Over the weekend, Ithildyn recommended that I should check out artist Francis Manapul's Instagram page. That's where I found this:

Manapul has been working for DC Comics for a decade, and in that time he's never drawn Booster Gold for publication. Is this about to change? The instagram post is tagged "#actioncomics", which leads to the implication that this will art is part of a cover for an as-yet unreleased issue.

Although DC hasn't announced that Manapul will be providing any covers for the title after next week's Action Comics #992, we already know that solicitations for issues of the "Booster Shot" story running through Action Comics in December and January misidentified interior artists. (Brett Booth will not be drawing interiors on issue #993 or #994.) It seems increasingly likely they were wrong about at least one cover artist as well.

We'll be keeping an eye out!

Thanks for the help, Ithildyn.

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A little bird tells me that Booster Gold will play a part in this weekend's Justice League Action episode, "System Error."

That's not obvious from the episode description from my cable guide:

When Batman discovers that he and the rest of the League are robots, he investigates to find out who did this and why.

That said, IMDB does seem to confirm that Diedrich Bader will be in the episode as Booster. Even more telling, the episode writer, Patrick Rieger, retweeted the episode tease and followed up with this tweet.

So turn your television dial — they still have those, yes? Televisions? — to Cartoon Network at 7AM eastern Saturday morning to see Booster in action, Justice League Action!

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Via Twitter, Benni Beard called my attention to this custom Booster Gold minifig (with Legion Flight Ring!) now available from bilbobaggins7919 on ebay.com:

It was just back in March that I spotlighted a different custom LEGO-compatible minifig.

There must be a growing demand for block versions of our hero in the wake of the LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham video game and The LEGO Batman Movie. Are you paying attention, LEGO?

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While I like most Booster Gold comics, I love some more than others. Among my favorites is Justice League Quarterly #1, the first appearance of the Conglomerate, released on this date in 1990.

Written by J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen; Art by Chris Sprouse, Bruce Patterson, Gene D'Angelo; Cover by Adam Hughes

The issue's story, "Corporate Maneuvers (and leveraged buyouts)," was a logical counterpoint to the Justice League International era. Unwilling to sit back and let the nations of the world monopolize influence on the activities of formerly independent super heroes, the major international corporations of the DC Universe developed their own team: the Conglomerate. It was only natural that the original Corporate Crusader himself would lead them into battle.

The Conglomerate went on to much early success which created tension with Booster's friends in the JLI, especially Blue Beetle. I probably don't need to tell you that the two teams have to overcome their jealousy of one another to save the day, but it's very satisfying when the inevitable finally happens.

You probably won't see this issue on any "must read" list for new Booster Gold fans. I admit that it's mainly a Justice League International story. However, Booster Gold does have a starring role, and the story does directly address the dichotomy of Michael Jon Carter's "shallow" public persona versus his more noble self-identification. For that reason alone, I think it's worth a look for people interested in the evolution of my favorite character.

Besides, who doesn't love that leather jacket?

In honor of the issue's anniversary, here's Adam Hughes' original pencil work for the cover — an homage to Kevin Maguire much duplicated "crowded elevator" cover for Justice League #1 — as published in Back Issue #2 (February 2004). As you can see, an uninvited guest crashed this party! Click the image to embiggen.

Here's to the good old days!

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Back in May, I mentioned here on the blog that I was really taken by a Skeets knit hat worn by a cosplayer.

My friend Michael heard my plea, and as an early birthday present, he gifted me with a Skeets to call my own!

The hat was knitted by the very talented Shanay Cobb who had only the photo from my previous post to work with. You can see more of Cobb's work at StarvinArtSC.Tumblr.com and Facebook.com/StarvingArtistSC.

Thanks, Michael and Shanay. My ears are sure to be well protected this winter now that Skeets is on the job!

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