If you have read the preview of today's New History of the DC Universe #1 (available at AIPTComics.com, among other places), you may have noticed on the very first panel of the very first page a very familiar... well, "face" is definitely the wrong word:

There, on the left, it's Skeets!

(And many, many other treasures looted from the Justice League trophy room, including Superman's cape, Green Arrow's bow, Jack O'Lantern's lantern, Wild Dog's mask, Zatara's top hat, Blue Beetle's BB Gun, Kanjar Ro's Scepter, the Key's key, the Orb of Ra, Magog's staff, Star Man's Cosmic Rod, the original Red Tornado's helmet, the Guardian's shield, the Red Jar of Calythos, the Green Bell of Utholl, the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath, two Legion Flight Rings, Captain Cold's mask, the Book of Eternity, Elongated Man's Gingold, Batman's batarangs, a couple of other things I don't recognize, and I'm sure that's not all. I mean, the whole history of the DCU has to be in there somewhere.)

Thanks to all who made sure I saw this.

Buy this issue and make Skeets happy.

UPDATE: As you can see from the comments, Booster also makes an unexpected cameo appearance in Superman #27 and Flash #22. So buy those, too.

Comments (12) | Add a Comment | Tags: aiptcomics.com new releases previews skeets

Reminder: today's the day that you can get your hands on Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #1 with the previously mentioned Booster Gold corgi on the cover.

While you're at your Local Comic Shop, you might want to consider checking out Action Comics #1087, which features a guest appearance by Booster Gold's 25th-century employer, the Space Museum (as can be seen in the preview available at AIPTcomics.com).

And as if that's not enough excitement for one day, be aware that also out today is Fire and Ice: When Hell Freezes Over #3, which makes it explicitly clear that "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League" (long treated as an out-of-continuity tale) in JL Classified in 2005 is canon in the modern Rebirth-era DCU.

words by Joanne Starer, pictures by Stephen Byrne, editorial note by (presumably) Andrea Shea

Now if only we could get Booster Gold himself to actually appear in a comic book again...

Comments (6) | Add a Comment | Tags: aiptcomics.com continuity fire ice new releases previews space museum

Are you too young to remember 1994? If so, DC has the book for you this week! DC Finest: Events: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, Part Two collects the second half of that summer's giant crossover event that reset the timeline of the DC Universe. Most importantly for Booster boosters, that includes Zero Hour #2, #1, and #0. (Yes, the five-issue series counted backwards, a gimmick DC would reuse a decade later for Countdown / Countdown to Final Crisis.)

Also, Booster Gold was in an ad for All In Saga in the print edition (but not the digital release) of this past weekend's DC All In 2025 FCBD Special Edition. I did not pick up a copy for myself (oops), so I'm hoping it will show up again in this week's books. (Otherwise, if any Booster booster can get me a scan of that page, please get in touch.)

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: new releases

Today at your Local Comic Shop, you can pick up a reprint collection of Booster Gold's last appearance in the mainstream DC Universe in the All In Saga trade paperback.

And while you're there, in case you missed it, you may want to know that Booster also appeared in a couple of panels in the Black Label Superman: Last Days of Lex Luthor #3 that came out last week. (Thanks to clonegeek for that spot.)

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: new releases

It's been a wild week for Booster Gold fans with Booster making an appearance in one book and Skeets in another.

I'll save my thoughts on Summer of Superman Special #1 for a later post, in part because I want to put some space between now and then because what I have to say about it would definitely count as "spoilers." (Hint: I'm even more frustrated than I was before.)

Skeets' appearance in Challengers of the Unknown Volume 5, #5, on the other hand, well, it can't count as a spoiler because there's nothing to spoil. See for yourself: here it is, panel 1 of page 20 (of 22 in the issue):

That's it. That's Skeets' only appearance in the issue. It's Skeets' only appearance in the whole mini-series.

Story wise, original Challenger Rocky Davis has just been attacked (killed?) by longtime Challengers foe Ultivac just as the new Justice League Unlimited Watchtower explodes. And then... Skeets?

It has to mean something, right? The artists (Sean Izaakse, Amancay Nahuelpan) didn't just decide to place a random, obscure sidekick there that the writer (Christopher Cantwell) didn't ask for and the editors (Chris Rosa, Paul Kaminski) didn't catch. But the story gives no clue what this means other than to suggest that time travel might be involved. Or is it a metaphysical representation of life after death? Or maybe, since we're talking about the past, is it all a dream state? It's all punishingly vague.

Can we grasp at straws? It doesn't make any sense for Rocky to be thinking about Skeets because so far as we know, the pair have never even met. (Skeets was deactivated at the only time Rocky Davis and Booster Gold joined forces on panel in 1992's Eclipso: The Darkness Within #2). Skeets is 25th century (or better) technology with no connection to Ultivac (who was the robot villain of the second published Challengers of the Unknown adventure in Showcase #7 in 1957!). Skeets does not have telepathy and cannot independently time travel without the aid of Rip Hunter's technology. So far as readers are aware, Skeets has been lost somewhere in the Multiverse with (or without) Booster Gold since last year's DC All In Special. (And, although I said I wasn't going to talk about Summer of Superman Special, if the events there are what they appear to be, how could Skeets exist in the 20th century at all?) So what in creation is Booster Gold's robot sidekick doing here?

Maybe it's not Skeets? Maybe it's one of Skeet's outdated exterior casings, such as used to be kept in the previous Justice League watchtower's trophy room (in JLA Secreat Files #2 and Justice League of America Volume 2, #7). In the New 52 era, Skeets was one of a kind, but that was not so before or since; maybe what appears to be Skeets here is just another 25th-century BX9 Security Robot? For all I know, this could be the return of Mr. Mind doing the same Skeets cosplay he wore in the pages of 52.

Or Proty. Yeah, sure, why not. It could be Proty. That would make as much sense as it being Skeets.

According to multiple new sources and despite being solicited as a 6-issue mini-series, Challengers of the Unknown has been canceled after 5 issues, so we're not likely to learn anytime soon why Skeets was here. If anyone does ever turn up a clue, let us know.

Comments (3) | Add a Comment | Tags: challengers of the unknown new releases skeets