Booster Gold has been popping up in Harley Quinn stories a lot lately, and I'll let you in on a little secret: I don't understand them. Harley Quinn stories, that is. They all have at least two series of ongoing events, one clearly presented as a fantasy tale and the other as... reality? However, it's often a reality that doesn't quite square with the rest of what's happening in the DCnU or any of the dozen other Harley Quinn appearances each month.

So when Booster Gold shows up, which one is it? The "real" Booster Gold (at least as real as comic book characters get), or some alternate reality Booster, or a figment of the protagonist's imagination (assuming the protagonist isn't herself a figment of someone's imagination).

Even in its 70s, Harley's ongoing series continues to sell 5-10 thousand more units than what Booster Gold was moving near the end of his last self-titled series, which is to say that her title has some loyal month-to-month readers. I assume they enjoy the lack of concrete reality in her stories. I've got nothing against them or series' writer Sam Humphries, but you can guess that someone whose hobby is cataloging the minutiae of a fictional super hero's continuity might find such ambiguity unsatisfying. That unsatisfied person is me.

All of which is a long way of saying that I was planning on buying today's Harley Quinn #70 in the hopes that when I pick up next month's Booster Gold appearance, I might have some hope of figuring out what is happening. I say "was" because I've just learned from Booster booster Logan Peterson that Booster is in issue #70, too!

Hooray?

A preview of the issue (which gives no hint of Booster Gold — not that I doubt you, Logan!) is online at CBR.com. Buy it and make Skeets happy.

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I had been prepared to remind you to buy Superman: Heroes #1 today at your Local Comic Shop, but that will no longer be necessary. According to Newsarama.com, DC has postponed the release until February 19.

Why? "The publisher did not give a reason for the change." Hunh.

This is disappointing news if only because it means I'll have to wait three more weeks to find out the in-universe explanation of why Harley Quinn is sitting at this table, as seen in last week's Superman #19:

At least Wonder Woman has the good sense to look uncomfortable to be sitting across the table from the Joker's former sidekick. Is anyone keeping track of how many people she's killed in her own title? I believe in second chances as much as the next guy, but it's not like she was a serial shoplifter. There has to be some limit to how many people you get to kill before you don't get to sit at the hero's table anymore, right?

Aaaanyway. Whatever reason DC has for postponing the issue, I hope they don't change the solicited cover. There just aren't enough books on the stands featuring Booster Gold's crotch.

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Booster Gold hasn't been in a new release in weeks, so I hope you've been saving your money. Because he's in three titles today!

Logan Peterson, a longtime friend of this site, dropped me a line to say

I just finished skimming through the new comics coming out tomorrow as I was sorting through them at my store, and I made some exciting discoveries! Booster appears in not one, but two of tomorrow's releases: Superman #19 and Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #2. I won't say anything to spoil them, but I wanted to give you the heads up!

I had suspected that Booster might show up in Superman (in response to some recent, high-profile events in the life of the Man of Tomorrow), but the appearance in Hell Arisen is a total surprise. (The way Logan words that leads me to believe that it might not be an entirely welcome one. But then, the book is titled Hell Arisen.)

This is the solicitation text for Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #2:

Apex predator Lex Luthor is on the hunt for the Batman Who Laughs. To catch his prey, he must follow a trail of broken heroes... leading him to Jim Gordon, one of the victims of the Batman Who Laughs' deadly virus that turned the heroic police commissioner into the worst version of himself. The trail leads Lex to a lonely cell in the Hall of Justice - but it's not the good guys who come to stop him. It's more of the Batman Who Laughs' dangerous operatives! And if they couldn't resist the influence of the Dark Multiverse, then how can Lex?

And while we're at it, this is for Superman #19:

One day later! What happens the day after Superman reveals his secret identity to the world? And what repercussions will his decision have across the entire DC Universe? Plus, Superman: president of Earth?

Wait a second. "President of Earth"? Is that a thing? I don't remember voting for that.

Anyway, what Logan failed to mention in his note is that Booster will also be featured in the new collection Justice League International Book One: Born Again, which reprints Justice League #1-6, Justice League International #7-17, Justice League Annual #1, Justice League International Annual #2, and Suicide Squad #13. That's a whole bunch of great 1980s Booster Gold adventures reprinted on good paper for the very reasonable (modern) price of $2 per comic.

Buy one of those and make Skeets happy! (Thanks, Logan.)

UPDATE: As you can see in the comments, Booster has also been spotted in Batman/Superman #6. He's everywhere!

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Booster Gold was nowhere to be found in Local Comic Shops this past week... but his Earth-32 counterpart was, in this one panel from Dial H For Hero #10:

Dial H For Hero #10 written by Sam Humphries; art by Joe Quinones, Jordan Gibson, Dave Sharpe

Earth-32 was first seen in the 1994 Elseworlds' Batman: In Darkest Night, where Bruce Wayne became a Green Lantern. In fact, all the heroes and villains of Earth-32 are amalgams of two or more familiar characters. For example, here we see the Young Justice League International team comprised of heroes like Super-Martian, Wonderhawk, Aquaflash, Mr. Tornado, Dr. Fatestorm, and Starborg.

JLI fans will also recognize a Plastic Man/Blue Beetle hero and another based on some combination of Captain Atom and Booster Gold.

In this issue, Earth-32 is undergoing a Crisis of its own, so if you'd like to get your hands on the sole printed Plastic+Atom team-up, you better rush to your LCS to pick up Dial H #10 while their supply — or the universe — lasts.

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It looks like the only place you'll be seeing Booster Gold in your Local Comic Shop this week is in the softcover release of Injustice 2 Volume 6 trade. But that's a reprint of a hardcover which reprinted comics that were themselves reprints of digital-first content. So you've probably already got it, right?

Meanwhile, after all the rumors about Booster coming to TV, if you're wondering what a new live-action Booster Gold might look like, maybe it looks like this piece of fan art.

That's by Hal Laren as found on ArtStation.com. I especially like the highly rendered Justice League Unlimited Skeets.

Up, up, and away, boys.

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