Take heart, Booster boosters! Cort Carpenter has filled the gap of new Booster Gold art this week by sharing with us his latest sketchbook commissions.

Soo Lee

Bob McLeod

Ryan Kelly

By my count, Cort has now shared with us more than 67 pieces of commissioned Booster Gold art (many of which you can see larger on Cort's Twitter and imgur accounts). I don't know how he affords them all. Maybe he's a secret billionaire. All the best superheroes are, you know.

In his email, Cort teased the possibility that he may have as many as five new commissions to share with us before the end of the year. I think you'll agree that gives all Booster boosters something to look forward to.

Thanks, Cort!

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: bob mcleod commissions cort carpenter fan art imgur.com ryan kelly soo lee twitter.com

I need a little help.

Last week, DC published this house advertisement in digital editions of several books, including Green Arrow 80th Anniversary and Teen Titans Academy 2021 Yearbook.

However, when I bought a physical copy of Teen Titans Academy 2021 Yearbook for my collection, I discovered that the ad is nowhere to be seen in its pages. (And that's despite the issue's dedication to duplicating a high school yearbook, complete with a section for "Boosters & Corporate Sponsors." You missed a great synergy opportunity there, DC!)

In years past, I used to have access to weekly floppies so I could execute this search myself. But there have been far too many casualties during The Pandemic, and my opportunity to flip through DC comics each week is one of them. Now I can only touch what I buy, and I can't buy everything.

Therefore, I need your help identifying whether the ad actually appears in *any* physical books published by DC last week. Or maybe books coming this week.

I can hear some of you saying, "What difference does it make what physical comics it appears in? Can't you just list the digital editions it's in?" Yes, I can and maybe should. However, I strongly doubt that any of us will have access to the same digital editions in, say, 30 years. Who knows what ads will be included in whatever format the future will use for digital "reprints." That's why I want to identify where this ad might be in physical media, so that Booster boosters in the future can have access if they want it.

I mean, we all expect Blue and Gold to still be around in 2050, right? Hopefully more famous and beloved than ever before!

Thanks for your help.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: advertisements blue and gold ryan sook

I would like to thank all the Booster boosters who pointed me to Monday's Nerdist.com interview with the writer of the upcoming Blue and Gold mini-series by some guy named Dan Jurgens.

It is a pretty interesting read, and not just because it has an exclusive 5-page preview of the first issue. For example,

[I]n the wake of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the heroes of the DC Universe remember all previous continuities. So will remembering all this trauma play into Blue and Gold?

Turns out, not so much. According to Jurgens, "Booster is aware of it, of course, while Ted doesn't want to address it. He knows of it but also buries it."

Jurgens elaborated further, saying, "From a creative standpoint, I don't want to dwell on it. We did it in the 2007 Booster Gold series and I'm hesitant to dive into something that is now 15 plus years old. I think we're far better off simply driving right into current stories. That's what seems most fair to readers, as anything else ends up with multiple pages of explanation."

It's been 15 years since volume 2? Thanks for making me feel old, Dan.

All kidding aside, one of Jurgens' greatest strengths as a writer has always been an ability to blend the old and new so that new readers don't feel excluded while still winking at longtime fans. While that can occasionally be frustrating — no, seriously, *who* is the Black Beetle? — we have to recognize that's how comics worked throughout their heyday, and if a publisher isn't attracting new readers, they might as well go ahead and close up shop.

On a personal note, I should mention that Jurgens' "big tent" approach to comic book universe continuity has also made building this site so much fun. It's easy to imagine that all of Booster Gold's adventures have happened to a single character in a dynamic universe when the artist shepherding that character's growth has been so careful not to infringe upon the creations of the many other artists contributing to the ever-expanding multiversal tapestry. Jurgens knows that the first principle of good collaborative storytelling is learning to say "Yes, and...."

I strongly recommend that if you haven't already, you drop by Nerdist.com to read Eric Diaz's article. As I said above, it's got pictures. You *definitely* want to see the pictures of Ryan Sook's art.

And I suppose it probably goes without saying that you also *definitely* want to buy Blue and Gold when it comes out in three weeks.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: dan jurgens eric diaz interviews nerdist.com previews ryan sook

Because I'm a curmudgeonly old man, I don't have an Instagram account and cannot see the beautiful Blue and Gold art that series artist Ryan Sook is sharing via his account at instagram.com/rsookart/.

Luckily for all of us, @dailybluegold has been reposting some of those images on Twitter. And they. Are. Beautiful.

If those don't get you excited about Blue and Gold, due in your Local Comic Shop on July 20, then I don't know what will.

Maybe it's time I finally got an Instagram account. Thanks to Rob for making sure I saw those.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue and gold blue beetle dailybluegold instagram.com rob snow ryan sook twitter.com

As pointed out to me by Rob Snow, New York Comic Con and Metaverse Comics has released a 45-minute long video interview with Blue and Gold creators Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook to promote the upcoming series.

The creators talk about what kind of story it will be, whether or not new fans will have any idea what's going on, and which of them feels more like Booster and which feels more like Beetle. (Spoiler Alert! It's exactly the ones you expect.) They even screenshare some artwork and script plans. I'd say it's worth a listen for die-hard Booster boosters.

If the above embed doesn't work for you, you can find the video at Facebook.com or FindTheMetaverse.com.

Thanks, Rob, Jurgens, and Ryan (and interviewer Mike Negin)! Blue and Gold is set for a late July release.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue and gold dan jurgens facebook.com interviews mike negin rob snow ryan sook