Stop me if you've heard this one, Booster boosters: a young man with good intentions, feeling frustrated about not getting credit for his accomplishments, adopts an outlandishly over-the-top artificial personality (and a "borrowed" suit) and leverages savvy media performances into a public brand that rewards him with fame and fortune.

Sound familiar? Over the weekend, I watched the recent HBO documentary of Pee-Wee Herman, Pee-wee as Himself, and it turns out that Pee Wee and Booster Gold have a lot in common beyond just being associated with breakthrough appearances in the mid-1980s.

The man behind the makeup, Paul Reubens moved across the country to California in search of fame and fortune, which, despite his artistic talent, continually eluded him. He eventually made the conscious decision to hide behind the "Pee-Wee" persona in a calculated attempt to build market recognition. Reubens borrowed a suit to create Pee-Wee's trademark look, then made opportunistic guerilla television appearances to get himself in front of audiences. Though he often played an immature fool, he was also generally interested in spreading a positive message and helping people. Audiences responded, and the character became a big star.

Also like Michael Jon Carter, Reubens relied on a small pool of personal friends, minimized any romantic entanglements in favor of a single life focused on his work, and was prone to making the occasional mistake that would drop the mask and deal irreparable damage to his hard-crafted public persona, thus reinforcing the decision to hide his true self from the public eye.

As the documentary makes clear, Reubens knew he was his own worst enemy. I suspect that our hero may privately share some of those same concerns.

Superman #74, 1992

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It's been a while, but Cort Carpenter has returned to show off the latest commissions in his Booster Gold Sketchbook!

David Hahn and Karl Kesel

Kiara (flxshdoodles)

Patrick Zircher

Looking Boosterrific as always, Cort! Thanks for sharing.

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Argentinian comic book fan Pablo Stadelman, author of three books about comics, Cosa De Fans, Cosa De Fans 2, and Decisiones Heroicas, has now made a documentary movie about comics featuring some names that will be familiar to readers of Booster Gold's adventures!

Quoting from the email Pablo sent me:

The movie name Is "Palabra de comic' (comic word) and it's a personal project that i made myself without any technical and financial help.

For the first time, twelve of the great comic book creators are coming together. Through interviews and examples of their incredible work, these artists reveal their philosophy and the creative processes behind their comic book artworks, from 1940 to the present. This documentary provides insight into the working methods of both iconic publishers, DC Comics and Marvel, while also providing firsthand insight into the details of each of their projects, how they originated, and the impact each had on their careers. Professionals also analyze the evolution of the industry from its beginnings to the present, developing key aspects for the development of the industry. Additionally, this documentary features never-before-seen archival footage from both DC and Marvel, providing insight into how each of the artists and writers involved made it possible to carry out their work. It's a unique opportunity to see artists share their own experiences in the field and how it changed their professional lives. Featuring Bob Rozakis, Jon Bogdanove, Bob Hall, Allen Milgrom, Dan Didio, Val Semeiks, Steve Mitchell, Evan Skolnick, Joseff Rubinstein, Tom DeFalco, Irene Vartanoff and Barbara Randall.

Fans in Argentina should keep an eye out for the movie in select theaters soon.

Keep up the good work, Pablo.

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In Justice League Quarterly #7, we learn that Ted Kord graduated from Marquette (Illinois) High School in 1977 when he attends his high school reunion with his teammates and friends Booster Gold, Fire, and Ice.

Of course things wouldn't get interesting until the Lord High Reacquisitor Vinic arrived to abduct the entire reunion back to their native planet Klaarsh.

Which is how Ted Kord learned that he went to a high school populated entirely by aliens.

High school reunions are just the worst.

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In addition to last week's August solicitations, a couple of Booster boosters also made sure I saw a recently revealed variant cover to a comic coming much sooner. Specifically, this $4.99 Lucas Meyer card stock variant cover for Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #1:

See the Blue and Gold corgis there in the top left? SLW calls it a "Booster cameo as a corgi" while pigeon described "a corgi dressed as Booster." So which is it?

You might think that's a stupid question, but in Wonder Woman #9, the Super Sons were turned into corgis by Circe. So is this more of that? Or is this an imaginary story? Or is this just a dog Trick-or-Treating as Booster Gold?

Judging by the preview pages at icv2.com, these corgis are the Justice Leaguers of a doomed alternate Earth during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Because things like those have to exist somewhere in an infinite Multiverse. (And yeah, although Booster Gold famously didn't exist in the DCU until after Crisis, somewhere in an infinite Multiverse, he did. That's what "infinite" means.)

Thanks to all who brought this to my attention.

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