Russ Burlingame and Dan Jurgens have their monthly Justice League International debriefing in the article "Dan Jurgens and Guy Gardner Prepare for the End in Justice League International #11" at ComicBook.com. I found Jurgens' answers to Burlingame's questions to be particularly un-enlightening this month, but even I will be quick to blame that on my own dissatisfaction at the issue and DC Editorial's obvious interference in the story.

Burlingame: It seems here that you're setting up the idea of Godiva and Booster as an official couple. Is that something you had hoped to pay off down the line, or just kind of beginning to wrap up your plot threads before you move onto your next project?

Jurgens: It was something I hoped to develop down the road.

Burlingame: For old times' sake, I just have to ask: Is Godiva Rip Hunter's mother?

Jurgens: Oh, c'mon. It's not like we've ever seen Rip with Elasti-hair.

I'm very frustrated by the cancellation of this series. I guess if there is an upside here, it's that Dan Jurgens still considers Booster Gold to be Rip Hunter's father, for whatever that's worth. It seems unlikely that Dan Jurgens will be investigating the Time Master when he takes over his new role as writer/penciller of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men this October.

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Russ Burlingame's latest no-longer-titled-"International Exchange" column with Dan Jurgens is already posted at ComicBook.com. As usual, it's a good place to go for creator commentary.

Burlingame: Godiva, meanwhile, is advocating for we Booster fans a little, suggesting that she needs to get a look at Skeets. Was that tossed in after you realized you probably wouldn't have time to write him in to a future issue?

Jurgens: No. At the time that issue was written I was unaware of that, and plans for Skeets were pretty much planned out.

Don't toy with my heart like that! I for one am still holding out hope that we'll get to see Skeets before this series ends. Don't take that hope away from me!

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Before yesterday's blog post even went live at 10AM, DC published solicitations for August. Included in those solicitations was the note that Justice League International will both crossover into Batwing #12 and be canceled.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN
Cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• It's the funeral for ROCKET RED.
• Several members resign from the team — who will be left?

BATWING #12
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by MARCUS TO and RYAN WINN
Cover by MARCUS TO
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• The secrets of mad dictator LORD BATTLE revealed!
• NIGHTWING in action in Africa!
• Plus: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL vs. BLOODSTORM!

JUSTICE LEAGUE #12
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale AUGUST 15 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
• "THE VILLAIN'S JOURNEY" part four!
• The team struggles to stay together as they try to combat their newest foe.
• A shocking last page that will have the world talking about this special, extra-sized issue!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and DAN DIDIO
Art and cover by JASON FABOK
On sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• Will this issue be the final adventure ever for JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL?
• The true nature of O.M.A.C. revealed!
• Ties in to the shocking events of JUSTICE LEAGUE #12!
• Guest-starring BLUE BEETLE!

What to make of this news? Is this part of the first big New 52 crossover event? Will the JLI return in September, renumbered from 0? Will the series be getting a new title, new writers, new artists? Will Booster Gold get his own series back? Where's Dan Jurgens going? Will we ever see Skeets again???

Join the discussion of this news in the Boosterrific Forum.

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There's no avoiding it: the DCnU Justice League International suffers from a bit of decompression, making reading each new issue an exercise in patience. Fortunately for those of us with a need for immediate gratification (e.g., Americans), today DC releases the first six issues of the series in a single, collected trade paperback, Justice League International, Vol 1: The Signal Masters.

The volume is advertised at $14.99, a savings of 50¢ off cover price -- per issue! Better, DC advertises this trade at 144 pages. Each of the first 6 issues is 21-pages long (including covers) for a total of 126 published pages. What's making up the 18-page difference, hmm?

Skeets is beginning to think that with deals like this, only suckers should buy individual issues anymore. Buy this collection and prove Skeets right.

(UPDATE 05/09/12 7:49PM: these bonus pages are mostly unfinished pencils and uncolored inks from the covers and a few character sketches. There are a few character design sketches for Fire, Ice, and Vixen. Nothing previously unseen featuring Booster Gold.)

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The latest of Russ Burlingame's "International Exchange" interviews with Dan Jurgens is up at ComicBook.com. I may have my problems with the decompression in Jurgens' recent JLI stories, but I have to say that I really admire his willingness to discuss each issue afterwards. That's above and beyond the call of duty for a professional with his portfolio.

IX: It's interesting—the dialog between Batman and Batwing suggests that even the superhero community isn't really clear on Booster's "deal." Did you want to roll back the number of people in the hero community who knew his "secret?"

Dan Jurgens: No. It's just that we tend to be a skeptical society now.

If an individual suddenly shows up and claims to be from the future, some people are bound to be skeptical. On top of that, I think Batman, more than any other hero, would be the type to check into it on his own and make sure.

Now, if you wrap that into the idea of a hero who advertises projects and tends to hype himself, well, you can see why Batwing would have assumed it was an act.

I'm skeptical about the implication that we were not a skeptical society "then." I don't think there has been a point in history where the general population would believe a man's own claims about being from the future. Even in 1955, we'd want a doctor to take a look for head trauma in that "future boy."

What I'm still more skeptical about is the possibility that Batwing isn't a jerk.

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