And so at last we reach the end of Booster Gold Volume 1. It is, without a doubt, the ugliest of all 25 original issues.

Robert Campanella's inks are not a good fit for Dan Jurgens' pencils, and even most of Jurgens' layouts are subpar. Either this issue was rushed through editorial to fit the aggressive Millennium publishing schedule, or all the visual artists involved were in a hurry to move on to greener pastures. Maybe both.

(In my opinion, this issue is the only one in volume one that I think looks definitively superior in the often careless recolored digital reprints over the original newsprint publication.)

It's really a shame about the art, because the Dan Jurgens' script deserves better. It hits all the right notes as it forces Booster to face the down-side of publicity (in an American fast food restaurant) with a Communist providing outside perspective.

It also cleverly draws in the Justice League characters Booster is closest to while setting our hero up for a triumphant come-back in the future. Both of those latter elements factor into my favorite page of Booster Gold #25 (especially Beetle's lecture in panel 2):

Yeah! What Beetle said!

That's what I like so much about Booster Gold. His path meanders, but he always gets to the right place in the end.

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San Diego Comic Con officially starts tomorrow, so now is the time for me to remind everyone that I really, really want one of these:

Well, not one of those 10, exactly. Those are Dan Jurgens', and he deserves them. Heck, if you ask me, he deserves all of them. All 1000.

That's right, according to DCComics.com, that convention exclusive "Silver Screen Edition" of 1985's debut Booster Gold #1 is limited to 1,000 copies sold for $15.00 each. Those numbers seem awfully low to me, especially considering that subtracting Jurgens' 10, there can't be more than 990 available to rabid Booster Gold fans (like me!).

Since it's very, very unlikely — some might say "impossible" — that I'll find my way to San Diego with a convention admission badge, I'll stay here by my computer with an eye on eBay until one of these shows up.

Maybe, if I get lucky, Dan will decide to sell off one of his.

UPDATE 2023-07-20: Yep, as of 4PM EDT Thursday, there are 2 of them already up on eBay, each with an asking price over $100 (including shipping). That sure seems like a lot of money for a comic I already own several of in other formats. On the other hand, can you even buy a stick of gum for $100 anymore? Maybe I'll ask Santa for one for Christmas....

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While Booster Gold has had many adventures without his robot sidekick since the pair debuted in 1985's Booster Gold #1, the reverse is not true. Skeets has rarely wandered far from Booster's side.

But this week, Skeets will be on the cover of Batman Superman: World's Finest #17 with nary a Booster Gold in sight!

The issue preview at AIPTComics.com doesn't give any indication what role (if any) Skeets (or Booster) will play in the issue's story. Given that the scenario in preceding issues focuses on a villainous artificial intelligence taking over all the other artificial lifeforms in the DC Universe... things don't look good for our favorite sidekick.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy!

UPDATE: As Marty notes in the comments, neither Booster nor Skeets appears inside the actual issue. Oh, well. We still got a Skeets cover.

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While reading Millennium, it's worth remembering just how unloved Booster Gold was in 1987. This was before the now-beloved "Blue and Gold" bromance, and most DC readers thought very little of a wannabe hero who stole his way to stardom. So it was easy to believe he could side with the manipulating Manhunters.

It's hard to imagine that a Superman might go bad, but Booster Gold? Was he ever really good to begin with?

With that in mind, could there ever be any question about which page is my favorite in Millennium #7?

It might take him a while to get there, but Booster Gold always does the right thing in the end.

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I woke up yesterday to a breathless email from Marty that read

Booster!! He's in a comic!!! Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #6 (the solicitations have been kind of all over the place on this miniseries, so it might be advertised as #5 being the issue released today?) features three whole glorious panels of our boy.

So I gulped down my coffee and rushed out to my Local Comic Shop and plopped down $5 for this week's new release physical copy of Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #5. I then sat in my car flipping through the pages for signs of Booster... and nothing.

Booster Gold is NOT in Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #5. Nowhere. Not. One. Panel.

"Marty," I frantically typed into my email machine, "why would you do this to me?"

And Marty replied

That's strange. Issue #6 is available to read today digitally on the DCU Infinite app, I wonder why the physical release is behind? Either way, sorry to have pointed you to the wrong issue - Booster isn't in #5 at all.

Oh, the humanity!

But at least we have all been forewarned about an inevitability. Booster Gold will absolutely, positively be in Multiversity: Harley Screws Up the DCU #6, currently scheduled to arrive at your Local Comic Shop on August 8. (And, apparently available on the DC Infinite app right now, if, you know, you're a huge fan suffering from Booster Gold withdrawal and you just can't wait that long....)

Thanks, Marty!

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