Last Sunday, the Fire and Water Podcast Network's JLI Podcast released a new episode in which the Irredeemable Shag interviewed Dan Jurgens and discussed Blue and Gold.

I... haven't listened to all of it yet. I mean, I did hear the part about the sponsor, InStockTrades.com, having the Booster Gold volume 1 hardcover collections on sale for 45% off. (Just in time for Christmas!) That part was pretty good.

But I seriously do have the utmost faith in both Shag and Dan, and I don't think you should have to wait for me to find the time to finish it before I inevitably recommend the episode to Booster boosters everywhere.

If you are better at managing your time than I am, you can listen to the podcast at fireandwaterpodcast.com.

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I do not have Blue and Gold #4 in my hand yet, but DC Comics' exclusive direct-market partner, Lunar Distribution, expects it to ship this week for a November 16 release, and I'm going to take them at their word.

DC feels so confident, in fact, that they've already released a sneak peek of the book to Comic-Watch.com. It's a cute couple of pages of Blue and Gold being interviewed by their adoring press, but the best part is

"Art, Present Day" by Ryan Sook, "Art, Blue Beetle's Sequence" by Kevin Maguire, and — most importantly — "Art, Booster Gold's Sequence" by Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund?! It's a Justice League International and Booster Gold Volume 2 reunion! That alone should be worth the wait.

Buy this issue and make Skeets (and Buggles) happy!

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The cover of Blue and Gold #3 teases "the million-dollar debut of Buggles," but the real guest of honor in this issue is...

It has been too long, girl! For those who don't remember, Trixie was Booster's first secretary at Goldstar, Inc. (as seen in the immortal Booster Gold #1 in 1985). Trixie was also the first to wear the Goldstar uniform. She and Booster made a great team back in the day.

When Booster joined the JLI full time, he and Trixie drifted apart. In fact, we haven't seen her since Chase #4 (in 1998!) while she was landlord to the Teen Titans. As you might expect from two former friends who couldn't make the time to maintain their relationship, their relationship was a bit frosty at the time.

It's good to see they've both grown past that.

In one of his long-lost-to-the-web "Gold Exchange" columns — presumably one that will be reprinted in his upcoming book — Russ Burlingame once reported that Dan Jurgens had plans to revisit Trixie in Booster Gold Volume 2, but the title was canceled before it ever happened. Thanks to DC for giving Jurgens another opportunity to bring Trixie back.

For more about Booster Gold's original secretary (and second sidekick), see my Character Spotlight on Trixie Collins.

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Watching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, I'm seeing commercials with Olympic athletes who, according to disclaimers at the bottom of the screen, don't even use the products they're endorsing.

Why do I feel I've seen this all before?

Booster Gold #2 (1986)

In my "Secret Origin of Booster Gold" interview with Dan Jurgens, Booster's creator describes his inspiration this way:

Much of Booster was inspired by the '84 Olympics when I saw an athlete described as having an endorsement contract without ever having won a medal. Many of the BG ideas were already in place but that sort of galvanized it.

The years might roll by, but Booster Gold and the forces of commercial opportunism and social insecurity that drive him and his misadventures are as relevant as ever.

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In promotion of Blue and Gold #1, DC Comics has posted a primer on the history of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold on their blog at DCComics.com.

Most of what they have to say won't come as news to Boosterrific.com readers, but that's not necessarily true of what Dan Jurgens tells Liam McGuire in the interview now available at ScreenRant.com:

Screen Rant: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle have a very different relationship with the big players on DC's Justice League. Does that difference get explored in this book?

Dan Jurgens: Very much so. Booster is a rather insecure person. He craves acceptance from the other heroes. He's desperate to be regarded as an "A-Lister".

Ted would like that as well, but it's not an obsession for him. Booster, on the other hand, is desperate for it.

It's always great to have insight on how Booster's creator views his creation. "Insecure" may be an unusual word to apply to a DC superhero, but it accurately describes Booster's personality and what has motivated him into so many of his misadventures.

But hold on, here's another interesting bit:

Screen Rant: What can you tell us about working with Ryan Sook on this project?

Dan Jurgens: Ryan and I have worked together on FUTURES END, ACTION COMICS and BATMAN BEYOND. Every time I work with him, I am amazed by the quality of work and depth of thought that shows up on each and every page.

He's very much into the spirit of this project and exploring the nature of these two characters. It's a delight to see his work come in as we're working Marvel style, and it's really giving him the opportunity to add his magic touch.

If you aren't familiar with the "Marvel style," it's a "plot-first" process pioneered by Stan Lee and his artists in the 1960s where bare-bones plots where provided to pencillers so they have the most flexibility to work engaging layouts. In this method, scripting dialogue is done last.

(Stan Lee once wrote a book called How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way that focused entirely on what panels should look like in a Marvel comic, not how the artist and writer might work together. Ironically, the process is better explained by Denny O'Neil in The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics.)

Over the past four decades, Jurgens has pencilled most of his own Booster Gold scripts, so it's interesting to see how he writes Booster for other artists. Is this how he worked with Aaron Lopresti on Justice League International or Corin Howell for Bat-Mite?

I hope Jurgens doesn't tire of talking Booster Gold anytime soon. There's always more to learn.

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