Wow. Genuine surprise. I really thought Fire would be the winner here.

Last week's poll question: Of his female teammates in the New 52 Justice League International, which would you like to see romancing Booster Gold? (35 votes)

Whether you are satisfied with the New 52 reboot or not, you have to admit that it hasn't gone well for Booster Gold's supporting cast.

In August 2011, I asked which supporting character you would miss the most from the rebooted DCnU, and you said Skeets. So far, Skeets has only been heard and not seen (save one off-model Booster cameo in Stormwatch #12).

In August 2010, I asked which character from Booster's first series you would most want to see returned to action, and you said Trixie Collins. So far, we've only got a throwaway reference to Rip Hunter as the Justice League International was disbanded.

In April 2010, I asked you which of Booster's relatives you would want to read more stories about, and you said Booster's father. So far, we haven't even seen Michelle in the New 52.

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For the third week in a row, DC is releasing a trade compilation reprinting old Booster Gold appearances. This week it is The Death of Superman, which contains Booster's dismantling by Doomsday as originally seen in Justice League America #69 and Superman, Volume 2, #74.

To give readers who have read this, the most read story in the history of comic books, a reason to read it again, DC is promoting this reprint as "a newly recolored edition." I don't know how much weight that adds to your decision whether to re-purchase this classic story by Dan Jurgens and company, but if you were looking for an excuse, there you go.

I should mention that also out today is Justice League of America #1. It was once strongly implied that this series was where we would eventually see Booster Gold return, so keep your eyes peeled if you drop by your Local Comic Shop this week if you want to get in on the ground floor. (Just don't expect to see Booster in issue #1.) This ridiculous thing has 53 covers that retailers were allowed to order individually, so it shouldn't be too hard to spot.

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I don't speak Spanish, but I know gold when I see it.

According to the Spanish-language website of the Argentine illustrator Jeremias Janikow, this sketch is of "Buster Gold (el banana del futuro)." With a subtitle like that, I have to suspect that calling Booster "Buster" is an intentional slight. Poor Booster. No respect even in Argentina.

When I first spotted this image, I had no idea what "mate cocido" was. According to Wikipedia, I now know that it is a tea-like drink prepared from the yerba mate plant that is popular in South America. The things that you learn running a Booster Gold fansite!

This is just one of several exceptional superheroes sketches by Janikow that can be found on Janikow Blog!. Thanks to The Day the Web Stood Stupid for drawing this tasty art to our attention.

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As you may have heard, the Batmobile from the 1966 Batman television show last month sold for over 4.2 million dollars (plus auction fees). That sounds like a fair price for the most famous one-of-a-kind car in the world. I can't imagine that there are many cars that would be more valuable, unless there really is a talking Knight Industries Two Thousand out there somewhere.

You know what car I'd rather have? A Brysler-Booster Mark IV. If I had a spare $4 million lying around, I would spend that money building Booster's signature automobile. (I'd say I'd spend that money on a time-travelling DeLorean, but I'm afraid I don't have the math background required to cobble together a flux capacitor.)

I love the open cockpit and the "Booster" striping. The most important part would be the custom interface for Skeets in the rear. While I'm sure that there are some who would like their robot co-pilot to be an R2 unit, I'd definitely take Skeets any day of the week — and twice for a Sunday drive!

If the Batmobile is your thing, you'd probably enjoy spending some time at BatmobileHistory.com. I have to admit, it's an admirably thorough catalog of the many, many Batmobiles used through history, including the model that Booster stole in Booster Gold, volume 2, #12.

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For months, Booster Gold has been completely absent from the DC landscape. That's worked us fans into a bit of a furor, desperate for news about the return of our hero. We're likely to shell out our hard-earned cash to snatch up anything that DC publishes that even hints at a return of our hero. But should we?

Just because we want to read more about Booster Gold doesn't mean that we should buy his comics unconditionally. I sincerely doubt that anyone has "buy Booster Gold comics" at the top of his or her list of personal priorities. Hopefully, considerations for food, water, and shelter come first. Also up there are probably the health and happiness of family and friends, or maybe the requirements of jobs or education. I would be surprised if ethics and politics don't find their way in that list somewhere, too.

Sometimes, buying comics may run in contradiction to something else on that list. Maybe you have to curb your comics-buying to spend more time with your spouse. Maybe you would rather buy food than spend $3.99 on a 15-minute reading experience. Maybe you're expressing your personal dissatisfaction that the company has erased years of cherished character development, or maybe you won't support a company's decision to capitalize on an intellectual property despite the well-publicized dissent of its creator. Heck, maybe you're just tired of supporting an industry that chooses creating new controversies over creating new content.

Those are all pretty good reasons not to buy a comic book. But what if the comic book was written or drawn by someone whose personal ideology was in contradiction to yours? What if that person was openly crusading against your way of life or your political views? Would you still buy that Booster Gold comic if you knew that the money you spent for it was helping to fund the very forces seeking the eradication of your way of life?

So when is it okay not to buy Booster Gold comics? I can't answer that for you. Thankfully I haven't ever had to cross that line myself. However, it seems to me that with almost every decision DC has made over the past couple of years, the company makes me think about it more and more. That makes me even less happy than the lack of a Booster Gold comic book itself.

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