Two weeks after delaying Blue and Gold #2 with no notice, DC has finally admitted to supply chain issues causing slippage in publication dates. Per Chris Arrant's report at GamesRadar.com/Newsarama:

DC has now revised the release dates for 28 upcoming single issues, along with five collected editions. Although this is the initial list, DC's spokesperson says the company does "expect further shifts in the future. DC will communicate these moves clearly and quickly."

Two of those 28 issues are Blue and Gold. Issue 2 is now scheduled for September 7, and the release of issue 3 has been postponed to September 28. Given the language of DC's notice, I won't be surprised if those dates don't slip as well.

(Not appearing on that list of 28 issues are Infinite Frontier #5 or Teen Titans Academy #6, both of which were originally announced to be available this week but failed to make that date. So are those books slipping for other reasons? Or is the problem already worse than DC wants us to think it is?)

I'm prepared to be tolerant, DC. Just keep us posted, ok? As any marriage counsellor will tell you, communication is key.

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I went to my Local Comic Shop specifically to buy Blue and Gold #2, and they told me they didn't receive any copies. This despite the fact that I had checked DCComics.com before I left the house, and the website said the book was "Available Now."

I figured it was just a case of the distributor short shipping the title. That happens. Frequently. (Yeah, it still bothers me, but what am I going to do, stop collecting comics?)

So I come home, go online to pick up a digital copy of the book, and I see this:

"Available on September 7 2021"?!? The book has been delayed three weeks, and DC hasn't bothered to tell anyone — not even their own web developers?

What could have possibly happened for such a late scrub? Are the shippers on strike? Were editors late getting art to the publishing house? Did it fail to pass inspection by the Comics Code Authority? Are the printing presses in Afghanistan? Or Haiti? Or Florida?

Que sera, sera, I guess. Probably just about everyone in the world — including me — has bigger problems than whether or not I get my hands on any particular comic book. If I have to wait until September 7, so be it.

But how about a little warning next time, DC?

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Booster booster Rob Snow writes to say

I don't think there's a Blue and Gold coming out in November, according to the solicits.

A thorough search of gamesradar's listing of "November DC Comics revealed: A whole lot of Batman" — ain't that always the truth? — proves Rob right.

Last we heard, Blue and Gold #4 (of 8) is currently scheduled for a October 19 release, so we would have expected to see Blue and Gold #5 the third week in November. But as we learned last month, both Kevin Maguire and Dan Jurgens will be assisting on art duties for issue 4, and perhaps that's the reason for the delay on issue 5. This wouldn't be the first time a book's release schedule had to be revised to accommodate an artist (or three).

Oh, well. Better late than never. Thanks for the alert, Rob.

While Booster Gold shows up nowhere else in DC's November solicitations, he will be appearing in the upcoming new edition of the DC One Million Omnibus, which Amazon.com expects to be selling by May 3 (as reported by BleedingCool.com).

The 1,000+ page 2022-edition of the Omnibus will sell for around $100, which may seem a bit steep for a reprint of Booster Gold #1,000,000. But Booster Gold one million is the first appearance of Peter Platinum.

There's never enough Platinum to go around!

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Web-surfing Booster boosters might have noticed an article at ScreenRant.com this week titled "Batman's Still Keeping His Saddest Secret From The Justice League" in which Tristan Benns writes about events from Blue and Gold #1.

(Spoiler Warning: If you still haven't read Blue and Gold, be aware that spoilers follow. But, c'mon. You're reading a Booster Gold blog, and the book came out three weeks ago. Please try to keep up.)

As I was saying, per ScreenRant.com:

Pretty much every member of the team berates Gold behind his back, except for Batman — the hero that fans and Leaguers would expect to like Booster the least....

It's not entirely clear whether Booster's status as master of time has been restored in Infinite Frontier, but Batman's silence when the rest of the League rejects Booster speaks volumes, as does the knowing look he gives the Blue Beetle.

Sure, I noticed Batman's silent treatment, and I agree it speaks volumes. But to decipher what's going on here, it might be helpful to clarify Batman's historical relationship with Booster Gold.

Contrary to what might be presumed given his famously dour personality, Batman has always been among Booster's earliest supporters. In fact, Booster even made The Batman smile with his performance during his original audition for Justice League membership in Justice League #4 (1987):

Batman and Booster as written by Keith Giffen and J.M DeMatteis

Two decades later, in the pages of in the pages of Booster Gold #1,000,000 (2008), The World's Greatest Detective would reveal another reason he had always stood up for Booster: he knew Booster would become a Time Master before Booster ever did.

Batman and Booster as written by Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz

The events of Flashpoint changed much of the history of the DC Universe, but Batman was among the least affected, and his staunch support of Booster Gold was still on display in Justice League International #1 (2011). So it should come as no surprise that Batman would remain among Booster's allies in the Infinite Frontier-era Blue & Gold, even if he and Ted Kord are the only ones.

Knowing all that, if there's anything to be read into Batman's silence in Blue and Gold, it's that Booster is definitely still a Time Master, and Batman still knows all about it.

Batman and Beetle (about Booster) as written by Dan Jurgens

Footnote: "Pretty much every member of the team... except for Batman" is a very correct description of the scene in Blue and Gold because while Batman stays silent, one other Leaguer actually speaks up in defense of Booster Gold. That hero is Black Canary, who not coincidentally is the only other current team member who was present at Booster's debut in the aforementioned Justice League #4. (You can see her blond hair behind Captain Marvel in the panels above.) Old school is the best school.

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If you read Boosterrific.com (which I know you do because you are reading this), you know that Blue and Gold #1 was released last week, 33 years after being first announced. And it's pretty good. You have been rewarded for your patience, Booster boosters!

Of course you probably already bought the standard cover by Ryan Sook. And maybe you picked up the cardstock variant by Dave Johnson. But if you go back to your Local Comic Shop this week, perhaps you'll consider buying *another* copy, the one I'm calling the Kevin Maguire variant:

"That's a picture of the Dave Johnson cover!" you say. And you're right. But what else do you see on there?

That phone case cover isn't Dave Johnson's work. It's Kevin Maguire's. Maguire drew that image in 2014 for a DC Comics print (as confirmed by the artist himself via Twitter.com).

How often do we get comic books where two different artists have drawn Booster Gold on the same cover? Just this once. I think that's pretty Boosterrific.

But if you think that's the last we'll see of Kevin Maguire in Blue and Gold, think again. Here's DC's solicitation for October's issue 4 (from CBR.com):

BLUE & GOLD #4
Writer: DAN JURGENS
Artists: RYAN SOOK, DAN JURGENS and KEVIN MAGUIRE
Cover: RYAN SOOK
$3.99 US ON SALE October 19

Bros over heroes no more!
Booster Gold and Blue Beetle find running a superhero business together more difficult than it looks when these inseparable friends end up on the verge of a breakup! What could be the cause of such a schism? Enter Blackguard, looking to destroy this dysfunctional duo for good!

Three artists? Clearly this series has some surprises in store. Something to look forward to this October.

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