Judging by a new blog post, best-selling horror novelist Brian Keene may have got a copy of DC’s big 52 hardcover for Christmas last month if there was any justice in the world.That’s because according to hist latest blog post, he nearly worked not only on DC’s upcoming weekly event series The New 52: Futures End, but also on both Booster Gold and Animal Man, two characters whose increased profile and marketability as solo titles comes in no small part thanks to 52.”I was meant to be one of the writers for a weekly comic series from DC Comics launching later this year (I’d also been in talks to take over Animal Man at the end of Jeff Lemire’s run, and possibly do something with Booster Gold),” Keene wrote. “Unfortunately, two months into the weekly project, I decided that I wouldn’t be a good fit. Professionalism dictates I say no more than that, but the split was amicable, and I’ve nothing but respect and good regards for those still involved. However, it does leave me in a unique position. I’d declined to take on other work for this year, anticipating the churn of writing a weekly comic book series. So, now I find myself able to truly look at the list of books I’m already contracted for (mentioned above) and confidently say that I can complete them all this year.”Animal Man, of course, will end when Jeff Lemire leaves, so it looks as though DC simply didn’t find anyone, or perhaps decided that letting Lemire have the volume to himself was the best option.The inclusion of Booster Gold, a character who hasn’t had a solo series since the launch of the New 52 and who hasn’t appeared at all in months, or regularly for more than a year, is an interesting addendum to that list. It isn’t the first time ComicBook.com has heard rumors of a Booster Gold revival, but the first time it’s come from a source credible enough to print.It might also revive speculation that the time-travel story in The New 52: Futures End could bring Booster Gold back to the present. The last time we saw him, he was trying to prevent something truly awful from happening, which revolved around the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. Once that relationship kicked off, Booster vanished and the only time we’ve seen him since was during a brief stint in All-Star Western in which he seemed to have lost most of his memory. After that story, Booster disappeared into the timestream and Jonah Hex (the star of that title) has been stranded in the modern day.
