Last Wednesday, CBR.com ran Jeffrey Renaud's interview with Dan Jurgens about the Booster Gold appearance in Superman's Action Comics #993. The interview included the following tidbit from Jurgens:

It's kind of weird in a way, because if you go all the way back to Booster Gold, Volume One, Superman was a part of Booster's origin story. Right about then, John Byrne came to DC to reboot Superman, and we had to do some surgery to the book so it fit what John was doing.

I still have the unused pages from the book, which are still waiting for the Booster Gold hardcover so they can see print. No. That is not a hint. Uh-uh. Not at all. Nope.

Superman was supposed to be in Booster Gold #1?!

I probably shouldn't be too surprised. For those of you who don't know, Booster's origins, as originally conceived, were tied to the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Silver/Bronze Age Superman mythos. Booster was supposed to have stolen his equipment from the Superman Museum (not the Space Museum). His force field belt would have belonged to the original Braniac, his costume would have been made from Lex Luthor's power armor, and his Legion Flight Ring would have been Superboy's. That would certainly have given an extra edge to the Booster Gold/Superman rivalry.

I have to wonder, did any of that make it into the script or pencils of Booster Gold #1 before Byrne's post-Crisis plans to streamline Superman continuity? Even if Superman only made a cameo appearance in the book, it still would have been his first post-Crisis appearance as well as the first time Jurgens drew Superman. What a treat!

Hey, DC! Give us that book already!

(Thanks to Damian Damex for ensuring I saw this particular bit of news.)

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DC has released March solicitations, and, sadly, it looks like Booster Gold's time in Action Comics will come to an end in February. Enjoy "Booster Shot" while it lasts, Booster boosters! (The second issue will be in comic shops next week.)

On the bright side, Booster will be returning to play mentor to Jaime Reyes in the digital-first Injustice 2. I've enjoyed Booster's rare Injustice 2 appearances so far. I expect I'll be equally satisfied when Injustice 2 #21 lands in my Local Comic Shop on March 7.

You can read all of DC's March solicitations at Newsarama.com.

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Believe it or not, Booster Gold's first team adventure didn't take place in his own book or in the pages of Justice League International. No, that honor went to the New Teen Titans, though not with the Titans themselves. Booster was a proud (but brief) member the Teen Titans' rescue squad!

On this day in 1986, Booster appeared in New Teen Titans #29 in response to Magenta's call for help against Brother Blood (who has enslaved the Titans in his bid to overthrow the American government). Also on the team were (clockwise from Booster) Dr. Midnight II, Batman, Magenta, Katma Tui, John Stewart, and Skyman. (Don't recognize most of these people? Don't worry! Three of them will die within a half decade, and a fourth will become a villain.)

This group shot is just a tease for the next issue, in which Superman joins the rescue squad and Booster is relegated to off-panel crowd control. Man, our hero never catches a break! (At least he wasn't killed off!)

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Booster Gold fans everywhere were really excited to see our hero tangling with Superman in this week's Action Comics #993, the first installment of a multi-part story. At long last, perhaps we'll find what Booster has been up to since Convergence or why he abandoned his New 52 costume.

Booster booster (and, as Comicosity calls him, "THE biggest Booster Gold fan in creation") Keith Callbeck put these questions and more to Dan Jurgens in an interview published at Comicosity.com.

Keith Callbeck: It has been a while since we've seen Booster Gold. He was trying to sort out the Convergence last time out, what has he been up to since then?

Dan Jurgens: We don't address that specifically but we do convey the general idea that he's been having fun jumping through time. I think there are some things readers can draw conclusions from as well, such as where, exactly, he came from.

KC: And we have Booster back in his pre-Flashpoint costume. Can we nickname this story Booster Gold: Rebirth?

DJ: I certainly approached this with the idea that it's a bit of a Booster Gold Rebirth story. He's been off the table for quite awhile now and things have certainly changed in the DCU since we last saw him, most notably with Superman.

I really didn't want to get caught up in the continuity weeds on this one though I did want to make it seem a bit fresh and familiar all at the same time. If you remember Booster, you'll enjoy it. If you've never seen him before, I think you'll be intrigued by the notion of who this guy is. He's quite a bit different from most of the heroes in the DCU.

Over at Comicbook.com, Russ Burlingame (who may not be Booster's number one fan but must rank somewhere in the top 10) also confronted Jurgens with similar questions:

Russ Burlingame: Of course, Booster has not been seen since the start of Rebirth, and here he shows up wearing his pre-Flashpoint costume and serving in his capacity as Time Master...seemingly right back where he was when his Jurgens-written series ended in 2011.

DJ: If you go back to Flashpoint, the two characters from the DCU that made it into the Flashpoint Universe was Booster and Flash ... So, I think there is the potential for a continuous thread here. Not sure how far I want to pull that, because again, I want the story to be more about now and not yesterday... but, yeah. I think there are certain conclusions one can arrive at.

Oooh. That Jurgens is cagey! If this is the same Booster Gold as seen in the pre-Flashpoint DCU, what are we to make of the origin story we saw in Booster Gold: Futures End? Or any part of Convergence, for that matter? Maybe it's best to leave the conclusions to the professionals.

In any event, both articles contain some pretty good Q&As, so check them out. And if you haven't already, don't forget to pick up Action Comics #993 at your Local Comic Shop.

Thanks for good work, Keith, Russ, and Dan!

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The one, the only Booster Gold makes his long-awaited return to the DC Universe in today's Action Comics #993!

For some reason, both DCComics.com and Diamond Comic Distributor's website PreviewsWorld.com still incorrectly identify several of the issue's artists. As we have detailed before (and you can see above), the issue is pencilled by the inimitable Dan Jurgens with inks by Joe Prado & Cam Smith. Francis Manapul provides the alternate cover art.

You can see a preview of the issue on CBR.com.

Hurry to your Local Comic Shop today to buy both covers and make Skeets happy!

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