DC has released solicitations for books shipping in October. None of them give any hint that we'll be seeing DC's brightest star anytime soon.

But all hope is not lost! This weekend is Comic Con International in San Diego. DC has to be holding something back to tease their fans, right? I'm not saying that Booster Gold will be front and center, but maybe DC will demonstrate that he's not entirely forgotten, either.

Speaking of "front and center," I started the week with a plea that Superman antagonist Mr. Oz not be revealed as Booster Gold in the upcoming "The Oz Effect" story in Action Comics. Many of you had something to say about that. Let's run a quick poll and see what the group consensus is.

This week's poll question: Will Booster Gold play any role in the unveiling of Mr. Oz? Please visit the Boosterrific Polls page to view results for this week's poll.

Enjoy your weekend, Booster boosters!

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Pop culture website 13thdimension.com posted an "exclusive first look" at upcoming issues of Action Comics this weekend. Running throughout the title in September and October will be a five-part story by Dan Jurgens called "The Oz Effect," in which we will finally discover the true identity of Mr. Oz.

Reading the advance solicitations included in the article, all I could think was "please don't let Mr. Oz be Booster Gold."

The popular theory is that the mysterious Mr. Oz, introduced three years ago (!) in Superman #32, is Ozymandias from Watchmen. Personally, I think that seems a little too "on the nose" to make a very satisfying reveal after all this time. And even if the fans were right and it was supposed to be Ozymandias, I would expect DC to change Mr. Oz's secret identity mid-story to maintain the surprise. (Anyone out there still remember the last minute Captain Atom/Hawk swap in Armageddon 2001?)

Many of the things Mr. Oz has done and said over the past three years indicates a fixation on Superman. Therefore, I assume that Mr. Oz is someone aware of Superman's past in Smallville, Kansas. (I think Mr. Oz takes his name from the original manipulative "man behind the curtain," the Wizard of Oz, who also has ties to Kansas.) While those clues might point to familiar Superman foes like Conduit or Ruin, I begin to worry that it might be a time traveler with historical ties to the Man of Steel.

Which is fine, just so long as it's not Booster Gold.

I mean, if Mr. Oz is revealed to be a nearly omnipotent time traveler seeking to unify a fractured universe (post-"Crisis", "Flashpoint", "New 52", "Rebirth", "Watchmen," etc.), it would certainly explain why fan-favorite Booster Gold has been M.I.A. since Convergence. And we can't deny that Booster has beef with Superman that goes way back. And Dan Jurgens does like to recycle his favorite characters . . . .

As I said, I don't want this to be the case. I don't want Booster to be a "villain." (And I certainly don't want to have to add all 30+ appearances of Mr. Oz to the Boosterrific database after the fact.) But it could be worse. After three years of waiting to find out who Mr. Oz really is, it might turn out that he's the Black Beetle.

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DC's latest round of solicitations have been revealed, and believe it or not, we'll be getting two comics with Booster Gold in them! The catch is that they're both reprints.

WONDER WOMAN AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA BOOK TWO TP
Written by DAN VADO
Art by KEVIN WEST, KEN BRANCH, MARC CAMPOS and others
In these 1990s tales, Wonder Woman takes over as leader of the Justice League of America, whether members like Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Booster Gold or Blue Beetle like it or not. After a final battle with her brother, Ice decides that her destiny lies with the Justice League! Plus, a cult that worships an alien intelligence must stop the team from discovering their dark aims—at any cost! And then, it's judgment day as the Overmaster returns...and the U.N. sanctioned Leaguebusters are taking Overmaster's side in this battle! Collects JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #65-66, JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #86-91 and JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE #13-14.
On sale OCTOBER 4 • $24.99 US

Heads up, those of you who came on board during the Geoff Johns years. In the Justice League International collected here, Booster Gold dies! (No, I'm not exaggerating.)

INJUSTICE 2 VOL. 1 HC
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by BRUNO REDONDO, JUAN ALBARRAN, DANIEL SAMPERE and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
Tom Taylor continues his hit series Injustice: Gods Among Us story as Superman is imprisoned, and it's up to Batman to put the world back together. But with Superman's iron-fisted regime eliminated, other forces rise up to fill the void. And Batman doesn't have a lot of allies left to help stop them. But when Harley Quinn has an encounter with Amanda Waller, the new Suicide Squad ends up breaking into the Pentagon. Featuring appearances by Harley Quinn, Superman, Damian and many more. Collects INJUSTICE 2 #1-6.
On sale OCTOBER 25 • $24.99 US

As you can see, this hardcover will collect Booster's appearance in Injustice 2 #5, which hasn't even been released yet! How much longer until comics go straight from digital releases to hardcover collections with no floppies in between?

(By the way, this is probably an opportune time for me to comment on the rumor that seems to be winding its way across the internet — starting at i09.com — that Booster and Beetle have a romantic relationship in Injustice 2. If they do, that's fine, but there's nothing in the text that explicitly indicates it. To my eye, the pair appear to just be good friends, but others seem to believe that two grown men can't care deeply for one another unless they are kissing. Your interpretation of their relationship is up to you.)

In addition to these reprint collections, Blue Beetle #13 looks to be returning to the Justice League 3000 universe. Perhaps we'll be getting new Booster Gold adventures there soon, too. We'll see how that turns out in November.

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DC's August solicitations, released Monday, don't show any signs that Booster Gold will reappear in the DCrU anytime soon (other than the reprint of Booster Gold/The Flintstones Special to be included in the DC Meets Hanna-Barbera trade due September 20).

However, in an interview with Terrence Sage, Dan Jurgens gives us a reason to hope:

Sage: For the last question, people are wondering and trying to figure out when will we see Booster Gold under your pen again?

Jurgens: I keep looking for a good spot to sneak Booster in here and there and I have a couple of thoughts about where and when it'll work best. Obviously, I have a lot of love for the character, but when he shows back up I want it to be in a meaningful spot.

Later is better than never, I guess.

You can read the whole interview at Comicosity.com.

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Unless explicitly intended otherwise, most one-shot issues should probably be considered outside of continuity. That's sort of what "one-shot" implies.

Last week's poll question: Was Booster Gold/Flintstones in continuity? (55 votes)

I'm glad I asked this question. I'm surprised how few of you actually consider this to be in continuity. It's always good to know what the fans are thinking.

That said, I still see nothing to prevent the issue's story from taking place in modern DC continuity. Given that there's no indication in DC's July solicitations that we'll be seeing Booster Gold again any time before August (at the earliest), it looks like the publisher is in no hurry to prove this story wasn't in continuity. Therefore, I'm going to classify it as such here on Boosterrific.com.

(What is or is not in continuity is always in flux. For examples: Batman: Son of the Demon, Watchmen, and anything that DC published prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths. If you're a fan long enough, everything will come and go and come back again. Even Extreme Justice.)

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