Long ago in a galaxy far, far removed from COVID-19, DC Comics released a comic book called Year of the Villain Hell Arisen #3.

What DC failed to mention when retailers were making their orders two months in advance was that this new book would introduce the first on-panel appearance of the Joker's new henchman, someone called Punchline. And because far too many people think a smiling homicidal maniac is cool, Year of the Villain Hell Arisen #3 sold out in most stores before it even hit shelves.

It just so happens that book also contains an appearance by Booster Gold, which means that many Booster Gold completists now have a hole in their collection. (Not me, though. I know a guy and pulled a few strings. I may not have rights to a first-born son anymore, but sometimes that's the price you have to pay.)

Anyway. If you missed that book, DC gave you a second chance when they reprinted it in March. However, that run (of over 11,000 books) also sold out. So here comes printing number three.

I sure do like that gray on this third edition. It reminds me of the time that Quentin Tarantino had scenes in Kill Bill: Volume 1 processed in black and white to abstract some violence. Martin Scorsese used a similar trick when he desaturated the climax of Taxi Driver. (True story: with no new comics to read, I've watched 56 movies in the past three months.)

The only way to make that cover better might be to put Booster Gold on it. That just might convince me to give away rights to my second-born as well.

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Booster Gold was in Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #2 and #3, so it seemed pretty likely he'd be in the final issue of the mini-series released today, even if the announcement solicitation wasn't explicit.

YEAR OF THE VILLAIN: HELL ARISEN #4
written by JAMES TYNION IV
art and cover by STEVE EPTING
This is it! Lex Luthor has gathered a strike force of villains he's leveled up to be the baddest bad guys around-Captain Cold, Oracle, Solomon Grundy, Black Manta, and Lobo, each and every one a recipient of one of Lex's dark gifts.

But the Batman Who Laughs has his own army of infected heroes. Six hundred sixty-six of them, all transformed into their worst selves.

It's a final showdown between two of DC's most iconic villains, all to curry the favor of Perpetua. Whoever wins will take over the Multiverse alongside her. Does Lex ascend, or does he get laid low? Does the Batman Who Laughs finally remake the DC Universe in his own image? Either way, life for our heroes will never be the same.

Sure, would-be heroes are a dime a dozen in the DC Universe, but six hundred and sixty-six of them? That's got to be, like, everyone. I'm not sure I'm ready for Evil G'nort.

Anyway, we don't have to guess whether or not Booster is in issue #4 because CBR.com has a preview, and...

...yup, that's Booster Gold, all right.

Assuming your Local Comic Shop isn't closed by your local government, brave a plague to buy this issue and makes Skeets happy! (And enjoy it, because Booster doesn't look to appear anywhere in the June solicitations, which you can find now on Newsarama.com.)

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Did you miss out on Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3 two weeks ago? You could buy a copy on eBay for $40, or, if you're lucky, you can find a rushed second printing today at your LCS for $3.99.

Sigh. (Seriously, I've been collecting comics for four decades, and I still marvel at how the speculator market works.)

While we're on the topic of speculating, I guess now's as good a time as any to mention that pop culture site wegotthiscovered.com reports... well, I'll let them say it.

Warner Brothers is looking to bring [Ryan] Reynolds back to DC but not as the Green Lantern. Instead, they want him to play Booster Gold.

Ok, sure. I'd buy a ticket to see Reynolds bring Zack Stentz's 2017 still-unproduced Booster Gold: The Movie script to life. But then, I'd buy a ticket to see Rob Schneider play Booster Gold. I'm not a hard sell in the Booster Gold department.

And now that I'm on the topics of actors, I should probably take the opportunity to mention what card -carrying Booster Brigade member Shawn Baston spotted in a youtube video tour of comedian Pete Davidson's apartment given to Netflix. Feast your eyes on this:

No, not the picture of Davidson's grandfather with Judd Apatow. Over there in the corner.

Yep, that's a copy of 1985's first printing of Booster Gold volume 1 #1. You've got good taste, Pete. That issue sells for upwards of $30 on eBay!

Double sigh.

UPDATE 2020-03-18: wegotthiscovered.com now reports that Reynolds has turned down the role. That means I've mentioned them twice in this post, which shows you how much mileage there is in speculating about such things.

UPDATE 2020-03-19: wegotthiscovered.com updates their own reporting to say that since Ryan Reynolds passed, WB now wants Chris Pratt. So, they're determined to poach all the Marvel actors then. I guess next week they'll be after Tom Holland.

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Hey, kids! Today's your first second chance to buy November's Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis #1 one-shot, as it is included in Tales form the Dark Multiverse hardcover collection. Better late than never.

Speaking of reprints, if you're the sort of person who reads comic book related news sites — either for fun or because you run a website devoted to a comic book character who only sporadically appears as a background character in other books and you're always looking for new content — you may have heard that today's Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3 went to a second printing two weeks before the issue was ever released!

Believe it or not, that post-Final Order Cut-off/pre-New Release sellout happened because DC failed to mention in the solicitations provided to the stores that a certain super-popular character appears in it.

That character is sadly NOT Booster Gold.

Per DC's February 11 press release at dccomics.com:

The debut of Punchline, the Joker's deadly new henchperson, has led to pre-on sale sellouts of both Batman #89 and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3—and now, DC announces that these issues, both written by James Tynion IV—are rushing back to press for second printings!

Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3's second printing covers the confrontation between Lex Luthor and The Joker, with help from Punchline and Mercy, as the conflict between the forces of Perpetua and the Batman Who Laughs reaches the boiling point. Written by Tynion IV with art by Steve Epting, this issue will arrive in stores with a recolored version of its original cover by Epting.

The second printings of Batman #89 and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #3 will both be published on March 4. If the comics aren't already on your pull lists, contact your local comic book shop and let them know you're looking for these issues to be added!

For the record, no one knew this milked cash cow "Punchline" character would be in these two books until DC announced it... on February 7. Hint to DC: if you want people to buy your comics in the specialty shops dedicated to your product, maybe you should tell us about them before those stores have to place their orders from you. Otherwise, you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot. You won't make a single penny on the two or more (or much more) times cover price I'll now be paying for a first edition printing of a new Booster Gold comic book, so you end up losing money and angering fans. That's good business, he says sarcastically.

Sigh. Oh, well. I guess it's just one last thing I can blame on newly ex-publisher Dan "don't let the door hit you on the way out" DiDio. (Double sigh. Now who am I going to blame for everything I don't like about DC Comics?)

If you can find it for a reasonable price, buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

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Booster Gold hasn't been in a new release in weeks, so I hope you've been saving your money. Because he's in three titles today!

Logan Peterson, a longtime friend of this site, dropped me a line to say

I just finished skimming through the new comics coming out tomorrow as I was sorting through them at my store, and I made some exciting discoveries! Booster appears in not one, but two of tomorrow's releases: Superman #19 and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #2. I won't say anything to spoil them, but I wanted to give you the heads up!

I had suspected that Booster might show up in Superman (in response to some recent, high-profile events in the life of the Man of Tomorrow), but the appearance in Hell Arisen is a total surprise. (The way Logan words that leads me to believe that it might not be an entirely welcome one. But then, the book is titled Hell Arisen.)

This is the solicitation text for Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #2:

Apex predator Lex Luthor is on the hunt for the Batman Who Laughs. To catch his prey, he must follow a trail of broken heroes... leading him to Jim Gordon, one of the victims of the Batman Who Laughs' deadly virus that turned the heroic police commissioner into the worst version of himself. The trail leads Lex to a lonely cell in the Hall of Justice - but it's not the good guys who come to stop him. It's more of the Batman Who Laughs' dangerous operatives! And if they couldn't resist the influence of the Dark Multiverse, then how can Lex?

And while we're at it, this is for Superman #19:

One day later! What happens the day after Superman reveals his secret identity to the world? And what repercussions will his decision have across the entire DC Universe? Plus, Superman: president of Earth?

Wait a second. "President of Earth"? Is that a thing? I don't remember voting for that.

Anyway, what Logan failed to mention in his note is that Booster will also be featured in the new collection Justice League International Book One: Born Again, which reprints Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-17, Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International Annual #2, and Suicide Squad #13. That's a whole bunch of great 1980s Booster Gold adventures reprinted on good paper for the very reasonable (modern) price of $2 per comic.

Buy one of those and make Skeets happy! (Thanks, Logan.)

UPDATE: As you can see in the comments, Booster has also been spotted in Batman/Superman #6. He's everywhere!

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