This time next week, we should have a copy of Blue and Gold #2 in our hands. (Fingers crossed!) In the meantime, let's take a look back at the earliest adventure of Blue and Gold.

Any wiki site can tell you that the very first time Blue Beetle and Booster Gold both appeared in the same panel (much less in the pages of the same book) was 1987's Justice League #3.

But despite working together as a team for the first time in the following issue, the pair wouldn't really become a pair for a few months more, not until they paid a visit to Paris in Justice League International #8, by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, et al.

(Don't let the "International" in the name fool you. This was a continuation of the same series. "International" was added to the title starting in issue 7, and would remain there until issue 26, when the book returned to it's "America" roots for the duration of its 113 issue run.)

If you're keeping track, this was Booster's second visit to Paris that year. He had already been with Black Canary in the pages of Justice League Annual #1 (as we saw here). Booster didn't have a lot of luck romancing Canary, and his bad luck with women would continue into the International era.

Thus the template was set for Blue and Gold's enduring (and endearing) 34-year-and-counting comedic bromance. Perfect from the beginning!

If you want to impress your friends, take note of the "Bwah-ha-ha" Beetle unleashes in Black Canary's presence (page 14 of the original story). That's the first appearance of what would become the pair's signature laugh!

And that's how comic book legends are made: one panel at a time.

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Congratulations to Blue and Gold artist Ryan Sook for finally giving me reason to sign up for an Instagram account with this very inventive announcement over the weekend on instagram.com/rsookart:

rsookart: So, yeah, this is my own personal gag about supply chain issues. But really, next issue will be there Sept. , 7! Support your LCS, retailers, publishers, and the titles you love during the snafus because even superheroes have set backs from time to time. And Booster and Beetle will be back in action ASAP!! #blueandgold #dccomics #dcuniverse #boostergold #bluebeetle #superheroes #newcomicbookday

Well, that makes it almost worth the delay, Ryan. Thank you. (Additional thanks to Rob Snow for calling this unusual Boosterrific comic strip to our attention.)

Click any of the above images to visit Sook's Instagram to see the comic in its native, one-panel-at-a-time format.

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Two weeks after delaying Blue and Gold #2 with no notice, DC has finally admitted to supply chain issues causing slippage in publication dates. Per Chris Arrant's report at GamesRadar.com/Newsarama:

DC has now revised the release dates for 28 upcoming single issues, along with five collected editions. Although this is the initial list, DC's spokesperson says the company does "expect further shifts in the future. DC will communicate these moves clearly and quickly."

Two of those 28 issues are Blue and Gold. Issue 2 is now scheduled for September 7, and the release of issue 3 has been postponed to September 28. Given the language of DC's notice, I won't be surprised if those dates don't slip as well.

(Not appearing on that list of 28 issues are Infinite Frontier #5 or Teen Titans Academy #6, both of which were originally announced to be available this week but failed to make that date. So are those books slipping for other reasons? Or is the problem already worse than DC wants us to think it is?)

I'm prepared to be tolerant, DC. Just keep us posted, ok? As any marriage counsellor will tell you, communication is key.

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I went to my Local Comic Shop specifically to buy Blue and Gold #2, and they told me they didn't receive any copies. This despite the fact that I had checked DCComics.com before I left the house, and the website said the book was "Available Now."

I figured it was just a case of the distributor short shipping the title. That happens. Frequently. (Yeah, it still bothers me, but what am I going to do, stop collecting comics?)

So I come home, go online to pick up a digital copy of the book, and I see this:

"Available on September 7 2021"?!? The book has been delayed three weeks, and DC hasn't bothered to tell anyone — not even their own web developers?

What could have possibly happened for such a late scrub? Are the shippers on strike? Were editors late getting art to the publishing house? Did it fail to pass inspection by the Comics Code Authority? Are the printing presses in Afghanistan? Or Haiti? Or Florida?

Que sera, sera, I guess. Probably just about everyone in the world — including me — has bigger problems than whether or not I get my hands on any particular comic book. If I have to wait until September 7, so be it.

But how about a little warning next time, DC?

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Booster booster Rob Snow writes to say

I don't think there's a Blue and Gold coming out in November, according to the solicits.

A thorough search of gamesradar's listing of "November DC Comics revealed: A whole lot of Batman" — ain't that always the truth? — proves Rob right.

Last we heard, Blue and Gold #4 (of 8) is currently scheduled for a October 19 release, so we would have expected to see Blue and Gold #5 the third week in November. But as we learned last month, both Kevin Maguire and Dan Jurgens will be assisting on art duties for issue 4, and perhaps that's the reason for the delay on issue 5. This wouldn't be the first time a book's release schedule had to be revised to accommodate an artist (or three).

Oh, well. Better late than never. Thanks for the alert, Rob.

While Booster Gold shows up nowhere else in DC's November solicitations, he will be appearing in the upcoming new edition of the DC One Million Omnibus, which Amazon.com expects to be selling by May 3 (as reported by BleedingCool.com).

The 1,000+ page 2022-edition of the Omnibus will sell for around $100, which may seem a bit steep for a reprint of Booster Gold #1,000,000. But Booster Gold one million is the first appearance of Peter Platinum.

There's never enough Platinum to go around!

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