Today is a red letter day in the history of Booster Gold publications!

1. 336 days between Superman #124 and Chase #4 (Apr. 1997 to Mar. 1998)
2. 303 days between Bat-Mite #4 and now (November 2015 to present)
3. 302 days between Martian Manhunter #24 and JLA: Our Worlds At War (Sept. 2000 to July 2001)

DC has just started another reboot Rebirth where it is implied that a character existing outside of DC history has changed history for his own ends. It seems almost every character in the current DCnU has made an appearance, but so far, there's no sign of Booster Gold or Waverider or any of DC's other Time Masters. Isn't this scenario exactly what they are supposed to be preventing?

Geoff Johns is the Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics who publicly professes an affinity for Booster Gold. Yet, whenever the big events happen under Johns' watch, Booster is nowhere to be seen. Why is that?

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Without further introduction, the 3 longest droughts between Booster Gold appearances are

1. 336 days between Superman #124 and Chase #4 (Apr. 1997 to Mar. 1998)
2. 302 days between Martian Manhunter #24 and JLA: Our Worlds At War (Sept. 2000 to July 2001)
3. 245 days between Bat-Mite #4 and now (November 2015 to present)

We'll check back on our list in July. Stay tuned.

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We haven't looked in a month, so let's just take a peek at our current list of longest spans between in-continuity Booster Gold appearances, shall we?

1. 336 days between Superman #124 and Chase #4 (Apr. 1997 to Mar. 1998)
2. 302 days between Martian Manhunter #24 and JLA: Our Worlds At War (Sept. 2000 to July 2001)
3. 244 days between All Star Western #21 and All Star Western #28 (June 2013 to Feb. 2014)
4. 238 days between Stormwatch #12 and All-Star Western #19 (Aug. 2012 to Apr. 2013)
5. 212 days between Bat-Mite #4 and now (November 2015 to present)

Yes, that's right. We've cracked the top five! Whoo-hoo?

How high can we go? The number three position looks totally reachable, especially since there was no sign of Booster in May's solicitations. However, To take the top spot, Booster Gold will have to remain out of action until at least July 6. Can that happen? I sure hope not.

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DC released solicitations for April 2016 publications this week, and you don't need me to tell you who was notably absent.

Take a look at the list of gaps between in-continuity appearances:

1. 336 days between Superman #124 and Chase #4 (Apr. 1997 to Mar. 1998)
2. 302 days between Martian Manhunter #24 and JLA: Our Worlds At War (Sept. 2000 to July 2001)
3. 244 days between All Star Western #21 and All Star Western #28 (June 2013 to Feb. 2014)
4. 238 days between Stormwatch #12 and All-Star Western #19 (Aug. 2012 to Apr. 2013)
5. 210 days between Haven: The Broken City #5 and Superman: Day of Doom #1 (Apr. 2002 to Nov. 2002)
6. 210 days between Superman: Day of Doom #1 and JLA: Welcome to the Working Week (Nov. 2002 to June 2003)
7. 189 days between Formerly Known as the Justice League #6 and Identity Crisis #1 (Dec. 2003 to June 2004)
8. 170 days between Bat-Mite #4 and now (November 2015 to present)

Unless Booster Gold makes a surprise cameo somewhere — and that seems unlikely based on solicitations — it looks like we're going to see the current position go higher. If Booster doesn't appear before May 1, that will mark 270 days between Booster Gold appearances. That's good enough for third place on the all-time list, displacing a gap set only two years ago!

By the way, when Booster Gold Volume 2 was cancelled going into Flashpoint, the series was averaging sales of about 15,000 per issue. That's about as well as Martian Manhunter and Secret Six are selling now. The New 52 Justice League International was canceled with sales of about 28,000 per issue, higher sales than more than half of DC's current offering. I don't see any reason Booster Gold wouldn't be a competitive seller in today's market.

So, DC, why no Booster Gold? Is it the same reason you're not publishing a Supergirl book despite having a monster hit on network television? Did you need that space in your line-up for Telos, a book so unwanted that it was canceled after two issues? Would it cut into the 11 Batman books you release on a monthly basis?

I'm sure DC has their reasons for hiding Booster Gold. Maybe they are even good reasons. But comic books are a business, and I've got money I want to spend. Until DC gives me a Booster Gold book, I guess I'll be spending that money on something published by someone else.

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I did the math this weekend, and unless Booster shows up somewhere in the DCnU continuity before his announced one-shot in September, the drought between Booster appearances will total 210 days. That will tie for the 5th longest span between in-continuity appearances:

• 210 days between Haven: The Broken City #5 and Superman: Day of Doom #1 (Apr. 2002 to Nov. 2002)
• 210 days between Superman: Day of Doom #1 and JLA: Welcome to the Working Week (Nov. 2002 to June 2003)
• 210 days between All-Star Western #28 and Booster Gold: Futures End #1 (Feb. 2014 to Sept. 2014)

Of course, this count assume that we see "our" Booster this September. Given that Futures End takes place in an alternate future, none of the characters involved in that series so far should be considered to be the same characters in "current" post-Flashpoint continuity. If Booster Gold: Futures End delivers a future version of Booster Gold, this drought will move into sole possession of the 5th longest span.

The four longer spans are 336, 302, 244, and 238 days, respectively, with that 244 being Booster's long disappearance between All-Star Western issues earlier this year. Now that All-Star has been cancelled (effective this August), who knows where or when we'll be seeing Booster after September.

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