DC released solicitations for the month of December earlier this week, and there was still no sign of Booster Gold. It looks like it's time to dig in for the long haul: it may be a quarter of a year or more before we see Booster Gold in a new DC comic again.

Before we abandon all hope, let me remind you that Jason Tabyrs of Comic Book Resources reported that a DC panel told the crowd at the Baltimore Comic-Con earlier this month that Booster Gold would be seen again in Justice League of America sometime in 2013. The panelists included Dan DiDio, who is both in a position to know and has a history of lying to us. So take that news as you will.

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Three things overheard this weekend at Comic-Con International 2012:

1. Screenwriter Andrew Kreiseberg on the progress of the Booster Gold television show being developed by SyFy (as interviewed by IGN.com):

"[I'm] handing in the script next month. It was actually pretty cool because I got to meet Dan Jurgens who created the comic book last night, and I spent about a half an hour convincing him that I wasn't just some gun for hire, that I was actually a huge fan of Booster as a kid. I wrote a couple of episodes of the Justice League animated series and when they asked me who I wanted to write, I said 'Booster'. So I've been a life-long Booster fan."

2. DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns discussing the Justice League International Annual at the "DC Comics: Justice League and Green Lantern" panel (according to Newsarma.com):

"It's really a Booster Gold story."

3. DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio elaborating on what to expect in the Justice League International Annual at the "DC Comics: Meet the Publishers" panel (according to Comicbook.com):

We wrapped up some stories, especially Booster Gold's, where we see some strange things happen to Booster, Blue Beetle, and the August General."

Thanks to MetalWoman and Russ Burlingame for the tips.

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Earlier this month, George Pérez was among the featured guests at the annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois. His question and answer session was recorded and hosted by Superman Homepage. Rich Johnson at Bleeding Cool transcribed some of the video, including the following quote:

Unfortunately when you are writing major characters, you sometimes have to make a lot of compromises and I was made certain promises, and unfortunately not through any fault of Dan DiDio, he was no longer the last word, lot of people making decisions, going against each other, contradicting, again in mid story. The people who love my Superman arc, I thank you. What you read, I don't know.

I've always been pretty outspoken against Dan DiDio and how I've interpreted DC's output under his direction as Publisher. While it is his job to be the public face of the company's decisions, for good or ill, to hear an industry veteran like Pérez explicitly say that DiDio isn't really the boss at DC should really teach me to temper my venomous tirades against the poor fellow.

It's been obvious for some time that DC's corporate parent, Warner Brothers, has been becoming increasingly intrusive in editorial interference of DC's storytelling. The obvious, continued editorial failures behind the rollout of the DCnU are the smoking gun pointing to a dysfunctional, fractured leadership.

As much as I have blamed DC Comics Co-Publishers DiDio and Jim Lee for the recent poor treatment of Booster Gold, I should give DiDio the benefit of the doubt with his plans for Justice League International. After all, if Booster Gold doesn't reappear in a new title soon, there will be plenty of blame to go around.

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So last week we learned that Justice League International is being canceled for reasons as yet unknown. I've gnashed my teeth over the potential loss of Skeets and the future undiscovered country for the members of the JLI. What could motivate DC to do such things?

I'm not alone in trying to guess what's coming next. Among those speculating is Tom Bondurant, who considers the JLI's future in his "Grumpy Old Fan" column for Comic Book Resources's Robot 6 blog.

A JLI book which took such an approach [as Checkmate] might come out something like Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke's Justice League Elite. That wouldn't be so bad by itself, but if the next JLI included high-profile superheroes like Booster Gold and Guy Gardner, having to juggle public images with office politics and the dangers of diplomacy, it could be a real change of pace for the League books.

Or, you know, DC could just make it another "proactive" super-team like Extreme Justice...

Some people remember the Alamo or the Lusitania. I remember Extreme Justice. *shudder*

Meanwhile, James Hunt reports for Comic Book Resources on DC's panel at the Kapow Comic Convention in London last weekend. After DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio rejected a question about the Flash from an event attendee, another audience member asked about the future of Booster Gold and Skeets. Dan DiDio's response was short and cryptic:

DiDio: There is a definite plan. I love Skeets! Just like I love Wally West.

Take note that's the same Wally West who, despite being the focus of the past 25 years of Flash comics, hasn't been seen since his predecessor ruined history in Flashpoint. Could Skeets be busy behind-the-scenes working to restore the missing West to reality? Or does DiDio just mean that we won't be seeing Skeets anytime soon, either?

Poor, poor Skeets.

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On Friday, DC announced via their blog that Justice League International Annual #1 will be shipping August 29, 2012. DC promises that "the ramifications of this [issue] will be felt across the board," but the best part of this news is that Geoff Johns will be co-writing the book.

Johns is probably on-board for this one-shot because the issue will tie-in with his regular gig as writer of Justice League (issue #12, specifically). For his part, co-writer DiDio is probably on-board to tie-off some loose ends dangling from the his recently-canceled gig as writer of OMAC. Fans of either series should be excited about the crossover potential here, especially since Johns and DiDio are Chief Creative Officer and Co-Publisher of DC Comics, respectively, and therefore are in a position to see that what happens in their issue of JLI is relevant to events throughout the company.

If the solicitation cover is any indication, it looks like the first thing that the powerful pair has done is ensure that Booster Gold no longer has any gold on his cowl. That's already a change for the better.

Join the discussion of this news in the Boosterrific Forum.

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