Believe it or not, Booster Gold has appeared in 4 separate number 10 issues of ongoing series in the past 4 years. One of those series was his own, which made it through a run of 49 issues. Two of the others had already been canceled at the time the issue was published. The third is the current Blue Beetle series, which has sales numbers far worse than any of the other three series ever had, but has not yet been cancelled.

Granted, this random sampling of DC's production is hardly conclusive, but superficially it would seem that we should expect an ongoing with Booster Gold to sell right about 30,000 by the 10th month. (Booster gets the least face time in his one-page cameo in Blue Beetle, and it has the lowest sales. Coincidence or proof?)

Whatever else it may or may not say about DC's editorial policies, this chart does seem to demonstrate that cancellation is due more to editorial expectations or whims than just sales figures. Someone at DC must love Blue Beetle.

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File this in the "It Could Be Worse" category: nineteen years ago today, Booster Gold debuted his first costume change in the pages of 1993's Justice League America #80. Doomsday had destroyed his original 25th century powersuit, and Blue Beetle graciously provided a replacement. It was... not good.

Unlike his current costume, this suit was intentionally designed by the writer and artist to be a disaster. Bulky, weak, and just plain ugly, this nearly useless powersuit was a means to demonstrate Booster's determination to be a super hero against all odds, even if it meant opening himself up to public ridicule and putting himself in mortal danger. Just think: once upon a time, costume changes were story driven, not editorial whims!

Thankfully, it didn't last long. The suit was replaced by a series of improvements until the original costume was eventually restored. There are many Booster fans who hope that this bit of history repeats itself.

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Russ Burlingame and Dan Jurgens have their monthly Justice League International debriefing in the article "Dan Jurgens and Guy Gardner Prepare for the End in Justice League International #11" at ComicBook.com. I found Jurgens' answers to Burlingame's questions to be particularly un-enlightening this month, but even I will be quick to blame that on my own dissatisfaction at the issue and DC Editorial's obvious interference in the story.

Burlingame: It seems here that you're setting up the idea of Godiva and Booster as an official couple. Is that something you had hoped to pay off down the line, or just kind of beginning to wrap up your plot threads before you move onto your next project?

Jurgens: It was something I hoped to develop down the road.

Burlingame: For old times' sake, I just have to ask: Is Godiva Rip Hunter's mother?

Jurgens: Oh, c'mon. It's not like we've ever seen Rip with Elasti-hair.

I'm very frustrated by the cancellation of this series. I guess if there is an upside here, it's that Dan Jurgens still considers Booster Gold to be Rip Hunter's father, for whatever that's worth. It seems unlikely that Dan Jurgens will be investigating the Time Master when he takes over his new role as writer/penciller of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men this October.

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In celebration of American Independence Day, today DC Comics is releasing Justice League International #11. A 4-page preview of the issue is online at Comic Book Resources. (Thanks to MetalWoman for the link.)

According to DC's advance solicitations at dccomics.com, "the team is defeated at the hands of The Burners," a team of anarchists currently planning to bomb the nation's capital. Hooray!

While the timing may be only coincidental -- what team of anarchist super-villains aren't always trying to blow up national monuments? -- I'm just not sure I want to read a story in which America's foremost hero, Booster Gold, gets his ass handed to him on America's birthday. Maybe tomorrow.

Buy this issue and watch some fireworks with Skeets.

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Hoping to surprise their friend and teammate Mister Miracle, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle drop in on him at his day job in Mister Miracle, Volume 2, #7. Mister Miracle is understandably not pleased to have his super-heroic secret identity exposed to the citizens of Bailey, New Hampshire. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

To make up for their gaffe, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold decide to masquerade as... themselves. Beetle and Booster, in the guise of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, respectively, go on to provide autographs for the citizens of Bailey. It's not their proudest moment.

Compared to some of the pair's misadventures, this events comes off comparatively smoothly. Until a foursome of Professor Ivo's robots crashes the event. Nothing is ever dull in the life of a professional super hero.

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