To say Booster Gold fans aren't enthusiastic about what they've seen from Heroes in Crisis #1 is an understatement. That's understandable. It's hard to get up for a series that starts with our hero being accused of mass murder.

Last week's poll question: What is your reaction to Heroes in Crisis #1? (73 votes)

Thinking out loud here: Maybe mainstream American super hero comics — where all problems are traditionally solved with a healthy application of direct and overwhelming violence — isn't the right medium to be addressing the "ripped from the headlines" cultural dilemma of mental health and mass shootings. I've been reading DC comics for decades, and I'd suggest that they lack the vocabulary for a nuanced discussion about balancing responsibility and forgiveness.

In the context of a world where a Justice League exists to stop local bank robbers and intergalactic conquering starfish alike, how could something like the Sanctuary massacre ever happen? If Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman can't prevent this kind of humanitarian disaster, what hope do any of the rest of us have?

The DC Universe: every bit as terrible as the real world!

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Let me take this opportunity to say that Boosterrific.com would not be Boosterrible if not for the support of Booster Gold fans worldwide. Thank you all. Today I will illustrate that in two ways:

First of all, big congratulations to Logan Peterson, who sent me this recent email:

I'm happy to say I just celebrated a long-awaited achievement. After years of scouring through longboxes and haggling with online vendors, I completed my Booster Gold floppy collection this weekend! With my procurement of Suicide Squad #13, I've officially collected a copy of every issue Michael Jon Carter has appeared in to date according to the database. :)

As I was double-checking my collection against the Boosterific listings to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I actually found that there were two Booster appearances not listed in the database. Check out Tales of the Teen Titans #89 and 90--Booster shows up briefly in all his caped glory.

How awesome is that? Answer: very awesome.

Logan was right. I did not have those Tales of the Teen Titans in the Boosterrific database. Those issues were reprints of New Teen Titans #29 and 30 which I had somehow overlooked... for 30 years. *sigh* But that oversight is now corrected. Thanks, Logan!

My second proof that Booster Gold fans are the best is our old friend The Blot, who via pointed me to this Instagram post by 23kidoo (aka Scott Swanson):

That book by Alex Boney and Steve Willaredt (in which tiny Booster Gold and friends appear to help Bizarro fix everything) is officially called the itty bittys® Superman Bizarro Fixes Everything Stuffed Animal and Book Set. You can buy it on Hallmark.com for $19.95. It was released last year, and I may never have known about it without a shout out from The Blot. Thanks, Blot!

Keep all the tips coming, Booster boosters! If you ever find anything that you think Booster Gold fans should know about, you can always drop me a line through my convenient contact form. You're all the best.

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A new LEGO DC video game is right around the corner, and Graham Hancock of brickfanatics.com scrutinized screenshots shared at UK's EGX 2018 convention last weekend to report that Booster Gold will be among the 162 identified playable characters in the game.

The game, LEGO DC Super-Villains, won't be released until October 16, but it's likely that fans will learn more about it as soon as next week's New York Comic Con. Not one but two promotional events are scheduled for the first day of the convention alone!

Sounds like it's time to start limbering up my thumbs.

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Upon first read, I thought I was okay with Heroes in Crisis #1. Yes, it is heavy on atmosphere and light on story, but after Tom King's criminal misuse of Booster Gold in "The Gift", I decided that this was at least somewhat more respectful of my hero (even as it spits in the eye of the entire DC "Rebirth" initiative).

Then I read what ScreenRant.com and IGN.com and ComicBook.com had to say about it. (Warning: links contains spoilers.)

Now I'm wondering if perhaps my worst fears about this series weren't fearful enough. Since so many people seem to think that writer Tom King is some kind of literary genius — an opinion I have not shared since I read Batman, Volume 4 #1 — might Heroes in Crisis poison Booster Gold for the general public in the same sort of way that Marvel's revelation that Hank Pym was a mentally addled wife beater tarnished that once great character? *Gulp*

But maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm just overprotective of my favorite character. Call me Chicken Little.

Am I alone? Let's find out.

This week's poll question: What is your reaction to Heroes in Crisis #1? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

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Today's the big day!

A preview of Heroes in Crisis #1 is online at DCComics.com.

As you can see on the cover above, the series' limited run has been extended from seven issues to nine. Per Friday's announcement at DCComics.com:

First announced as a seven-issue series by Tom King and artist Clay Mann, HEROES IN CRISIS now expands to nine issues, with King collaborators Lee Weeks and Mitch Gerads providing art for the added issues. These issues will provide added insight into King and Mann's epic tale, with Weeks (BATMAN/ELMER FUDD) handling art duties for issue #3 and Eisner award-winning Gerads (MISTER MIRACLE) providing art for issue #7.

HEROES IN CRISIS #1, written by Tom King, art by Clay Mann and Tomeu Morey, lettered by Clayton Cowles and edited by Jamie S. Rich and Brittany Holzherr, hits shelves September 26.

King elaborated on Twitter, explaining "we were going to do 7 issues of HiC and 2 HiC 'specials,' and instead we (I) decided it would work better if we incorporated the specials into the numbering." So this isn't a big change (and also probably explains the mysterious disappearance of that Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy Heroes in Crisis prelude special that was solicited by Dynamic Forces back in July). Good to know.

Also of note is King's recent description of Booster Gold's role in the series. He spoke to Kiel Phegly of CBR.com:

CBR: Is there a piece of DCU lore or a corner of the comics that might not be central to the action that you really wanted to bring in just to play with it in some small way?

King: There are C-level characters that are fun. I mean, Booster Gold! The trinity are the stars of the series, but the other two star characters are Booster and Harley. Booster to me doesn't seem like a character I'm pulling off the shelf because he feels like someone at the heart of the DCU. Maybe I've been watching too much Justice League Action over and over with my kids. He's the center of that show, and he's amazing.

That's not so good to know. While I agree that Booster is amazing, I'm not eager to see JL Action's goofy interpretation become his dominant characterization in the mainstream DCnU. (Does anyone remember what Elongated Man, Doctor Light, and Jean Loring were like *before* Identity Crisis? Just saying.)

Buy Heroes in Crisis #1 from your Local Comic Shop and make Skeets happy.

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