DC has released August solicitations, and as expected, Booster Gold volume 1 is getting a full color reprint!

BOOSTER GOLD: THE BIG FALL HC
written by DAN JURGENS
art by DAN JURGENS and MIKE DeCARLO
These are the 1980s tales that introduced Booster Gold, the glory-hungry hero who traveled back in time from the 25th century to become a superhero called Goldstar—but manages to mangle both his mission and his name, winding up with the oddball name by which he is known. In these stories, while battling rad 1980s super-villains, Booster attempts to line up endorsement deals with limited success. Collects BOOSTER GOLD #1-12 in color for the first time, plus design material, unpublished story pages and more.
ON SALE September 25, $39.99 US

Sadly, it doesn't look like we'll be seeing Booster Gold anywhere else this August, because the only other mention of our hero is in another reprint that won't arrive until late September.

HEROES IN CRISIS HC
written by TOM KING
art by CLAY MANN, TRAVIS MOORE, LEE WEEKS, MITCH GERADS and JORGE FORNES
There's a new kind of crisis threatening the heroes of the DC Universe, ripped from real-world headlines by CIA operative turned comics writer Tom King: How does a superhero handle PTSD?
Welcome to Sanctuary, an ultra-secret hospital for superheroes who've been traumatized by crime-fighting and cosmic combat. But something goes inexplicably wrong when many patients wind up dead, with two well-known operators as the prime suspects: Harley Quinn and Booster Gold! It's up to the DC Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman to investigate—but can they get the job done in the face of overwhelming opposition? This collected edition features the entire nine-issue miniseries!
ON SALE September 25, $19.99

How *does* a hero handle PTSD? According to the story itself, the answer is "he kills a bunch of innocent people and then frames some other innocent people so that he won't be caught." Ick.

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There isn't much ambiguity about how Booster boosters feel about Skeets.

Last week's poll question: Is Skeets a sentient artificial being? (39 votes)

I'm one of the few who voted "no." Maybe I'm wrong. That's the best part of being a rational being: the ability to learn.

Maybe one of these days DC will investigate Skeets' intelligence further in a future Booster Gold series. Skeets could teach us all a thing or two.

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The first trailer for CW's Batwoman television show was released yesterday. It will soon accompany the network's Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Black Lightning.

Meanwhile, the DC Universe is almost ready to unveil a (second) Swamp Thing series to go with its Doom Patrol and Titans series. Stargirl is on her way.

It sure seems like there are a ton of live action series based on DC Universe properties out there right now, with more in the pipeline. You can probably see where I'm going with this.

When will it be Booster Gold's turn to star in his own show?

SyFy teased us with an announcement of a Booster Gold project years ago, but that never even went to pilot. Then there was news of a movie produced by the powers that created the "Arrowverse." That hasn't materialized, either (though rumors persist that it isn't "dead"). What's the deal, DC? Are you holding Booster back for the perfect moment?

Watching the march of DC characters getting their own shows before Booster Gold wouldn't be so grating if a live-action Booster Gold project wasn't literally the first thing Booster ever sold us when we first met him 33 years ago in Booster Gold #1.

One of these days, Booster. One of these days.

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I was in the beginning stages of writing another "People in His Neighborhood" Booster Gold supporting character post about Skeets when I got hung up on a single question: Is Skeets sentient?

It's not an easy question to answer. Putting aside the deeper philosophical and metaphysical quandaries of what reality is and whether anything truly has free will, let's focus on the arbitrarily narrow definition of a sentient artificial intelligence as a man-made creature that doesn't merely simulate human behavior but is functionally indistinguishable from a rational being.

This question is really integral to the development of Booster Gold as a heroic character. When Michael Carter stole his first Time Sphere to flee from the 25th century in Booster Gold volume 1, he forced Skeets to come with him. If Skeets is a glorified security camera, then the action was theft. However, if Skeets was a sentient employee, Booster is guilty of kidnapping.

While Booster has usually treated Skeets as a coach and companion — usually referring to it with the masculine pronouns "he"/"him" — it's telling that Booster's twin sister, Michelle, has always treated Skeets like a second-class citizen. If sentient A.I. exists in the 25th century and Michelle's dismissive attitude is common, how is her behavior any different than the racism and sexism that cause so many societal problems of the 20th century? (If Skeets was a sentient machine forced to work as a slave for the Space Museum, would that make Booster a freedom fighter?)

The biggest obstacle to answering the question of Skeets' consciousness is the relatively few solo adventures it has had. Skeets has almost always been seen acting in service to Booster, who characteristically gives very little consideration to his floating "friend." (This shouldn't be considered as evidence against sentience. Selfishness has always been Booster's biggest flaw.) The only time that the reader has ever been given access to Skeet's thoughts were late in the run of Booster Gold volume 2. Those few panels imply that Skeets was gaining a sentience it was previously denied.

Then came the New 52. Convergence Booster Gold revised Skeets' origin. This time, Booster stole Skeets from its well-armed "corporate overlords" via a briefcase. Once again, the question of sentience remains unaddressed. Theft? Kidnapping? Emancipation? The answers remain vague.

Should Skeets be granted rights equal to any other human being, or should it continue to be treated like any other tool in Booster's high-tech arsenal? What do you think?

This week's poll question: Is Skeets a sentient artificial being? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

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Booster booster CDN points our attention to a YouTube video from whatculture.com, where Booster Gold has managed to make his way near the top of another list, this time for comics characters with the best motivations.

Booster Gold starts near the 8:00 minute mark

It seems to me that despite not having his own comic, Booster Gold appears to be pretty well known and much more widely respected these days than in years past. That's probably thanks mostly to his being included prominently in recent Batman and Justice League cartoons in his "Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of" time policeman persona.

To think that Booster, once a laughingstock and perennial B-lister, will be idolized by the upcoming generation of comics readers... that's pretty cool.

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