Last July, DC Collectibles revealed a two-pack of DC Icons Blue Beetle and Booster Gold figures at San Diego Comic Con 2016 to be released later this year. Yet the figures were surprisingly absent from the DC Collectibles shown two weeks ago at Toy Fair in New York.

On Friday, Jeffrey Lyles of LylesMovieFiles.com reported that he investigated the absence and was told by DC Collectibles Vice President Kevin Kiniry that the figures have been canceled.

At The Fwoosh, a web forum dedicated to action figure enthusiasts, others are posting confirmation of the cancellation. "Big Bad Voodoo Lou" posted his correspondence with DCC, including his eloquent plea for the figures:

Dear Vice President Kiniry and everyone else at DC Collectibles,

"There have been a lot of rumors coming out about the future of DC Collectibles post-Toy Fair. The one that concerns me the most is the future of the Icons Blue Beetle and Booster Gold two-pack. Those two are my favorite comic book characters, and they have been ever since I was a kid in elementary school, growing up in the '80s. I am a completist when it comes to collecting Beetle and Booster comics, toys, and other merchandise -- which, as you can imagine, is far cheaper than being a Batman completist, but also an attainable goal. (Please don't get me wrong; I buy other DC Comics and Collectibles products too!)

"Anyway, even though I'm close to 40 years old, it broke my heart a little to read that the upcoming two-pack may have been canceled due to lack of retailer interest. Is this true? I know that Etrigan is canceled, but several other announced Icons figures will still be coming out. I also read that DC Collectibles wants to move in the direction of more multi-figure sets, including "Iconic Moments" from comics, with story-specific accessories and displays.

"Well, this two-pack sounds like it would meet all those criteria. Beetle and Booster will never be among DC's A-listers or even on the strong, increasingly-recognizable B-list, but they are beloved C-listers from one of DC's most fun comics of all time. Greg Berlanti has even discussed plans for a Booster Gold movie, so there is definitely support out there! I know anecdotal evidence from one collector probably means little to you, but EVERY collector I know, in real life and online, was excited about this set, and none more than I. I've been looking forward to it since it was announced last summer, and I really hope we all get a chance to buy it, sooner rather than later.

"Could you please confirm either way, just to put my mind at ease? Thank you. I appreciate the work you're all doing, especially on the Icons line. But Beetle and Booster are such mainstays in the DCU, they are truly Icons in every sense of the word, and the line will never be complete without them."

The response Lou received read:

"Blue and Gold have a soft spot in our hearts as well. But to your point their C+ status was not enough to get retailers to order in large enough quantities. So at this time we had to cancel their 2-pack. We hope that they will live again in the future but we currently don't have them scheduled.

"Thanks for touching base and we wish we had better news to share.

Kevin
KEVIN KINIRY | Vice President — DC Collectibles

As disappointing as this news is, it can't be much of a surprise that comic shops didn't jump at a chance to sell $60 action figures of characters who haven't appeared in comics in years.

Oh, well. At least we've still got Thomas & Friends (he says, scratching his head).

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Today is New Comic Day, but you won't find Booster Gold in any of today's releases at your Local Comic Shop. If you want Booster, consider rectifying that buy winning this eBay auction for a slabbed CGC 9.8 copy of Booster Gold #1 signed by Dan Jurgens. What a bargain at only $375!

If you're looking for something a little cheaper, you'll find the Eaglemoss DC Chess Collection piece number 61: White Pawn Booster Gold elsewhere on eBay.com. It can be yours for as little as $8.00 (plus shipping)!

A chess piece is hardly an action figure, but perhaps it will tide you over until that DC Icons Blue Beetle and Booster Gold two-pack arrives. (Remember those?) Announced at Comic Con International in July, it won't be available until June 29, 2017! And unlike the chess piece, the figures will have a suggested retail price of $55.00.

So maybe you shouldn't buy those eBay items. If you save $2 a week between now and June, you'll easily be able to buy the greatest action figures ever made and still have enough left over for a nice lunch.

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There was a rumor that we'd see some new DC Comics action figures at San Diego Comic-Con International this week. Those rumors were true! Feast your eyes on these beautiful things:

According to Jenna Busch at ComingSoon.com, this 2-pack of upcoming figures in the DC Icons line was unveiled at the DC Collectibles panel. The figures will come "with word balloons and alternate laughing heads." That sounds like a set of figures I'll have to own!

What other Booster Gold news might we hear before the weekend is over, I wonder?

(Special thanks to The Blot for alerting us that this reveal was coming.)

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For the better part of the past decade, someone identified as "Industrial Toy Werks" has been selling a series of custom action figures as though they were foreign bootlegs of the popular but long-discontinued Kenner Super Power Collection. Included in this line of figures was a Booster Gold, and one of those showed up on eBay.com this past week.

Photos from eBay.com auction by primetime_njd

ITW has become known as a pretty high quality bootleg, especially considering the detailing put into the custom blister card packaging. The Booster Gold card is no exception, reusing art from the DC Heroes role-playing game to make a card that you'd expect to find on a legitimate Super Powers Collection product.

If you Google this figure (or look at the back of the card), you'll see other ITW Booster Gold figures painted with gold paint. That color scheme was probably influenced by the Justice League Unlimited figure released in 2004. This custom is a more comic-accurate yellow, like the second Booster Gold JLU figure released in 2009. How many of these did ITW make?

Eagle-eyed critics might also notice that the figure's gloves are blue and his bracelets are gold. Booster's classic, high-collar costume had gold gloves and blue bracelets. The colors were inverted in Booster's 2007 collarless redesign. Even I'll admit that complaining about that sort of detail about a custom figure is simply nitpicking.

The auction is closed now, but the seller was asking $269.99 (+ $9.95 shipping)! That's about the going rate for original Super Powers figures still on their original card. That's a lot of money. If Booster Gold were here, no doubt he'd want his cut.

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The second wave of DC Comics' new Icons line of six-inch scale action figures reaches comic book stores today. Included in this release is Blue Beetle: Infinite Crisis, better known in these parts as the Blue Beetle that Booster Gold created in the old universe that doesn't exist anymore. That seems a weird choice from an increasingly schizophrenic DC.

DC promotes the line saying "you can collect action figures of your favorite DC Comics characters from any era." So far, that means mostly pre-"New 52" eras. The line has announced plans for classic versions of Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Superman, and Harley Quinn. It seems likely that if they ever get around to making a Booster Gold, he'll have a high collar. That's not a bad thing.

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