You know who's excited about next week's Blue and Gold comic? CBR.com, judging by the number of times Booster and Beetle have been included in recent listicles.

Here is my list of ten "top 10" Booster Gold lists from CBR.com released in the past month. And yes, I had more than 10 to choose from.

10. "10 Superheroes Who Wasted Their Potential" by David Harth
#1 Booster Gold Has Saved Time And Space But Is A Buffoon

9. "10 DC Heroes Who Don't Have Super Powers (But Get By On Gadgets)" by David Harth
#3 Booster Gold's Armor Gives Him All Kinds Of Powers

8. "10 Most Balanced DC Heroes, Ranked" by David Harth
#2 Booster Gold Wins In Spite Of Himself Because Of His Variety Of Skills

As you can see, Mr. Harth doesn't much care for Booster Gold. I assume he was forced to include Booster in his lists by his corporate overlords who require 2 pints of blood and/or a 10 point list every day.

7. "The 10 Most Villainous Things DC Heroes Ever Did" by Jerry Stanford
#5 Booster Gold Stole Everything He Used To Make His Costume

Sure, theft is bad. But DC once had an entire "event" series about heroes selling their souls to the devil.

6. "10 American Superheroes Who Should Receive An Anime Treatment" by Richard Keller
#10 Blue Beetle And Booster Gold Are Ripe For A Fish Out Of Water Anime

5. "Legends Of Tomorrow: 10 DC Characters Who Should Join The Team" by Derek Faraci
#10 Booster Gold Seems Like A No Brainer

4. "10 Characters That Still Need DC Showcase Animated Shorts" By Cole Albinder
#9 Booster Gold Should Get More Of The Spotlight He Craves

Who could argue with the premise that Booster Gold should be in all media all the time? Not me.

3. "The 10 Best Uses Of Time Travel In The Comics" by Derek Faraci
#10 Booster Gold Decides To Be Famous

That list doesn't go for the obvious choices. I respect that even when I disagree with it.

2. "10 Funny Comic Characters That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud" by Scoot Allan
#1 Booster Gold And Blue Beetle Were DC's Comedy Duo For Years

They still are!

And the number one list from CBR.com to feature Booster Gold in the past month is

1. "10 Things To Know About Blue and Gold Before Their Miniseries" by Richard Keller
#1 They're More Admired Than They Think

Don't read too much this weekend, everybody. You'll want your eyeballs well rested for Blue and Gold #1 coming to a Local Comic Shop near you this Tuesday, July 20!

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This name drop is the closest that Booster Gold comes to making an appearance in this week's The Flash 2021 Annual:

words by Jeremy Adams, art by Fernando Pasarin, Brandon Peterson, Hi Fi, Michael Atiyeh, Steve Wands

For what it's worth, it's cool that Booster and Rip Hunter are still Time Masters in the DCU. Though how Green Arrow knows Booster is a time cop isn't clear. Do secret identities mean *nothing* in modern comic books? And if everyone knows that Booster Gold is a time cop, why hasn't anyone called him in to help while Wally West has been bouncing through time for the past few months? Maybe it's best if I don't climb down this rabbit hole....

Still, I have to admit that I had expected more in an issue revisiting the events detailed in Heroes in Crisis. Especially since a key element of that story was Wally framing Booster Gold for murder.

The DC Universe has been rebooted (twice!) since Heroes in Crisis. It would be so easy to say that the murders at Sanctuary didn't happen. I won't spoil any of the details of the issue, but The Flash 2021 Annual doesn't want to ignore all of that past, just the parts that are inconvenient. Inconvenient to Wally West, I mean.

Gunfire and Lagoon Boy might be alive again somewhere in the Multiverse. (Thanks, Infinite Frontier!) And Professor Zoom has taken credit as the true puppet master behind Wally West's criminal acts. (Thanks, Flash Forward!) Apparently now we need another excuse for why none of whatever happened was really Wally's fault in the first place. (Thanks, The Flash 2020 Annual!) Funny how one bad story can generate a cottage industry of retcons. (Thanks, Tom King!)

Anyway, Booster has forgiven Wally, and The Flash 2021 Annual wants us all to follow suit. So I'll try to forgive it its flaws. Any book that finally gets rid of Wally's over-detailed New 52 costume can't be all bad.

Is this the last appearance of the Gold Beetle? Only time will tell.

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On Friday, comic book writer Tom King (@TomKingTK) tweeted this image accompanied by the text "Announcement incoming.":

Those arms belong to, from top to bottom, Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red*, Blue Beetle, and Fire. Naturally, this made a lot of people excited at the teased prospect of new comic adventures of the Justice League International.

Of course, that's not what Tom was teasing.

He was baiting the hook with the JLI for a different property he revealed later that same day:

Who can be mad about a bait-and-switch that leads to art this great? (Those new arms belong to Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Batman, Ice, and G'nort.)

If you didn't know, Christopher "Human Target" Chance has been in the DC Universe since 1972 but is far more famous outside comic books. In addition to recent guest appearances on Arrow, Chance has had his own television series twice (!). Being a TV star probably explains why he and Booster Gold have never crossed paths.

Frankly, the espionage antics of Human Target are a perfect fit for King's storytelling strengths, and any project that keeps King far away from Booster Gold is a project I can support. In fact, I promise to buy a copy of the first issue... but only if they keep that amazing Smallwood cover.

* That Rocket Red arm design belongs to the armor of Maks Chazov, who was never a member of any line-up of any Justice League, international or otherwise. Chazov worked for the pre-New 52 United Nations-sponsored incarnation of Checkmate. But it wouldn't be the JLI without a representative Rocket Red, and all the Reds who appeared on a JLI roster are dead. I guess you can't bring every dead hero back to life.

UPDATE 2021-07-12: Shawn dropped by the comments to point out that Greg Smallwood has posted process and reference pics of the cover's development on Twitter.com. He includes an interior pic of the JLI, and it is glorious.

Yep. Definitely buying that.

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Dan Jurgens' latest interview about his forthcoming project, Blue and Gold — perhaps you've heard of it? — is online at DymanicForces.com.

Interviewer Byron Brewer was unable to coerce the famously tight-lipped Jurgens into revealing much that we didn't already know, but he did get these fun tidbits:

BB: Tell us a little bit about the overall storyline of this limited series.

Dan Jurgens: After going off on their own for a couple of years, Booster and the Beetle have reunited with the idea of forming a true partnership that gives them the chance to help people. Not as heroes for hire, but as heroes whose mission is supported by crowdfunding, as they seek to help those who don't have access to Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the heroic pantheon.

BB: Please tell me Skeets is in this one!

Dan Jurgens: Absolutely! And we may even have an all-new addition of—oh, wait. I can't mention that yet.

Obviously, Jurgens was playing coy. We've already seen the solicitation for Blue and Gold #3.

Dynamic Forces specializes in artist-signed limited edition comics. If you're thinking about getting your hands on a Jurgens-signed Blue and Gold #1, know that dynamicforces.com is already selling its "Elite Gold Signature" edition for $89.99. It'd be a deal at twice the price!

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The Justice League Unlimited returns to your Local Comic Shop today for their first new adventure since 2008 in Justice League Infinity #1.

The issue is co-written by Justice League International scribe J.M. DeMatteis, so you just know there are going to be some old-fashioned Blue and Gold antics.

I say let him eat cake!

Justice League Infinity is only a seven-issue mini-series, but if that's not enough Justice League Unlimited for you, DC has also released a new reprint collection of old JLU comics, Justice League Unlimited: Girl Power. Despite its focus on female heroes, Booster makes small appears in two of the stories in that reprint. Some Booster Gold is always better than no Booster Gold.

Buy either of these books and make Skeets happy!

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