I have to confess that I'm not a big fan of digital comics. I have several reasons for that, but they mostly boil down to "I grew up reading paper comics, and I intend to die reading paper comics." That's looking increasingly likely in the current COVID-19 era.

That said, digital comics have long had their fans, and now they have a few benefits that old-fashioned paper comics, or "floppies," don't. With so many comic shops and publishers still shuttered, digital comics allow you to remain socially distant and disease-free (assuming no one else is using your keyboard) while still supporting the companies and artists whose work you enjoy. It's a win-win in an otherwise uncertain world.

Which brings me to the DC Universe streaming service. I think it's a great boon for DC fans looking to scratch their super-hero itch. While it would be easy for them to focus on the A-listers like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League, they also manage to support the lesser known heroes, like Booster Gold.

Case in point: Alex Jaffe's article on DCUniverse.com encouraging unfamiliar fans to "BINGE THIS: BOOSTER GOLD is the Greatest Geoff Johns Series You've Never Read," which includes the following paragraph:

Why is Booster Gold the perfect agent to protect the timeline? Because he's the last person you'd ever expect to be crucially important to its survival. To keep time bandits from interfering with Booster's work, his crucial time traveling missions must be kept absolutely secret... making Booster Gold the first great Super Hero whose secret identity is an incompetent Super Hero. But with all of time at his fingertips, can Booster avoid the pitfalls of trying to "fix" the tragedies which must come to pass? And if not, will the timeline himself even let him succeed? And what exactly is the mysterious connection between Booster Gold and his Time Master mentor, Rip Hunter? All will be revealed, or at least alluded to, in esoteric continuity clues scrawled onto chalkboards. Whether you're obsessed with continuity or merely the idea of it, this series is a comic binger's dream.

He's right. It's a pretty good series, especially for DC continuity nuts like me. I think I'll go re-read the series myself. And maybe I'll do it digitally. I'd hate to risk getting virus all over my longboxes.

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Start your week with Booster Gold sketch art courtesy of Booster booster Steven Palchinski, who graciously offered to let us gaze into his sketchbook of Booster Gold and Friends.

Randy Rantz Kintz

Dustin Nguyen

Norm Rapmund

Peter Semeti

Ryan Stegman

Freddie E. Williams II

James Zintel

Thanks, Steven.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: commissions dustin nguyen freddie williams goldstar james zintel norm rapmund peter simeti randy rantz kintz rip hunter ryan stegman steven palchinski

In ancient times, May Day was a celebration of the dawning of a new season from the old, a rebirth. In the 20th century, "mayday" became a distress call for pilots.

Both of those etymologies are reflected in CRB.com's latest Booster Gold-centric clickbait, "Every Terrible DC Timeline Booster Gold Has Prevented (or Caused)" by Brandon Zachary.

As one of DC's resident time-travelers, it makes sense that Booster Gold has left an outsized impact on the DC Universe timeline over the years. While he's done some of this to protect the timeline from the influence of others, he's also sometimes done this to try and suit his own goals.

That's a fair point. Booster Gold isn't perfect, and that's a key part of why we like him.

Before you click on over to CBR, know that the article title isn't entirely accurate (surprise!). Zachary covers some of the larger (and worst) changes that Booster has made to history, but there are plenty of other terrible timelines that Booster prevented but didn't cause (like saving the multiverse from the likes of Mister Mind in 52 and Starro in Booster Gold #13, just to name a few).

And, of course, no list of the worst timelines that Booster both caused and prevented would be complete without the time he killed a little girl's dog, as seen in Booster Gold #31.

In a multiverse with an infinite number of terrible timelines, a time cop's job is never done.

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Boosterrific Note: the following brief biographies were sent to me in response to my April 10 post asking for Booster Gold fans to write in and tell us a bit about themselves.

First up is Megan.

I think the concept of this blog is really great. It's a blog that would exist in DC continuity and I find that idea really hilarious. It aligns with the idea of Booster's fame seeking generating an obsessive fanclub. Booster Gold is one of my favourite DC characters. I really love how he grows and matures to become a self sacrificing person. Enjoying the character is how I found this blog and I check it out from time to time because the concept is so entertaining. Thanks for your commitment.

Secondly was this post by M.M., who originally posted this in the comments.

I love this blog. I found it while looking for Booster of course, which I fell in love with at a time in my life where I downloaded comics published before I was born, I don't know why, I just know that Booster had it all, a real personality that I could understand, a curve wonderful learning, time travel and it made me seriously wonder why I don't see more heroes dressing in gold.

Pardon my writing, I am doing this in the time not suitable for all public and helping me with the google translator because I do not trust myself. I'm going to confess that I love this blog, I already said it, but I confess that one of my recurring fears is that something happens to you and I never have the opportunity to say thanks for everything. rereading a comic after you write about why it's great for you makes me feel like it's new to me again.

Thank you both. (Rest assured that I plan to continue posting about Booster Gold for years to come, M.M.)

If anyone else would like to share and/or self-promote, please drop me a line through the Boosterrific.com Contact Portal or directly at walter(at)boosterrific.com.

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In case you missed it, the big news in comics publishing last week was DC Comics' announcement that they will be resuming new comic book releases tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28. Diamond Comic Distributors remains closed until at least the middle of May, so these releases will be coming by way of mail-order retailers (per Newsarama.com).

The first thing Booster Gold fans need to know is that DC has rescheduled Harley Quinn #72, originally planned for an April 1 release, to May 12.

The second thing Booster Gold fans need to know is how to get their hands on this issue. Many stores will still be shuttered by local and state ordinances, and there are some unanswered questions about how DC's new (temporary?) distribution partners will be handling orders.

Personally, I expect I'll have to order my copy online. I guess we'll see what we see as we get closer to May 12.

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