If you didn't read BleedingCool.com over the weekend, you may have missed the notification that the original art for the cover of Formerly Known as the Justice League #6 (2004), featuring Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, is up for auction today at Heritage Auctions (HA.com).

Now, if you're the sort with an attention to detail and a good memory, you might have noticed a few small differences between this unpublished art and the final printed cover which has Booster much more front and center. As much as I love the original piece, I do think that the published cover sells the gag better.

As you can see at the top of the art itself, the piece was drawn by Kevin Maguire, who is responsible for drawing more Booster Gold comics than any artist other than Dan Jurgens, and Joe Rubenstien, who is credited with inking more Booster Gold comics than any artist other than Norm Rapmund. Jurgens and Rapmund, of course, worked on most issues of Booster Gold Volume 2, in case you didn't know.

By the way, this is hardly the only time that Maguire's art would fail to make a final cover on a Booster Gold project. This was the originally solicited art for the cover of Booster Gold Volume 2 #37 (2010) that never made it to press:

I'm rarely one to complain about Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway art, but in that instance, I do think the solicited art is more eye catching than what's actually on the cover. (Though, to be fair, I place most of that blame on the colorist's choice of unsavory yellow tints. Oh, well. To each his own.)

In any event, more Booster Gold art is always better than less, wouldn't you agree? (Thanks to J for making sure I saw this.)

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I rarely discuss original comic book artwork for sale. By which I mean work created for the purpose of publication, not fan commissions.

This isn't an oversight so much as it is the byproduct of my own ignorance about the market. As a skinflint reluctant to part with $4 to buy a modern comic, I find the much higher prices of the original art market make me absolutely squeamish.

That's not to say that I think the prices are undeserved — I consider the original artwork for the cover to Booster Gold #1 to be essentially priceless. (One day I will own an original Booster Gold piece by Dan Jurgens, perhaps in time for Booster's 50th anniversary!) However, as an outsider, I really don't feel qualified to discuss the original art market. This is a shame considering how much amazing, original comic book art is available online.

Take, for example, this piece by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund on sale through pencilinkcolor.com.

Booster Gold, Volume 2, #17

Isn't that great? With the colors removed, you can really see the pen and brush techniques of the artists and get a feel for how the inks can complement the original pencils. (Pencillers get all the attention, but the influence of an inker on a finished piece cannot be understated.)

I understand why people collect this original art, especially in this modern age of electronic media. In a way, owning a piece like this is like owning a page of Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbook. It brings you closer to the medium that you love.

If you'd like to see much, much more original art, click the image above to visit ComicArtShop.com.

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Since I started the week with something borrowed from FirestormFan.com, I feel it is appropriate to end that way, too.

There's a lot to see in the piece, but the best part is no doubt Booster Gold and Godiva canoodling underneath the trees. Ah, l'amour.

The above digital print on canvas by Rey Taira, Saturday Morning in Front of La Salle De Justice, is clearly modeled on the classic 1884 Georges Seaurat painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Taira created this and a companion piece of villains lounging before the Hall of Doom for DC's "We Can Be Heroes" campaign.

This picture was found at kicada.tumblr.com, but another view and links to more pieces in the exhibition can be found at The Idol-Head of Dibolu.

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More often than not, making a comic book is a team effort. Many artists and editors are generally involved in the process. As a result, what any one artist puts into their work doesn't necessarily make it to publication. Such was the case with 2008's Justice League Unlimited #43.

The issue's story, "Wannabes," was written by Keith Giffen and penciled by Christopher Jones. All Booster Gold fans know who Giffen is, and Jones will be familiar to fans of DC's Cartoon Network-inspired Unlimited Universe comics. Recently, Jones posted his pencils of the last page on his website, gallery.christopherjonesart.com, and the difference between the final product and his rendering is rather remarkable.

The penciled page has considerably more detail on the bulletins around the edges of the panel and a far more engaging design of the main flyer itself, including hand-written tear-off tabs! Though the essence of the panels remains the same, the change to the fonts and layouts make for a less whimsical finish that deprives the page of most of its humor.

In addition to changes on this page, Jones' hand-lettered sound effects throughout the issue have been replaced in the published edition. Why were these changes made? Why would an artist bother to do so much extra lettering if it wasn't to be published? To answer this question, I asked Jones himself:

As I indicated on my blog, I turned in the pencils for this story and then the whole thing was put on hold for a couple of years. Other than hearing that the story was finally being printed, I never got any more information on any behind-the-scenes details on the inking, lettering or the rest of the production.

I like to letter sound effects, logos and things on pages myself, but one thing that can often happen is that the inker won't touch it figuring that it's the purview of the letterer, and then the letterer never sees what I'd indicated with the pencils.

Jones has posted his pencils to the entire story, including a larger version of this page and two other full pages that were part of the original 22-page commission in 2004 but cut from the 20-page final printing in 2008, in his gallery here. If you would like to read more about the behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations of creating comic books, be sure to stop by Jones' blog, blog.christopherjonesart.com, where Jones is very open about sharing his work -- lately on the comic book adventures of Cartoon Network's Young Justice (which is pretty good save for the glaring omission of Booster Gold).

Thanks to Christopher Jones for being so gracious in responding to questions. Also thanks to site-contributor Morgenstern, for calling attention to Jones' penciled artwork.

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Are you already nostalgic for the old DC Universe? Do you long for a Booster Gold who shook hands with President Reagan? Do you already miss his old costume? Well, Remembered Heroes has your back. Reintroducing Booster Gold, as you knew and loved him:

The above image of Booster Gold was drawn from memory by a professional artist with a bad memory. Maybe it's not entirely accurate, but at least it's period appropriate: Booster Gold the Beer Can has an old-fashioned pull tab.

For a complete story of why Booster Gold is a beer can with abs, visit rememberedheroes.tumblr.com.

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