We learned over the weekend that reclusive artist Steve Ditko died late last month. His considerable contributions to the super hero comic book genre cannot be overstated, and you can find most of them listed in the many obituaries those contributions earned him.

But so far as Booster Gold fans are concerned, Ditko's single greatest accomplishment was the creation of the second Blue Beetle for Charlton Comics.

Ditko's Beetle was the second hero by that name. Unlike his magical predecessor, Ted Kord used science and technology in his pursuit of law and order. He had only a few adventures for Chartlon Comics before moving to the DC Universe where he would eventually help found the Justice League International and meet his soon-to-be best friend, Booster Gold.

Although Ditko had nothing to do with the character after Beetle's move to DC Comics, his original idea continued to inspire. Said Booster Gold creator on Dan Jurgens on Twitter:

We certainly agree. Thank you, Steve.

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My friend Michael pointed me to this video hosted by DCComics.com in which Collin Kelly and Mike Kalinowski debate whether Booster Gold or Blue Beetle, respectively, would win in a fight. Just a couple of comic book nerds talking about some of their favorite characters; it's like a podcast but with pictures!

(Frankly, I don't know why they're wasting so much time. We all know that Booster Gold would win.)

Once you've watched the video, be sure to drop by DCComics.com to vote for Booster Gold the character you think would win in a fight. Don't wait! Voting ends early Thursday morning.

Thanks for the link, Mike.

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Hey, everybody! Let's start the week with some great sketch art by professional illustrator Dean Kotz!

Those two always looked like they were having such fun.

You can see the above much larger and more of Kotz's work at deankotz.com.

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If you're reading this, you probably know that the Internet has a sizable contingent of DC Comics fans. It just so happens that My Little Pony also has a pretty significant online presence. It was only a matter of time before the two met.

This delightful mash-up of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold as ponies comes straight from the sketchbook of Pony Goddess. They're a happy looking pair. I'll bet they'd be even happier if there was a whole team of them.

Three generations of Blue Beetle ponies meeting Booster Gold and Goldstar ponies? Yes, please. We have ajremix to thank for such goodness.

But how would Blue pony and Gold pony interact with the rest of the DCU ponies? LadyM has that answer.

Yep, that seems to cover all the bases. Thank you, Internet.

Click any of these images to see them larger in their native environment at DeviantArt.com.

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Last Monday when I asked if anyone had any suggestions for art to add to my corner box collection, Diego Segovia suggested "That cover where Zatanna turns Booster, Beetle, and Skeets into women."

Sadly, there is no such cover. However, I'm pretty sure that the Internet exists just to "correct" that sort of problem.

This, I think is the piece to which Diego was referring:

That's not technically a cover but a commission drawn by Lofton Wallace in 2012. And technically, I've never posted this art before. Technically. (Though I did link to it in the comments when I posted the original line art six years ago.)

Despite all those technicalities, Diego's comment gives me a good excuse to revisit it because even six years later, it's still a lot of fun.

You can find more of Wallace's work on his website, lostonwallace.com, or over on deviantart.com.

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