I have happily bought multiple copies of each issue of Blue and Gold with no regrets, no matter who they say Black Beetle is. I feel that's been money well spent, and I'd be glad to give DC more if they decide they want to do it again.

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If you're a regular reader of this blog, that means you're a Booster Gold fan and probably already aware of Russ Burlingame's online "Gold Exchange" columns recently collected into a book (now available on Amazon.com).

Well, considering that Booster Gold made his Arrowverse television debut last month, Burlingame has decided that the time is ripe for another book, this one specifically for CW fans who don't yet know much about The Greatest Hero They'd Never Previously Heard Of.

From Burlingame's announcement at getrevue.com

By coincidence, just days after The Gold Exchange paperback became a reality, The CW revealed that Donald Faison was set to play a new time-traveling hero on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and the description…well, it sounded a lot like Booster.

I quickly realized that fans of the show would want to know more about the character – after all, this was the first major DC character added to the series in years, and in that time, the show had taken on a wildly different personality of its own.

So tonight, as the world gets to see Booster Gold come to live-action for only the second time on TV, I’m announcing A Legend in His Own Time: The Fast-Forward Guide to the Greatest Hero You’ve Never Heard Of. Available as a paperback and ebook in July, A Legend In His Own Time is a condensed and annotated version of The Gold Exchange, trimming much of what the TV audience would consider the fat and providing some additional context for Booster and his history.

I’ve recruited Booster Gold superfan Kevin Allen to help wrangle the 600 or so pages of total Booster content I have down to something that can be quickly and inexpensively distributed, so fans can breeze through it before Legends hopefully returns in the fall.

Burlingame is already taking pre-orders for the book on JosieBook.com. Can any Booster Gold library really be complete without it?

P.S. — While we're on the subject of Burlingame's personal cottage industry of writing Booster Gold companions, we should also touch on the Gold Exchange special edition hardcover he announced last September. That book still hasn't shipped, but only for the very good reason that Russ has been waiting for Blue and Gold to end its 8-issue run so he can include interviews about it — and the reveal of the Black Beetle's identity — as well. I think we can all agree that's worth waiting for.

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You all know I'm not much for the rumor mill, but when the CW announced to Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday that actor Donald Fiason (most famous as a lead in the long-running Scrubs) will be joining the cast of DC's Legends of Tomorrow, they described his character thusly:

"The Legends first encounter this character at a different phase of his career whose golden years are in the rearview mirror. He is good guy deep down; his ego is looking for a boost that only fame, fortune, and glory can provide. While he claims to have been recruited to work for a mysterious time organization, he wasn't offered much of a choice in the matter. As an unauthorized time traveler with high-profile aspirations, he developed a mischievous streak and cuts a few corners along the way to achieving his dreams. He knows all about the Legends of Tomorrow and finds them inspiring because they are the kind of heroes who started at the ground floor, as opposed to inheriting their powers from an alien planet, a spider bite, or wealthy parents. But the big question is whether his respect for the team is going to be able to help the Legends out of hot water or get them into hotter water!"

If that sounds a lot like a description of one Michael Jon "Booster" Carter to you, know that you're not alone. I've seen several entertainment websites draw the same conclusion, and even the Internet's foremost Booster Gold reporter, Russ Burlingame, reports on the speculation at ComicBook.com.

So, will Faison be playing Booster Gold? Or are the producers of DC's Legends of Tomorrow teasing us? I guess we'll all find out when the finale airs on March 2.

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As I type this, the #1 New Release on Amazon.com in the category of Comics & Graphic Novels Literary Criticism is

If you don't remember the original "Gold Exchange" columns, Russ explains their history in the introduction to the book:

It started at Comic Related, and moved to Blog@Newsarama when I did. Just as I was beginning my time at ComicBook.com, the site where I still work, Booster Gold vol. 2 ended, and with it, The Gold Exchange. There were occasional returns to the story of Booster Gold, and I usually took the opportunity to discuss them with Dan, but as a recurring feature, the column effectively ended with Flashpoint, like so many other things at DC.

With Comic Related now defunct and Blog@Newsarama several facelifts (and owners) on from my short time there, none of this material is online in its original form anymore. Back in 2008, I was assured by both outlets that I owned all the content I created there, so while the more recent content is owned by ViacomCBS (the parent company of ComicBook), the contents of this book represent an updated, formatted, and edited version of a PDF I put together in 2011, with the intent of offering it at the ComicBook booth when I tabled at New York Comic Con.

For that reason, while some introductions and notes reflect that this book is releasing in 2021, the “real-time” commentary element of the interviews is retained as much as possible. This is, to an extent, preserving a moment in Booster’s history, and comics history, in amber. Appreciate it for what it is, and enjoy the many, many times I tried to get Dan to tell me a spoiler, only to have him say “Stay tuned.”

I read those columns in their native locations, and I'm still tuned. (When will we get to find out who the Black Beetle is, Dan?!)

Russ was kind enough to share a preview copy of the book with me, and I can heartily recommend it to any Booster Gold (or comic book) fan who wants to know a little more about how the sausage is made, so to speak.

Support comics journalism and get your own Kindle copy (paperback coming soon, maybe even by the end of the week!) at amazon.com.

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Those of you who had pre-ordered a Kindle version of Russ Burlingame's "Gold Exchange" columns from Amazon.com may have gotten some unpleasant news earlier this week when the listing was withdrawn and pre-order payments were refunded.

I reached out to Burlingame, and he explained that he was still working on completing the book but unexpected delays had been caused by family health issues.

I tried to push the release date to November 17, but Amazon never processed that and I received word that preorders had been cancelled when I missed my prepub date on Sunday. Unless something else happens I should still have it ready for readers between now and 11/17, but unfortunately because I missed my initial deadline they will not reinstate the preorders, and it won’t be available to buy until I have uploaded the files.

While that is a setback, it is good to know the book is still in the works. I've worked with Amazon a bit myself (plug, plug), and I know how it can be.

We can be patient, Russ. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything.

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