After my post on Friday about upcoming variant covers, DC Comics releases the full slate of April solicitations, including the much anticipated Blue and Gold #8 (of 8)!

BLUE AND GOLD #8
written by DAN JURGENS
art and cover by RYAN SOOK
ON SALE April 19 · $3.99 US

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer! Things have never been easy for Booster and Beetle as they set out on their new business venture where no job is too small, but now a threat from within threatens to bring everything crashing down. A virus has hit the servers at Blue & Gold Restoration, and it could delete our heroes for good!

I love that solicited cover, but it makes me sad to see that the end of the mini-series is near. Could it be doing well enough for DC to give it extra life? I've bought no fewer than 2 copies of each issue, so I'm doing my part! How about you?

You can find all of DC's April solicitations at gamesradar.com.

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Earlier this week, we learned via aiptcomics.com that DC will be revisiting the Flashpoint universe in a seven-issue event called Flashpoint Beyond starting in April.

It remains to be seen what role (if any) Booster Gold will be playing in this event, but we do know that he will be on the 1:50 variant cover to Flashpoint Beyond #0 drawn by Todd Nauck:

click image to see original on Twitter.com

Now, a "1:50 variant" means that for every 50 copies a comic shop orders of the regular cover, they *should* get 1 of these. (I say "should" because distribution shortages and allocations have been known to happen.) I suggest that any Booster boosters who wants this in their collection go ahead and preorder 51 copies of Flashpoint Beyond #0 from their their LCS.

But that's not the only variant cover we'll be seeing Booster on in April!

As you may have heard, Entertainment Weekly broke the news that the Justice League will be killed off in April's Justice League #75. (Don't worry too much: comics being what they are, I'm sure they'll get better.)

In a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the "death" of Superman (see what I mean?), one of the many variant covers of Justice League #75 will be drawn by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund and feature many former leaguers, including Booster Gold and two Blue Beetles!

click image to see original on Twitter.com

This cover should be easier to get than a 1:50, but we'll have to find out more as we get closer to April.

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As I type this, the #1 New Release on Amazon.com in the category of Comics & Graphic Novels Literary Criticism is

If you don't remember the original "Gold Exchange" columns, Russ explains their history in the introduction to the book:

It started at Comic Related, and moved to Blog@Newsarama when I did. Just as I was beginning my time at ComicBook.com, the site where I still work, Booster Gold vol. 2 ended, and with it, The Gold Exchange. There were occasional returns to the story of Booster Gold, and I usually took the opportunity to discuss them with Dan, but as a recurring feature, the column effectively ended with Flashpoint, like so many other things at DC.

With Comic Related now defunct and Blog@Newsarama several facelifts (and owners) on from my short time there, none of this material is online in its original form anymore. Back in 2008, I was assured by both outlets that I owned all the content I created there, so while the more recent content is owned by ViacomCBS (the parent company of ComicBook), the contents of this book represent an updated, formatted, and edited version of a PDF I put together in 2011, with the intent of offering it at the ComicBook booth when I tabled at New York Comic Con.

For that reason, while some introductions and notes reflect that this book is releasing in 2021, the "real-time" commentary element of the interviews is retained as much as possible. This is, to an extent, preserving a moment in Booster's history, and comics history, in amber. Appreciate it for what it is, and enjoy the many, many times I tried to get Dan to tell me a spoiler, only to have him say "Stay tuned."

I read those columns in their native locations, and I'm still tuned. (When will we get to find out who the Black Beetle is, Dan?!)

Russ was kind enough to share a preview copy of the book with me, and I can heartily recommend it to any Booster Gold (or comic book) fan who wants to know a little more about how the sausage is made, so to speak.

Support comics journalism and get your own Kindle copy (paperback coming soon, maybe even by the end of the week!) at amazon.com.

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If it feels like a long time since we've had an issue of Blue and Gold, it's not your imagination. Blue and Gold #4 was released over two months ago!

Sadly, a pandemic-triggered paper shortage and international shipping restrictions have combined to make issues of Blue and Gold few and far between. I hope that difficulty in getting your hands on a comic book was the least of your problems in 2021.

The good news is that 2022 is starting on a better note. At long last, Blue and Gold #5 is due to arrive in your Local Comic Shop tomorrow.

A preview of the issue — with Rip Hunter and The Beatles! — is available at aiptcomics.com, but I know you don't really need the extra taste before buying.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

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Booster booster Rob Snow sent me an electronic-mail to share the news that Ryan Sook has already released his original pen and ink page art for Blue and Gold #5 for sale at felixcomicart.com.

Naturally, I went and took a look, and what I found blew my—hold on.

Since there is no dialogue in the line art (these days, the letterer places the speech balloons digitally over colored artwork), and we already know that Rip Hunter is on the solicited cover for the issue (as reported on the Boosterrific Blog back on September 20), I don't think telling you that a red-headed, bearded Rip Hunter appears in the pages qualifies as much of a spoiler.

But if you don't want to see what follows before the issue is released, I'll give you to the count of three to look away.

One.

Two.

Two-and-a-half.

Three.

Still here? Good, so am I. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Here:

Blue and Gold #5 page 18 ($250 at felixcomicart.com)

Rip Hunter and Trixie Collins hugging? Needle drop!

As Rob said in his email

I swear if Rip calls her Mom imma lose my $#!+

You and me both, Rob.

I guess we'll find out what sweet nothings they are whispering to one another when Blue and Gold #5 is released next week.

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