Late last week, Booster booster J sent me a bunch of new sighting of old ads to update the list of Boosterrific Advertisements. However, one of his finds is this:

That house advertisement comes from Flashpoint Companion, a collection of promotional material — mostly cover art — supporting the Flashpoint event.

So far as I can determine, Flashpoint Companion was a digital only release originally published online in 2012 at read.dccomics.com. Although DC discontinued that subdomain URL in 2013, you can still read it free online via DC Infinite, Google Play, Apple Books, or Amazon (and probably many others).

Other than this two-page spread — essentially a glorified reading list — the only actual "story" inside the book is a two-page "The Origin of the Flash" written by Scott Beatty (which, according to his blog, scottbeatty.blogspot.com, was originally created as a Converse shoe promotion, probably sometime around 2008-2009, as I believe it was included in the DC Universe: Origins collection of the 2-page origins published in 2010 Never mind. It's not in there).

In fact, it's probably worth mentioning that all the art for this promo was pulled from other sources. The central image of Flash comes from an Andy Kubert drawn house ad at the end of 2010's The Flash Volume 3 #1 (as you can see at Flash fansite speedforce.org). The background behind the Flash (a callback to the sublime wraparound slipcase cover for the Crisis on Infinite Earths hardcover by George Perez and Alex Ross) was taken from Flashpoint #5 (also drawn by Kubert).

The crackle section with Booster and Professor Zoom are the covers of Booster Gold #45 by Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, and Hi-Fi Designs and Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1 by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.

I don't find print copies of this thing documented online in any of the usual places, but it's possible it has been overlooked given its slight content. Does anyone know if Flashpoint Companion was ever officially published (i.e., committed to paper)? Perhaps as an in-store giveaway?

As a general rule, I confine mention of digital-only content to here on the Boosterrific Blog and leave it out of the larger tracking Boosterrific Database, in large part because digital content is so ephemeral, even by comic book standards. Should I make an exception here given the ubiquity of the free copies floating around online ten years after its original release? Oh, the headaches of being an obsessive comic book chronicler!

Hearty thanks to J for your ongoing efforts to make Boosterrific better than ever.

UPDATE: J adds via email

A few years ago, DC had booklets advertising various characters, such as Batman 101 and JSA 101, where they'd print a list of essential stories, a some two-page origin stories, and comic covers.... In the "Justice League 201" booklet, they'd reprinted the Origin of Booster Gold from 52 #24. But unfortunately, it seems to no longer be available.

Like the Flashpoint Companion, I believe those also only existed digitally, and my bias against tracking digital media applies. For years, DC made those 2-page origins available for free on their website as part of their character guides; that content seems to have evaporated as well.

And that's why I prefer physical floppies: DC can't take the paper away from me (unless they back a moving truck up to my house).

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: andy kubert dccomics.com flashpoint house ads j scott beatty scottbeatty.blogspot.com speedforce.org

Things have been changing in America lately, and not necessarily for the better. Not so many years ago, many DC Comics super hero bloggers and I participated in semi-regular crossover events. Now very few of us are still posting.

Both FirestormFan.com and AquamanShrine.net have stopped blogging to focus their efforts on podcasting (fireandwaterpodcast.com). The Martian Manhunter blog, The Idol-Head of Diabolu, has likewise gone silent as its creator also seems to be concentrating on podcasts for his other blogs (DC Bloodlines and Wonder Woman: Diana Prince). So too, Splitting Atoms is now more podcast than blog. Others that have fallen completely silent (like Tower of Fate and Being Carter Hall). Some stalwarts soldier on, including SpeedForce.org and Kord Industres. We seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

Once again, this has made me return to a question I've asked myself from time to time since Booster Gold disappeared from the pages of DC Comics: Has the time for websites dedicated to super hero blogging passed us by? Would comics fans rather listen to a podcast than read a website? Is the problem the characters or the bloggers or just shifting demographics?

Like so many of those now-defunct sites, Boosterrific.com is first and foremost a hobby. I started working on it nine years ago, and I keep it running because I want to. Personally, I have no interest in phone apps, wikis, or podcasting. If that's the future of Booster Gold fandom, I'll leave it to someone else. (The Silver and Gold podcast — now a whole network — seems to be doing just fine without me.)

Don't worry, this post isn't a lead up to the retirement of Boosterrific.com. I'm only committing my rambling grumpy old man thoughts to electronic paper. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. It's just that I'm starting to feel kind of lonely out here all by myself. I sure would like some new Booster Gold comics to keep me company.

Comments (7) | Add a Comment | Tags: aquamanshrine.com beingcarterhall.blogspot.com dcbloodlines.blogspot.com firestormfan.com idol-head.blogspot.com kord industries new-wonder-woman.blogspot.com podcasts silver and gold sngpod.wordpress.com speedforce.org website update

No Booster Gold this September? Big deal. Before we go whining that we Booster Gold fans have it bad, let's stop to commiserate with fans of another character who have had it worse. Specifically, fans of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash.

Allen's first appearance marks the dawn of the Silver Age. Without Barry Allen and his interaction with the heroes of yesteryear, DC's continuity would be nothing outside of Barman/Superman crossovers. After two-and-a-half decades of entertaining stories, he was sacrificed to the gods of comic book mega-crossovers, rarely to be seen for another two-and-a-half decades. May Booster Gold never share that fate!

Booster Gold didn't debut in the DCU until nearly four months after Barry Allen sacrificed himself in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8. The two characters wouldn't cross paths for nearly 22 years in the pages of Booster Gold Volume 2, #3, and even that was an accident!

In celebration of its fourth anniversary, SpeedForce.org is currently asking Flash fans to share their favorite Flash moments. Site visitors will be able to vote on their favorite memories, and winners will receive Flash-related prizes. Submissions are open through tomorrow night, so if you've got a story to share, act fast!

Comments (5) | Add a Comment | Tags: flash history speedforce.org

The following blog post has been brought to you by the Super Friends of DC Comics fan blogging: Shag of Firestorm fan site FirestormFan.com pointed out this weekend that Lia of Flash fan site SpeedForce.org posted a video last week from Cartoon Network's Mad that features Booster Gold. (Sometimes tracking Booster Gold, like life, is all about who you know.)

That song sounds to me like something you might hear on TMZ. That's probably fitting for a song including a part by the celebrity-seeking Booster Gold.

For the record, that video, posted to YouTube by Vitouliss, was broadcast in the MAD episode "Al Pacino and the Chipmunks / That's What Super Friends Are For" that originally aired February 27, 2012.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: firestormfan.com lia mad shag speedforce.org television vitouliss youtube.com