Booster booster Rob is usually the first person to email me each month when the DC solicitations are released. His email this past Friday lamented that according to the newly released May 2026 solicitations, there was a "Big fat nuthin" coming for Booster Gold.

While Rob is correct that none of the solicitations mention "Booster Gold" by name, AIPTComics.com also shows most of the covers. And guess who's on the Ryan Sook cover of Action Comics #1098?

ACTION COMICS #1098
Written by MARK WAID, Art by SKYLAR PATRIDGE and PATRICIO DELPECHE, Cover by RYAN SOOK
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 5/13/26

The Weapons Master has homed in on the most scientifically advanced tech on Earth, which happens to be hiding the on Kent Farm…Clark's rocket ship. Now the Justice League and Superboy must defend his legacy and save the town of Smallville from Xotar and his cache of malevolent munitions!

When I pointed out to Rob that he missed Booster on the cover (the third consecutive issue of Action Comics that will have a Booster Gold cover), he explained why he missed it: "No beard." Ok. I'll buy it.

As for the issue itself, It sure looks like Booster is saying good-bye on that cover, and the text doesn't give any impression that Booster will have much of anything to do with Superboy's fight with the Weapons Master (although Booster does have experience against Xotar in Justice League America #61 and #62).

At this point I should probably also mention that these solicitations also include Booster's appearances in Action Comics #992 through #1000, plus The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1, all as part of the Superman: Action Comics by Dan Jurgens Omnibus Vol. 2 coming in July. Can you believe that Action Comics #1000 came out almost a decade ago? Golly.

And since we're on the subject of Superman's history, may I add that if Mark Waid is going to start mining Superman's history for new Superboy stories, could we see a return of Zigi and Zagi from 1964's Action Comics #315/316? (Asking for a friend.)

Thanks for your support, Rob.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: action comics aiptcomics.com dan jurgens previews rob snow superboy superman

DC Comics released its April 2026 solicitations last week. DC K.O. is mercifully in the rearview mirror, and even better, Booster Gold is on at least two covers of Action Comics #1097!

ACTION COMICS #1097
Written by MARK WAID, Art by SKYLAR PATRIDGE
Cover by RYAN SOOK, Things to Come variant cover by SKYLAR PATRIDGE
$4.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 4/8/26

The heroes of tomorrow have arrived in the past, and they need Superboy’s help! But what can a young Clark Kent do that they can’t? Find out as Smallville is turned upside down and the Reign of the Superboys continues!

Why is it called a "Things to Come" variant? Are they all based on the 1936 sci-fi movie written by H.G. Wells (based on Wells' own book, The Shape of Things to Come)? Or am I just proving how old I am by admitting that my first thought at hearing the phrase is a 90-year-old movie? Get off my lawn!

More importantly, the "Reign of the Superboys" story runs through several (read: too many) books, and since we learned last month that Skylar Patridge designed a cornerbox featuring a Superboy with Booster Gold (which will be a variant cover for Action Comics #1096), it remains possible that Booster will appear on many other covers in the near future. So keep you eyes peeled, Booster boosters!

Action Comics #1096 Sklyar Patridge Corner Box Variant, on sale March 11, 2026

You can read all the April 2026 solicitations at AIPTComics.com.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: aiptcomics.com covers skylar patridge solicitations superboy

The full suite of DC's March 2026 solicitations should be released later today, but yesterday DC.com gave a first look at the "second phase of DC ALL IN" including releasing this Bruno Redondo Open To Order variant cover for Justice League Unlimited #17:

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #17
Written by MARK WAID, Art by CLAYTON HENRY, Variant cover by BRUNO REDONDO
$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)
ON SALE 3/25/26
In the aftermath of DC K.O., the Justice League has to work even harder to protect mankind—and that means it’s time for new blood to face new challenges! Who will join Wonder Woman and Batman to lead the new JLU?

In addition to that, AIPComics.com writes that Booster Gold will also be playing some part in the coming "Reign of the Superboys" storyline beginning March 11 in Action Comics #1096 (though it's not clear if Booster will be in that issue).

Maybe more will be revealed with the full set of solicitations.

UPDATE: And yes, it was. Booster Gold is on the Skylar Patridge Corner Box variant cover of Action Comics #1096. And that wrestling comic we first learned about back in November is DC X AEW #1, releasing on February 2, 2026. (Why wasn't it in last month's solicitations?) All of which means there will be a whole bunch of Booster in comic shops next year.

You can see the full slate of solicitations and covers at AIPTComics.com.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: aiptcomics.com all in dc.com justice league unlimited mark waid solicitations superboy

What makes a hero super? The super powers! From awesome strength to zero-to-sixty speed, great superpowers are the most useful tricks in every famous costumed crime-fighter's tool kit. Michael Jon Carter knew this, and that's why he started his career with a telepathically-controlled flight ring.

As a student of history, Michael "Booster" Carter modeled his superhero persona on Superman. In addition to strength, invulnerability, and long-range energy beams, he'd also need to be able to fly. To that end, he stole a Legion of Super-Heroes Flight Ring, created by Brainiac 5 in the pages of Adventure Comics #329 (1965).

In its original design, the ring was a simple metal band that provided a telepathically-controlled anti-gravity effect for those Legionnaires who could not fly under their own power. They soon became standard issue equipment for all Legionnaires. Even Superboy had one, though he rarely had need of it except in those few cases where he lost his powers, such as the time he visited Earth's past and found it lit by a red sun.

(If you squint at the panel above, you can see a flight ring there on Superboy's hand in this panel from Adventure Comics #333, also in 1965. This is the first time Superboy wore a Flight Ring.)

Brainiac 5 wasn't content with having a ring that only allowed flight. He eventually gave the ring other abilities, including sending emergency distress signals. He also improved its appeal by converting it to a gold signet-style ring showing a raised letter "L" in the center (first appearance in Adventure Comics #347). That's how the ring looked when it found its way into Booster Gold's arsenal in Booster Gold #1 (1985), and that's more or less how it looked when Booster Gold joined the Justice League in Justice League #4 (1987) and escaped from a Bialyan prison in Justice League International #17 (1988).

Booster's ring was originally depicted with a letter from the Roman alphabet. However, it sometimes was seen showing Interlac, the "inter-galactic universal language of the 30th century" which first appeared in Adventure Comics #379 (1969). By Booster Gold volume 2 #1 (2007), Booster's ring had changed to the stylized "L" on a black background that had been in use since Legion of Super-Heroes #41 (1993).

How could one ring alter its appearance so much? Well, the Legion of Super-Heroes have a tendency for getting involved in reality-warping time travel shenanigans. In fact, that's how a Legion of Super-Heroes ring from the 30th century ended up in the 25th-century Space Museum in the first place.

When Booster's debut in the 20th century drew the attention of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Brainiac 5 realized he had to leave his own flight ring in 1985 for Booster to be able to steal it in 2462 (as seen in Booster Gold #6). Therefore, the ring was available for Booster Gold to steal only because he had already stolen it. (It's best not to think too hard about that.)

If it sounds like Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens was making things up as he went along, he was. His original plan, as revealed in Booster Gold: The Big Fall, was that instead of stealing Brainiac 5's ring from the Space Museum, Booster would have stolen Superboy's rarely used original ring from the Superman Museum!

That plan was scuttled by the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which erased Superboy's adventures from history. Thus the original origin of Booster Gold's flight ring became just one more casualty of the universe-destroying Anti-Monitor. What a jerk.

If you'd like to read about the origins of other powers in Booster Gold's arsenal, check out previous spotlight posts on his Force Field Belt and Booster Shots.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: adventure comics brainiac 5 dan jurgens justice league international legion flight ring legion of super-heroes powers superboy superboy superman

These polls don't often surprise me, but I wasn't prepared for the response that most of you are more invested in Booster Gold naming Doomsday than you were in KooeyKooeyKooey.

Last week's poll question: Which piece of Booster Gold's history are you least bothered to see omitted from the New 52 reboot? (40 votes)

I suspect that I underestimate the power "Death of Superman" had in invigorating the comics-buying public and the influence that the story still holds for DC Comics readers. I don't know why that should be. I personally still wear a "Reign of the Supermen" era Superboy black leather jacket with an "S"-shield on the back and a Superman #75-style mourning armband.

But enough about me. Let's talk about what I want to watch on television. Namely, a show starring my favorite hero!

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: chronology doomsday polls superboy television