When DC released the solicitation for today's DC's Very Merry Multiverse holiday anthology back in September, they completely failed to tell us that it contains a story featuring the greatest restaurant manager the world has never known!

"Twas the Night" is a short story taking place in the Planet Krypton restaurant of the Kingdom Come continuity of Earth-22 which is not to be confused with the Planet Krypton restaurant of the mainstream DCU as seen in The Kingdom. (And they say comic books are too convoluted. Pshaw!)

The 8-page story was written by Brittany Holzherr, the associate editor for both "The Gift" and Heroes in Crisis. My opinions of those stories are well known, but I'm not holding them against Holzherr, who seems to have learned all the right lessons: once again she's working with some great artists in Todd Nauck, Hi-Fi, Andworld Designs!

There's a preview of the anthology's first story (Harley Quinn in "It's a Horrible Life") online at CBR.com, but do yourself a favor and just buy this very Boosterrific issue anyway. You'll make Skeets — and yourself — merry indeed.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: brittany holzherr cbr.com hi-fi designs new releases previews todd nauck very merry multiverse

I've already covered Booster Gold's appearance in the upcoming Generations Forged (due February 23), but that's not the only BG appearance included in DC's February solicitation as provided by GamesRadar.com.

First up is the collected edition of Booster's recent guest-starring role in Batman Beyond #47, #48, and #49:

BATMAN BEYOND VOL. 8: THE ERADICATION AGENDA TP
written by DAN JURGENS art by SEAN CHEN, SEAN PARSON, PAUL PELLETIER, and NORM RAPMUND
In the final volume of Batman Beyond, Batman and Batman Beyond meet at least, with Booster Gold caught in the middle! But first, Terry McGinnis forges an uneasy alliance with Damian Wayne in order to stop Mr. Zero and his radical faction from turning Gotham City into an ice-covered hellscape. To set things right, Batman, Damian, and Batwoman Beyond must declare war on the League of Assassins! And one more thing: Inque returns, posing as Batman and wreaking havoc in Gotham City! Collects Batman Beyond #43-50.
On sale March 16, 2021

But that's not all!

FLASHPOINT: THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OMNIBUS HC
written by GEOFF JOHNS, SCOTT SNYDER, JEFF LEMIRE, JAMES ROBINSON, BRIAN AZZARELLO, DAN JURGENS, PETER MILLIGAN, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, ADAM GLASS, DAN ABNETT, and others art by ANDY KUBERT, FRANCIS MANAPUL, DAN JURGENS, EDUARDO RISSO, MIKEL JANíN, BEN OLIVER, SCOTT KOLINS, RAGS MORALES, and others The event that reshaped the DC Universe, now collected in its entirety in one massive omnibus edition! Barry Allen works for the Central City Police Department, where he's solved numerous criminal cases. As the Flash, he protects the innocent and battles evil. He is the Fastest Man Alive! Or he was...
Barry Allen wakes up to a world that is not his own. A place where his mother was never killed...and the Flash never existed. This altered universe is on the brink of a cataclysmic war. No human has ever wielded the Green Lantern's light, and no one has ever heard of Superman. Batman has as much blood on his hands as his enemies do, and America's last hope is Cyborg. Powerless and alone, Barry Allen desperately tries to hold on to his memories of the reality that once was. If there is any hope of setting things right, he must convince this world's strange, dangerous heroes to help him fix what was broken.
This omnibus collects Flashpoint #1-5, Booster Gold #44-47, The Flash #9-12, Flashpoint: Reverse-Flash #1, Flashpoint: Abin Sur the Green Lantern #1-3, Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #1-3, Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance #1-3, Flashpoint: Citizen Cold #1-3, Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint #1-3, Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons #1-3, Flashpoint: Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager #1-3, Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #1-3, Flashpoint: The Outsider #1-3, Flashpoint: Secret Seven #1-3, Flashpoint: The Canterbury Cricket #1, Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies #1-3, Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost #1-3, Flashpoint: Project Superman #1-3, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1-3, Flashpoint: Green Arrow Industries #1, Flashpoint: Grodd of War #1, Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #1-3, Flashpoint: The Legion of Doom #1-3.
On sale April 20, 2021 | $150.00 | 1,504 PAGES

Whew! That's a lot of comics in one book. I recommend reading it at a table. If you try to read it in your lap, you might lose circulation in your legs.

And, since we were very recently on the subject, I should mention that BleedingCool.com has uncovered that a new edition of Bizarro Comics is coming in the summer:

BIZARRO COMICS THE DELUXE EDITION
Comic icons come together to tell the strange and wonderful tales of BIZARRO! The tales of Superman's twisted doppelganger, BIZARRO, are collected in this brilliant deluxe edition format! Follow along as Bizarro decides to publish his own comics from BIZARRO COMICS HC #1 and through the strange and wonderful tales told in BIZARRO WORLD!
On sale June 22, 2021

(Bleeding Cool also alerts us to an upcoming 10th Anniversary collection for the New 52 relaunch due in August, but so far it looks like it will just be a select few titles and will not include Booster Gold's Justice League International. I'll be sure to let you know if that changes.)

Obviously none of those are new Booster Gold appearances, but I'm sure many of these books will introduce Booster to new audiences, and that's a good thing, too.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: batman beyond bizarro comics bleedingcool.com flashpoint gamesradar.com solicitations

Today I'm hijacking my own blog in promotion of my latest novel, a cozy murder mystery in a fantasy setting, Apprentice to Murder: The Tale of Robin the Rascal in the Wizard's Own Words.

According to the book cover (which I also wrote):

Life is easy for young Prince Robin. Growing up with the luxuries afforded members of the royal family, he dreams of one day becoming a knight like his late father. But the young nobleman's dreams are derailed when his cousin, heir apparent Prince John, dies under questionable circumstances. Fingers quickly point to Robin, who inconveniently happens to be the next in the line of succession and the last person to have seen John alive.

To prevent civil war, Robin abdicates his birthright for an apprenticeship under Royal Wizard Septimus. Robin's sacrifice saves the kingdom, but one by one, the inhabitants of Windwick Castle begin to die, each new death seeming to further incriminate the fallen prince. The only way for Robin to save himself is find John's real killer.

The apprentice wizard is going to learn the hard way that even magic has its limits.

If you'd like to read more, the first chapter is available for free at JamesWalterStephens.com.

And if you like what you see there, the book is now available as both a $15 paperback and a $2.99 ebook on Amazon.com.

Thank you for your consideration.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: apprentice to murder

I didn't expect to find Booster Gold in any of today's comics, so imagine my surprise when I spotted this fine looking group:

That's Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #1, the "Dark Multiverse" version of the 1991 "War of the Gods" crossover event. Ironically, Booster appears in three panels in this self-contained one-shot issue, which is two more panels than he appeared in during the original 25-part story!

For the record, it was this panel in War of the Gods #4:

As you can see, the original story had layouts by George Perez. It is a dark multiverse indeed without George Perez in it.

If you'd like to see more of Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods before you decide whether you want to spend $6 on a Booster Gold cameo appearance, CBR.com has the preview.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: cbr.com dark multiverse george perez new releases war of the gods wonder woman

My friends Mike and Keith are big fans of "The Dresden Files" books by Jim Butcher, and they were eager to tell me that Booster Gold is name-checked in the latest book, Battle Ground, as you can see below.

That page makes no sense to me, but I suppose jumping into any novel on page 153 would be confusing.

Despite my friends' urging, I have not read any of "The Dresden Files" books. I bought the first one, Storm Front, but only got through the first chapter before loaning it to my father, who was looking for something new to read in the hospital. I haven't seen it since (though Dad has now read the first 16 in the series).

Apparently, fans of the series know what I didn't, that protagonist wizard Harry Dresden — as Wikipedia tells us:

Harry prefers to drive his Volkswagen Beetle because the simple technology powering it makes it less likely to be adversely affected by his magic, and it can be fixed easily. He refers to it as the "Blue Beetle" due to its original color, though damage by supernatural creatures has forced him to replace several pieces of the bodywork in different colors.

Despite Harry's objection, comic book fans will agree that "Booster Gold" is the prefect callsign for someone associated with the Blue Beetle.

For the record, Battle Ground, the 17th "Dresden" book, was released in September. It can now be found in fine bookstores everywhere (and I'm sure it will make a good gift for my father this Christmas).

Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: battle ground blue beetle dresden files jim butcher keith adamson michael foster wikipedia.com