Now that the story is over and the numbers are in, I thought it would be fun to look at whether or not choosing to add Booster Gold to All-Star Western did anything to help its anemic sales. In short, the answer is "not really."

I've included the six months of sales prior to Booster's arrival (issues #13 through #18) in the graph for reference. It seems that Booster's arrival in issue #19 may have slowed the defection of readers briefly, but they resumed their flight from the title as the story wore on. If All-Star Western lives or dies based on sales numbers (and not Dan DiDio's favor), Booster's appearance might have bought the title one more issue.

Granted, the numbers in this chart are for print issues only and fail to account for any digital sales. Maybe the book sells like gangbusters online, although since All-Star Western appears in 407th place of ComiXology's "Top Titles" list, that seems unlikely.

Looking at the slope of sales decline, an unexceptional issue #19 should probably have been expected to sell about 16,400 copies. Instead, with Booster's help it sold 16,838 copies. Does that mean that adding Booster to a book boosts sales by 400 copies? If the sales of Smallville are any indication, we should probably assume that it was the "WTF" gatefold cover, not Booster's appearance, that drove up sales for the issue.

Booster's appearance in issue #13 didn't seem to move the sales needle. Sales continued on pace. Although these graphs show decreasing sales, remember that as a general rule, comic sales decrease in a gentle curve from month to month for every title everywhere. That's natural sales entropy, and it's why titles are constantly started over with number 1 issues; it moves the title back to the top of the ladder to start the slide over again.

Did Booster fail to make any mark on Smallville: Season 11's sales because Smallville takes place outside of continuity (whatever that word means in the New 52 Universe)? Was it because Smallville: Season 11 is sold in weekly installments online? Or was it because the people who would buy Smallville are buying anyway, and don't care who the guest star of the week is? Who knows. But whatever you do, don't blame it on Skeets!

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Russ Burlingame doesn't let us down. Even though Booster's appearance in All-Star Western #21 lasted only a few pages in a book published a few weeks ago, Burlingame persevered in grilling writer Justin Gray about Booster for the latest "Gold Exchange" column:

ComicBook.com: The five-page preview that went live a couple of days ago pretty much captures Booster Gold's involvement in this issue. Will we be seeing more of him sooner or later?

Justin Gray: We're discussing Booster's potential involvement in a future issue.

More Booster Gold to come in the Old West? Let's hope that Booster has recovered his memory by then. There's a villain out there named Romeo Booster owes a little comeuppance!

As always, you can read the rest of the interview at ComicBook.com.

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An overwhelming majority! Well, let's put that issue to rest and never speak of it again.

Last week's poll question: Of what country do you believe Booster Gold to be a citizen? (51 votes)

With Booster completing two, separate 3-issue stories this month, it is only natural that we compare them. What did you think?

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Today will be a busy day for Booster Gold fans. Smallville Season 11 #15 is on stands today, concluding Booster's trip to the 31st century to meet Smallville's version of the Legion of Super-Heroes. A preview of the issue is available at Mancave Daily

If that's not enough Booster for you, Justice League Dark Volume 2: The Books of Magic is also out today. This collection reprints Justice League Dark #14, the issue where Booster appears on John Constantine's magical mystery bulletin board.

They're both worth a look, if you are a Booster Gold fan. (And if you're not a Booster Gold fan, what are you doing here?)

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The Robot Chicken "DC Comics Special" that aired on Cartoon Network back in September 2012 was amusing, but the DVD is going to be way better. Why? More Booster Gold.

As we already knew, Booster's lines were cut from the final episode, but they were saved for the DVD extras. TVshowsondvd.com describes Booster's cut sketch as "Booster Gold's Politics Are...Complex." Robert Greenberger reviewed the DVD for comicmix.com, and he described the deleted Booster Gold scene thusly:

...Booster Gold debating time traveling to kill Hitler with the JSA felt inappropriate (I guess you still shouldn't make fun of the Holocaust).

That sounds harsh. I feel compelled to defend Booster, but I also realize that there's usually a reason when something doesn't make the cut. We shouldn't expect deleted scenes to be better than what was used, even if they feature more Booster Gold.

You can find out whether or not you agree with the decision or the review when you watch the DVD yourself. It is released today with a suggested retail price of $14.98 ($19.98 for Blu-ray). You can find it wherever fine videos are sold, such as on Amazon.com.

(Thanks to Eyz for the release notification.)

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