This week DC released Bizarro Comics: The Deluxe Edition, which is a collection of two earlier collections, Bizaro Comics and Bizarro World. Booster Gold makes a very brief cameo in the former:

Granted, that panel might not be significant enough to encourage you to buy a $50 book, but it's not the smallest Booster Gold appearance this week. That honor belongs to Teen Titans Academy #5:

No, he's not Red X. (At least, I don't think so.) Look under the "W" on the bulletin board. That golden hair couldn't possibly belong to anyone else!

To prove I'm not crazy (about this), here's the better look at the bulletin board we got in last month's previous issue:

Thanks to Logan for bringing that panel to our attention. I can't imagine a Booster cameo getting much smaller than that.

For the record, that's not the only Booster in Teen Titans Academy #5. Blue and Gold appear twice in this house ads, once in the Infinite Frontier promotion that's now on it's third week, and once in Director Bones' newest Multiversal Monitor.

These house ads appear in all of this week's books. You might think it's silly to buy comics just for the ads, but a Booster booster's gotta do what a Booster booster's gotta do.

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If you read Boosterrific.com (which I know you do because you are reading this), you know that Blue and Gold #1 was released last week, 33 years after being first announced. And it's pretty good. You have been rewarded for your patience, Booster boosters!

Of course you probably already bought the standard cover by Ryan Sook. And maybe you picked up the cardstock variant by Dave Johnson. But if you go back to your Local Comic Shop this week, perhaps you'll consider buying *another* copy, the one I'm calling the Kevin Maguire variant:

"That's a picture of the Dave Johnson cover!" you say. And you're right. But what else do you see on there?

That phone case cover isn't Dave Johnson's work. It's Kevin Maguire's. Maguire drew that image in 2014 for a DC Comics print (as confirmed by the artist himself via Twitter.com).

How often do we get comic books where two different artists have drawn Booster Gold on the same cover? Just this once. I think that's pretty Boosterrific.

But if you think that's the last we'll see of Kevin Maguire in Blue and Gold, think again. Here's DC's solicitation for October's issue 4 (from CBR.com):

BLUE & GOLD #4
Writer: DAN JURGENS
Artists: RYAN SOOK, DAN JURGENS and KEVIN MAGUIRE
Cover: RYAN SOOK
$3.99 US ON SALE October 19

Bros over heroes no more!
Booster Gold and Blue Beetle find running a superhero business together more difficult than it looks when these inseparable friends end up on the verge of a breakup! What could be the cause of such a schism? Enter Blackguard, looking to destroy this dysfunctional duo for good!

Three artists? Clearly this series has some surprises in store. Something to look forward to this October.

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In promotion of Blue and Gold #1, DC Comics has posted a primer on the history of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold on their blog at DCComics.com.

Most of what they have to say won't come as news to Boosterrific.com readers, but that's not necessarily true of what Dan Jurgens tells Liam McGuire in the interview now available at ScreenRant.com:

Screen Rant: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle have a very different relationship with the big players on DC's Justice League. Does that difference get explored in this book?

Dan Jurgens: Very much so. Booster is a rather insecure person. He craves acceptance from the other heroes. He's desperate to be regarded as an "A-Lister".

Ted would like that as well, but it's not an obsession for him. Booster, on the other hand, is desperate for it.

It's always great to have insight on how Booster's creator views his creation. "Insecure" may be an unusual word to apply to a DC superhero, but it accurately describes Booster's personality and what has motivated him into so many of his misadventures.

But hold on, here's another interesting bit:

Screen Rant: What can you tell us about working with Ryan Sook on this project?

Dan Jurgens: Ryan and I have worked together on FUTURES END, ACTION COMICS and BATMAN BEYOND. Every time I work with him, I am amazed by the quality of work and depth of thought that shows up on each and every page.

He's very much into the spirit of this project and exploring the nature of these two characters. It's a delight to see his work come in as we're working Marvel style, and it's really giving him the opportunity to add his magic touch.

If you aren't familiar with the "Marvel style," it's a "plot-first" process pioneered by Stan Lee and his artists in the 1960s where bare-bones plots where provided to pencillers so they have the most flexibility to work engaging layouts. In this method, scripting dialogue is done last.

(Stan Lee once wrote a book called How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way that focused entirely on what panels should look like in a Marvel comic, not how the artist and writer might work together. Ironically, the process is better explained by Denny O'Neil in The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics.)

Over the past four decades, Jurgens has pencilled most of his own Booster Gold scripts, so it's interesting to see how he writes Booster for other artists. Is this how he worked with Aaron Lopresti on Justice League International or Corin Howell for Bat-Mite?

I hope Jurgens doesn't tire of talking Booster Gold anytime soon. There's always more to learn.

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I wouldn't normally mention a new release until Wednesday, but we've been waiting since 1988 for this one so a day-and-date announcement feels warranted.

Now available at your Local Comic Shop (with — count 'em — 2 different covers):

The preview of Blue and Gold #1 is available at community.dcuniverseinfinite.com (and lots of other sites online). But I know you don't need a preview before making up your mind on this one.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy!

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Lots of great fan art for us this week from Cort Cartpenter, who has always been kind enough to share his Booster Gold sketchbook with us. Here are his latest commissioned pieces:

Joe Bennett

Craig Cermak

Steve Ellis

Sid Kotian

Thanks, Cort! Boosterrific as always. I look forward to the next batch.

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