Dan Jurgens' latest interview about his forthcoming project, Blue and Gold — perhaps you've heard of it? — is online at DymanicForces.com.

Interviewer Byron Brewer was unable to coerce the famously tight-lipped Jurgens into revealing much that we didn't already know, but he did get these fun tidbits:

BB: Tell us a little bit about the overall storyline of this limited series.

Dan Jurgens: After going off on their own for a couple of years, Booster and the Beetle have reunited with the idea of forming a true partnership that gives them the chance to help people. Not as heroes for hire, but as heroes whose mission is supported by crowdfunding, as they seek to help those who don't have access to Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the heroic pantheon.

BB: Please tell me Skeets is in this one!

Dan Jurgens: Absolutely! And we may even have an all-new addition of—oh, wait. I can't mention that yet.

Obviously, Jurgens was playing coy. We've already seen the solicitation for Blue and Gold #3.

Dynamic Forces specializes in artist-signed limited edition comics. If you're thinking about getting your hands on a Jurgens-signed Blue and Gold #1, know that dynamicforces.com is already selling its "Elite Gold Signature" edition for $89.99. It'd be a deal at twice the price!

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I would like to thank all the Booster boosters who pointed me to Monday's Nerdist.com interview with the writer of the upcoming Blue and Gold mini-series by some guy named Dan Jurgens.

It is a pretty interesting read, and not just because it has an exclusive 5-page preview of the first issue. For example,

[I]n the wake of Dark Nights: Death Metal, the heroes of the DC Universe remember all previous continuities. So will remembering all this trauma play into Blue and Gold?

Turns out, not so much. According to Jurgens, "Booster is aware of it, of course, while Ted doesn't want to address it. He knows of it but also buries it."

Jurgens elaborated further, saying, "From a creative standpoint, I don't want to dwell on it. We did it in the 2007 Booster Gold series and I'm hesitant to dive into something that is now 15 plus years old. I think we're far better off simply driving right into current stories. That's what seems most fair to readers, as anything else ends up with multiple pages of explanation."

It's been 15 years since volume 2? Thanks for making me feel old, Dan.

All kidding aside, one of Jurgens' greatest strengths as a writer has always been an ability to blend the old and new so that new readers don't feel excluded while still winking at longtime fans. While that can occasionally be frustrating — no, seriously, *who* is the Black Beetle? — we have to recognize that's how comics worked throughout their heyday, and if a publisher isn't attracting new readers, they might as well go ahead and close up shop.

On a personal note, I should mention that Jurgens' "big tent" approach to comic book universe continuity has also made building this site so much fun. It's easy to imagine that all of Booster Gold's adventures have happened to a single character in a dynamic universe when the artist shepherding that character's growth has been so careful not to infringe upon the creations of the many other artists contributing to the ever-expanding multiversal tapestry. Jurgens knows that the first principle of good collaborative storytelling is learning to say "Yes, and...."

I strongly recommend that if you haven't already, you drop by Nerdist.com to read Eric Diaz's article. As I said above, it's got pictures. You *definitely* want to see the pictures of Ryan Sook's art.

And I suppose it probably goes without saying that you also *definitely* want to buy Blue and Gold when it comes out in three weeks.

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As pointed out to me by Rob Snow, New York Comic Con and Metaverse Comics has released a 45-minute long video interview with Blue and Gold creators Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook to promote the upcoming series.

The creators talk about what kind of story it will be, whether or not new fans will have any idea what's going on, and which of them feels more like Booster and which feels more like Beetle. (Spoiler Alert! It's exactly the ones you expect.) They even screenshare some artwork and script plans. I'd say it's worth a listen for die-hard Booster boosters.

If the above embed doesn't work for you, you can find the video at Facebook.com or FindTheMetaverse.com.

Thanks, Rob, Jurgens, and Ryan (and interviewer Mike Negin)! Blue and Gold is set for a late July release.

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If you visited your Local Comic Shop this week, you might have picked up a copy of the DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Celebration #1 like I did. The title is an accurate representation of what's inside the book, and I enjoyed the much-deserved spotlight on characters who too rarely get their share of the accolades.

If I had any problem with the book, it was only that it was too short. DC Comics has several other notable Asian characters worthy of more attention, characters like August General in Iron, Rising Sun, Maya, Doctor Light, and the head of Research and Design for Booster Gold International, Dr. Jack Soo.

In the spirit of further celebration of the contribution of Asian characters to the DC Universe, what follows is a post about Soo's trailblazing contribution to the cast of Booster Gold Volume 1 in the 1980s, previously published on the Boosterrific blog in 2015:

It cannot be denied that the original cast of Booster Gold was pale. Michael Carter was white. Trixie Collins was white. Dirk Davis was white. About the only characters in the first six issues who weren't white were Booster's orange cats, Jack and Jill. (Hey, it's not Booster's fault that Metropolis was settled almost exclusively by Western Europeans and Kryptonians.)

The eventual introduction of supporting cast member Dr. Jack Soo in Booster Gold #7 finally provided an injection of some much needed color.

Jack Soo was the best young inventor at Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories (aka S.T.A.R. Labs) when he was hired to create a new female super suit for Goldstar, Inc. He delivered on his reputation and earned his place in Booster Gold's supporting cast.

While Soo's specific heritage is never addressed, his tan skin, dark hair, and narrow eyes indicate Asian ethnicity. "Soo" also happens to be a Westernization of the fairly common Chinese surname "Su."

Of course, it's hard not to notice the sudden appearance of an ethnic minority in a comic full of white characters. But was Asian the right race for Booster Gold's first new supporting character? I mean, isn't "Asian scientist" a little cliched?

As always, I turned to creator Dan Jurgens for the answer.

Yes, we realized that we need to have a more diverse cast.

I would also add that "Asian scientist" might seem a bit stereotypical now, but it certainly wasn't 30 years ago.

Jurgens has a point there. While ethnic Asians make up almost 15% of all modern science, technology, engineering, and technology jobs in America today (second in percentage only to — you guessed it — whites), that number was closer to 5% in 1980 according to census.gov.

We haven't seen Jack since Booster Gold #22 (1987). I assume that's because he's been hard at work in his lab creating new wonders. Thanks for all your hard work, Dr. Soo.

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Let me start with this disclaimer: I don't speak Spanish. The following story by Xabier Migelez comes to me secondhand through MSN.com and Google Translate:

Javier Dãvila loses the boat of 'Pasapalabra' because of the Booster Gold robot

Javier Dãvila caressed the juicy pot of 'Pasapalabra' on Monday . The man from Salamanca played a great program, but could not win the 1,570,000 euros at stake. For the second time in this stage, Dãvila was just one word away from correctly completing the rosco .

The program was looking for the "name of the comic book character, who is a robot, who accompanies the superhero Booster Gold on his adventures" , but did not find the correct answer. The contestant went around the donut six times, leaving only the letter 'S' unanswered.

Despite having more than enough time on the scoreboard, Dãvila acknowledged not knowing the answer: "I'll keep thinking because Booster Gold doesn't sound like anything to me. As long as I have time, I'll have hope." But after Pablo [Diaz]'s second ruling, the man from Salamanca had to risk and choose an answer. He said 'Stan', the very name of the autonomous valet robot that already works at Lyon Airport , but it wasn't the answer the show was looking for.

You mean to tell me there is a Spanish television game show that asked its contestant about Booster Gold's sidekick? I'm not sure I'd believe that even without the questionable syntax of Google Translate if I hadn't found a video clip of the episode on the website of the show's channel, antena3.com.

One-and-a-half million euros is a lot of money to lose, but don't feel too bad, Dávila. I'm sure most Americans don't recognize Skeets, either.

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