Have you been listening to the Silver and Gold podcast? The latest installment covers Booster Gold, volume 1, #18 from 1987.

To get it out of the way, guys, yes this issue is the last appearance of Broderick. And Booster Gold volume 1 should not be considered an "epic failure." Though it may not seem like much, twenty-five issues featuring a brand new character isn't so bad, even in the mid-80s.

That Broderick is never mentioned again is, in fact, my only complaint about this issue. He was much too good a character to appear in the spotlight only once. As I covered in my "The True Story of Booster Gold" series in 2015, Dan Jurgens had intended for Broderick to return. However, like Trixie and Dirk Davis, Broderick became just another casualty when Booster Gold volume 1 was cancelled going into Millennium.

Despite Roy and FKAjason's podcast snark, Booster Gold #18 is a good comic. Not only do we see Michael "Booster Gold" Carter lay his life on the line to behave like a hero when the cameras are off, we get to see it through the eyes of a skeptic. We're also treated to more of Booster's backstory. Great character- and world-building all in one comic! What more could you want?

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When I originally posted this clip from Warner Bros Entertainment's Batman and Harley Quinn in April, it disappeared before many of you got a chance to see it. Since the movie is actually being released tomorrow, let's try this again.

The movie was co-written by Jim Krieg and Bruce Timm (and Timm provides the voice for Booster!).

Given that Krieg is also a producer for Justice League Action, I think he deserves some extra credit for keeping Booster in the public eye during our hero's current absence from the DCnU. Thanks Jim.

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Some video games, like Pac-Man, Galaga, and Super Mario Brothers, have legs, by which I mean they never get old or go out of style. Minecraft seems to belong to that group now as well.

I've given you some links to custom Booster Gold Minecraft skins in the past. This is a new one.

If you play Minecraft and are looking for a new Booster Gold skin, you'll find this one by Clubsarah8 at NeedCoolShoes.com. Use it responsibly!

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DC Comics released solicitations for November 2017 earlier this week. If you don't already have it in digital or floppy form, you'll soon have a third chance to see Booster's final, one-panel cameo appearance in Smallville continuity courtesy of the aptly-titled Smallville Season Eleven Volume 9: Continuity. That looks like about our only chance to see our hero in November. My question is "Why?"

Let's look at the bigger picture. Based on available numbers assembled by ComcisBeat.com and ComicChron.com, DC Universe titles have seen hard copy periodical sales fall by more than 21% over the past decade (and more than 42% since Rebirth's initial bump). Trade collections prop those numbers up slightly (adding 2% in either case), but not nearly enough to cover the full difference. Do digital sales make up that shortfall, or it simply a case that fewer people care to read DCnU titles these days? I certainly don't, and the primary reason is the continued absence of one particular character. (Hint, hint.)

DC doesn't exactly look to be taking that bad news lying down. Looking at solicitations, you'll see several new DCnU comics coming in November featuring lesser-known heroes. Black Lightning shines again in Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands. The Demon is back in The Demon:Hell on Earth. Zatanna reappears in Mystik U. Even Batman's latest (and most lazily-named) protege, The Signal, is getting some love with Batman and the Signal.

While it is a good idea to inject new characters into the publishing line up, all of those are mini-series. You'd almost think DC was afraid of commitment. (Why wouldn't they be? Even death is impermanent in the DCU.) However, the company seems equally unwilling to drop the hammer on underperforming ongoing titles to make room for new ones.

In June (the most recent month for which numbers are available) the company had 3 ongoing titles that undersold the lowest selling issue of Booster Gold volume 2 (Booster Gold #43 in 2011). New Superman and Blue Beetle had June issues very near DC's pre-Flashpoint cancellation threshold. The worst performing of the three, Cyborg, is doing worse than its pre-Rebirth numbers, and it was trending below the old threshold then! Judging by November solicitations, all of these will continue into November with no cancellation, taking up valuable opportunities for titles with a chance to spark interest in new readers.

I don't mean to suggest that returning Booster Gold to action would reverse any of those negative sales trends for the company, but I do suggest it couldn't hurt. At worst, Booster Gold can outsell Cyborg! I can name at least one reader who would be picking up more DCnU books if Booster Gold was around.

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Americans across the country will be watching today's solar eclipse. They say that the path of this eclipse is a once in a lifetime event. That descriptor wouldn't mean so much if you were a time traveler like Booster Gold.

Enjoy the eclipse, everybody!

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