whccnt What, news happens after San Diego? Believe it or not, the answer is yes. And because I know you're surfing the web for anything that'd help distract from the fact that today is indeed Monday, here are two things well worth your time. • THE NEW YORK TIMES has an excellent review of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert's WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE CAPED CRUSADER? collection. Here's an excerpt:

“Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” has morbid moments, but also bittersweet passages. Its title story, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Andy Kubert, imagines several variations of Batman’s death. This anthology, published by DC Comics, also includes other stories by Mr. Gaiman about the millionaire Bruce Wayne’s famous alter ego. The other tales are very good, but “Whatever Happened to ...” packs enough emotional punch to stand solo.
COMICS ALLIANCE's Laura Hudson catches up with Blair Butler, who we recently announced would be gracing the cover to BOOSTER GOLD #23. Another sampling, because we're nice like that:
ComicsAlliance: So, how did the whole "Booster Gold" cover with DC come about? Blair Butler: I actually got a call from Dan DiDio who said he had a crazy idea for an upcoming issue of "Booster Gold." Basically – and forgive me, because my memory sucks and I'm still recovering from Comic-Con – I recall that he said DC wanted to do a cover that sort of stood out for #23, and having a photo cover with a Booster fan was the main idea. It seemed oddly appropriate, since Booster is a bit of an attention hog. I think he'd not-so-secretly love the idea of having a lady-fan on the cover of his book. And, honestly, I was incredibly humbled that DC would ask me to don the Blue and Gold fan colors. I've loved comics since I had to stand on a stool to reach the quarter-bins at my local comic shop, so it's pretty awesome to get to be part of a DC comic.