I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of digital comics. I have several reasons for that, but they mostly boil down to "I grew up reading paper comics, and I intend to die reading paper comics." That's looking increasingly likely in the current COVID-19 era.

That said, digital comics have long had their fans, and now they have a few benefits that old-fashioned paper comics, or "floppies," don't. With so many comic shops and publishers still shuttered, digital comics allow you to remain socially distant and disease-free (assuming no one else is using your keyboard) while still supporting the companies and artists whose work you enjoy. It's a win-win in an otherwise uncertain world.

Which brings me to the DC Universe streaming service. I think it's a great boon for DC fans looking to scratch their super-hero itch. While it would be easy for them to focus on the A-listers like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League, they also manage to support the lesser known heroes, like Booster Gold.

Case in point: Alex Jaffe's article on DCUniverse.com encouraging unfamiliar fans to "BINGE THIS: BOOSTER GOLD is the Greatest Geoff Johns Series You've Never Read," which includes the following paragraph:

Why is Booster Gold the perfect agent to protect the timeline? Because he's the last person you'd ever expect to be crucially important to its survival. To keep time bandits from interfering with Booster's work, his crucial time traveling missions must be kept absolutely secret... making Booster Gold the first great Super Hero whose secret identity is an incompetent Super Hero. But with all of time at his fingertips, can Booster avoid the pitfalls of trying to "fix" the tragedies which must come to pass? And if not, will the timeline himself even let him succeed? And what exactly is the mysterious connection between Booster Gold and his Time Master mentor, Rip Hunter? All will be revealed, or at least alluded to, in esoteric continuity clues scrawled onto chalkboards. Whether you're obsessed with continuity or merely the idea of it, this series is a comic binger's dream.

He's right. It's a pretty good series, especially for DC continuity nuts like me. I think I'll go re-read the series myself. And maybe I'll do it digitally. I'd hate to risk getting virus all over my longboxes.

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Looking for something to give thanks for this year? Look no further than your Local Comic Shop, where you'll find this beauty come Wednesday!

photo tweeted by @thedanjurgens

Booster Gold: The Big Fall is the first full color reprint of the first year of Booster Gold comics originally published in late 1985. It only took 34 years!

The 320-page hardcover book retails for $39.99, but for that price you get 12 issues in full color (presumably using the same art currently available online at DCUniverse.com) printed on quality paper.

To give you a better idea what you might expect, here's the splash page from Booster Gold #1 scanned from my original copy:

And here's the same page reproduced online at Comixology.com:

As you can see, the difference is striking. (Kudos to DC for not "correcting" Tom Ziuko's coloring of Booster's original star.) And that's not all you can expect from this reprint.

According to advance solicitations from Diamond Comics (the exclusive comics distributor for DC Comics), The Big Fall will also contain "design material, unpublished story pages and more." That's vague, but it may refer to art that Dan Jurgens teased on Twitter back in April showing Booster Gold paying a visit to the Fortress of Solitude originally intended for Booster Gold #6. Seeing unused art pages from the earliest adventures of our hero should be quite the enticement for Booster boosters everywhere.

Buy a copy and make Skeets (and yourself) very happy.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: big fall comixology.com dan jurgens dcuniverse.com new releases reprints tom ziuko twitter.com

As usual, I'll be taking New Years Eve off to watch football. In the meantime, consider revisiting these, the top 5 most read Boosterrific.com posts from the past year.

5. Friday, May 4: More Fung at C2E2
In which Herbert Fung shared his Booster Gold commission from Tom Grummett.

4. Wednesday, May 16: New Releases: Batman 47 and Injustice 2 26
In which I showed you a picture of Booster Gold wearing a Booster Gold t-shirt from Injustice 2 #26.

3. Friday, February 2: This Day in History: Superfriends
In which I highlight the Linda Medley/Art Adams JLI pin-up from Action Comics #600.

2. Wednesday, September 19: A Streaming Pile
In which I explain my reasons for not subscribing to the DC Universe streaming service.

1. Wednesday, July 18: New Release: Injustice 2 30
In which I announced that Injustice 2 #30 had gone on sale featuring Red Lantern Starro (and Booster Gold's new jacket).

See you in 2019.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: art adams blog dcuniverse.com fashion herbert fung injustice linda medley recap tom grummett

DC Comics' solicitations for December don't give Booster Gold fans much to talk about. (Heroes in Crisis #4 is delayed to January, and The New Teen Titans Omnibus Volume 4 reprinting New Teen Titans #29 and #30 won't ship until May). But blogs abhor a news vacuum. Therefore, let's dig into the Boosterrific fan mailbag for a question very much related to yesterday's poll question.

On Monday, Bob dropped by to ask

Boosterrific-did you get DC all access? and if so what do you think of it? I got it and it only has 12 issues of Booster Gold's 45 issue second run. It has none of the first run. And none of Rip Hunters -Time Masters. I am curious to know your thoughts.

Hi, Bob! First of all, I have to admit that I'm not an early adopter. I'm also a cheapskate. Therefore, I like to hear from friends and critics if something is going to be worth $8 a month before I buy in to the DC Universe streaming service. I found Mike Sterling's review on ProgressiveRuin.com helpful, but I'm still waiting for a thumbs-up from a couple of my die-hard DC-fan friends before taking the plunge myself.

That said, it still might be a while before I check it out. I got the impression that the service wasn't going to give me much I hadn't already seen, and so far, it looks like I was right. Sure, I like Super-Friends and Batman TAS, but I don't feel the need to pay to watch them for the dozenth time.

The highlight for me would be access to comics I haven't read (and don't own), and I might be more interested in the service once a better selection of DC's back catalog of comics is online. I've read waaay too many comic books to need someone to "curate" my options for me. (By the way, Bob, anyone can currently buy and read Booster Gold volume 1 online at Comixology.com. Is Booster Gold not good enough for your streaming service, DC?)

In other words, I get the impression that the service isn't for me, at least not yet. But I'm willing to be patient about it. Good content isn't time-sensitive.

UPDATE 2018-09-19: Booster makes brief appearances (kind of) in today's Harley Quinn #50 and Mister Miracle #11.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: bob rossetto dcuniverse.com progressiveruin.com solicitations teen titans