Booster booster J writes to let me know about what would seem to be a small correction to a nearly 20-year-old comic book, 2006's 52 #7:

In the annotation for Page 17, panel 2, you say that an actor introduces himself to Lois as "Bob Castell", even though in the previous issue his name was Bill. I'm current reading the digital version of 52 Volume 1 (the one that collects issues #1-26). I just want to point out that, at least in the digital version, they corrected this error and he introduces himself as "Bill Castell".

Firstly, thanks for reading the annotations, J. I wrote them in 2007, and I apologize in advance that they're probably all awful and chock full of typos I'm sure you'll be telling me about later.

Secondly, issues of 52 were originally released weekly, which by all accounts was a real challenge for all involved, so it's no great surprise that a few errors made it through to the final product. I'm glad DC was able to make the corrections in the (many) subsequent collected volumes.

Here's the panel as it was originally published in 52 Week Seven:

And here it is as it appears in the corrected reprints:

The first name of a minor character may seem like small potatoes, but in context, it's a relevant clue to the mystery of the Last Days of Booster Gold, one of several main plots unfolding throughout the series.

Readers were introduced to Mr. Castell in 52 Week Six, where we discover that despite a recent return to the spotlight, Booster Gold has been burnishing his image as a superhero by paying an actor to portray a supervillain and allowing Booster to beat him in a public setting. Intentionally evocative of Maxwell Lord's scheme to force the Justice League to accept Booster Gold into its ranks (in 1987's immortal Justice League #4), this is particularly despicable behavior, even for Booster Gold.

And to make matters worse, Booster treats the actor like a real jerk, refusing to even get his name right.

As you can now see, in the original publication, the reader has (unintentional) cause to be suspicious of the actor's motivations and integrity when Castell changes his first name between issues and accuses Booster of writing a bad check. However, in the reprint, when the reader is more confident that the actor knows what he's talking about, the accusation against Booster is more credible and extra damning.

Why would Booster do such a thing? And why would he go out of his way to be such a jackass to his partner in crime, essentially encouraging him to be disloyal? At the risk of spoiling a great comic book mystery, all I'll say is that this behavior was no mistake, and may, in fact, rank among the most clever things Booster Gold has ever done.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, be like J. Go track down a reprint collection of 52 and read one of the greatest stories DC has ever published. You can thank me (and J) later.

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Just a reminder: Halloween doesn't have to be scary. It can also be adorable.

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When I arrived at my Local Comic Shop yesterday, the manager greeted me at the door and asked if I wanted a copy of DC's Free Comic Book Day offering, Absolute Power.

See, I had intentionally skipped Free Comic Book Day festivities on Saturday because A) I already buy plenty (read: too many) of comics so I always feel like I should let the "free" (to customers) comics do as they are intended and entice non-regular customers into the store ("the first one is free" they say with a smile), and B) I don't like crowds.

It's not uncommon for the manager to ask whether I want to pick up a "hot" new book, and I gave him my usual answer, "No, not unless Booster Gold is in it."

To which my LCS manager responded, "I have no idea whether he is or not. I didn't get a chance to read any of the Free Comic Book Day books yet." Which I interpreted to mean that the Free Comic Book Day books did their job. Which is great. Comic books need readers!

Anyway, long story short, Booster Gold is definitely not in what is officially titled Absolute Power 2024 FCBD Special Edition 1. To the best of my knowledge, the only comic you'll find Booster Gold in this week is the updated re-release of the 52 Volume 1 reprint collection. It might not be free, but it is very good. And that's about the best you can hope for fifty-one weeks out of the year.

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Happy Halloween, Booster boosters. Please resist the temptation to eat all your candy at once!

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If you've bought a physical copy of a DC Comic published in the last two weeks, you've probably seen this:

If you've been looking forward to it, tomorrow is the day. BleedingCool.com has the preview.

It should also be noted that DC's latest reprint of 52, the "Omnibus Hardcover 2022 Edition," is also due out this week for a paltry $175. I was going to make fun of that price, but on second thought, maybe I should bite the bullet and buy this. My original comics are getting awfully worn out from repeated readings.

Buy a Booster Gold comic and make Skeets happy.

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