Every year I take a week off and turn the blog into the Internet's version of a clip show as I count down the most read posts of the past year at Boosterrific.com.

The third most popular post last year was my rant about CBR recklessly spreading rumors from Twitter, originally posted February 13.

Before I rant a bit — it's my website, and I'll rant if I want to! — let me say that I don't want to discourage anyone from sending me anything that they think is Boosterrific, I really don't. I want your input, and I will always try to be polite and thankful for anything you send me.

But paying so much attention to a teasing tweet not because Dan Jurgens posted it on Twitter but because CBR reposted it? Really? CBR? A once-great website of comics journalism that lobotomized itself in a bid to become the BuzzFeed of comics/movie/television entertainment? At least when Megan Peters covered the tweet for ComicBook.com, she added some context! But CBR? "Hey, look! A thing!" Grr!

I know that I shouldn't be irritated. It's no one's fault but mine that I underestimated how excited Booster Gold fans would be that Dan Jurgens might actually be drawing the character again no matter what the medium or purpose. I should have immediately posted Jurgens' tweet here in the Boosterrific Blog on Wednesday. And I certainly can't expect anyone else to share my biases against CBR. For all of those oversights and failures, I apologize. I'll try to do better in the future.

(For the record, Jurgens' "teasing tweet" turned out to be a hint that he was providing the alternate cover to summer's Booster Gold/Flintstones Special.)

I can't say my opinion of CBR.com has improved much in the months since, but at least when we've had cause to talk about Dan Jurgens pencilling Booster Gold lately, it's been because Booster's finally back in action.

We'll continue the countdown on Wednesday.

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I hope you have some money left over from your Christmas shopping, because Action Comics #994 is out today!

Like last issue, today's comic was drawn by Dan Jurgens, despite what both DCComics.com and PreviewsWorld.com say. This is likely the last issue of the "Booster Shot" story that will be penciled by Jurgens, so enjoy it while you can!

If you'd like to try before you buy, you'll find a preview of the issue at DCComics.com.

Buy both covers (by Jurgens and Francis Manapul), and make Skeets happy!

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Last Wednesday, CBR.com ran Jeffrey Renaud's interview with Dan Jurgens about the Booster Gold appearance in Superman's Action Comics #993. The interview included the following tidbit from Jurgens:

It's kind of weird in a way, because if you go all the way back to Booster Gold, Volume One, Superman was a part of Booster's origin story. Right about then, John Byrne came to DC to reboot Superman, and we had to do some surgery to the book so it fit what John was doing.

I still have the unused pages from the book, which are still waiting for the Booster Gold hardcover so they can see print. No. That is not a hint. Uh-uh. Not at all. Nope.

Superman was supposed to be in Booster Gold #1?!

I probably shouldn't be too surprised. For those of you who don't know, Booster's origins, as originally conceived, were tied to the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Silver/Bronze Age Superman mythos. Booster was supposed to have stolen his equipment from the Superman Museum (not the Space Museum). His force field belt would have belonged to the original Braniac, his costume would have been made from Lex Luthor's power armor, and his Legion Flight Ring would have been Superboy's. That would certainly have given an extra edge to the Booster Gold/Superman rivalry.

I have to wonder, did any of that make it into the script or pencils of Booster Gold #1 before Byrne's post-Crisis plans to streamline Superman continuity? Even if Superman only made a cameo appearance in the book, it still would have been his first post-Crisis appearance as well as the first time Jurgens drew Superman. What a treat!

Hey, DC! Give us that book already!

(Thanks to Damian Damex for ensuring I saw this particular bit of news.)

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Booster Gold fans everywhere were really excited to see our hero tangling with Superman in this week's Action Comics #993, the first installment of a multi-part story. At long last, perhaps we'll find what Booster has been up to since Convergence or why he abandoned his New 52 costume.

Booster booster (and, as Comicosity calls him, "THE biggest Booster Gold fan in creation") Keith Callbeck put these questions and more to Dan Jurgens in an interview published at Comicosity.com.

Keith Callbeck: It has been a while since we've seen Booster Gold. He was trying to sort out the Convergence last time out, what has he been up to since then?

Dan Jurgens: We don't address that specifically but we do convey the general idea that he's been having fun jumping through time. I think there are some things readers can draw conclusions from as well, such as where, exactly, he came from.

KC: And we have Booster back in his pre-Flashpoint costume. Can we nickname this story Booster Gold: Rebirth?

DJ: I certainly approached this with the idea that it's a bit of a Booster Gold Rebirth story. He's been off the table for quite awhile now and things have certainly changed in the DCU since we last saw him, most notably with Superman.

I really didn't want to get caught up in the continuity weeds on this one though I did want to make it seem a bit fresh and familiar all at the same time. If you remember Booster, you'll enjoy it. If you've never seen him before, I think you'll be intrigued by the notion of who this guy is. He's quite a bit different from most of the heroes in the DCU.

Over at Comicbook.com, Russ Burlingame (who may not be Booster's number one fan but must rank somewhere in the top 10) also confronted Jurgens with similar questions:

Russ Burlingame: Of course, Booster has not been seen since the start of Rebirth, and here he shows up wearing his pre-Flashpoint costume and serving in his capacity as Time Master...seemingly right back where he was when his Jurgens-written series ended in 2011.

DJ: If you go back to Flashpoint, the two characters from the DCU that made it into the Flashpoint Universe was Booster and Flash ... So, I think there is the potential for a continuous thread here. Not sure how far I want to pull that, because again, I want the story to be more about now and not yesterday... but, yeah. I think there are certain conclusions one can arrive at.

Oooh. That Jurgens is cagey! If this is the same Booster Gold as seen in the pre-Flashpoint DCU, what are we to make of the origin story we saw in Booster Gold: Futures End? Or any part of Convergence, for that matter? Maybe it's best to leave the conclusions to the professionals.

In any event, both articles contain some pretty good Q&As, so check them out. And if you haven't already, don't forget to pick up Action Comics #993 at your Local Comic Shop.

Thanks for good work, Keith, Russ, and Dan!

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The one, the only Booster Gold makes his long-awaited return to the DC Universe in today's Action Comics #993!

For some reason, both DCComics.com and Diamond Comic Distributor's website PreviewsWorld.com still incorrectly identify several of the issue's artists. As we have detailed before (and you can see above), the issue is pencilled by the inimitable Dan Jurgens with inks by Joe Prado & Cam Smith. Francis Manapul provides the alternate cover art.

You can see a preview of the issue on CBR.com.

Hurry to your Local Comic Shop today to buy both covers and make Skeets happy!

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