DC announces 100-Page Giant comics exclusive to Walmart

[Captain Comics]

Available July 1, Monthly Anthology Titles Combine All-New Stories by Top DC Writers with Classic Tales from DC’s Deep History

Original Stories Featuring Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Dan Jurgens and Tim Seeley

12-Part Superman Story by Tom King and 12-Part Batman Story by Brian Michael Bendis to Follow in September

 (June 22, 2018 – Burbank, CA, and Bentonville, AR) – This summer, Walmart shoppers will receive a personal invitation to discover the lore behind their favorite DC experiences as DC Entertainment announced today that a series of “giant” monthly comics will be sold exclusively in more than 3,000 participating Walmart stores around the country.

Available for $4.99, each 100-page anthology features all-new stories written exclusively for these books by some of DC’s top creative talents, including Tom King (BATMAN, MISTER MIRACLE, HEROES IN CRISIS), Dan Jurgens (ACTION COMICS, BATMAN BEYOND), Brian Michael Bendis (SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS, THE MAN OF STEEL), Andy Kubert (NEW CHALLENGERS) and others. Each title will also include additional story arcs drawn from fan-favorite DC eras such as the New 52, Rebirth and the New Age of DC Heroes.

Each of the four titles – SUPERMAN GIANT, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA GIANT, BATMAN GIANT and TEEN TITANS GIANT – will arrive in stores by July 1. Beginning in August, the Superman and Justice League of America titles will arrive in week one of each month, with the second pair, Batman and Teen Titans, arriving approximately two weeks later.

 “We are extraordinarily excited about working with Walmart to expand the reach of our books,” said DC Publisher Dan DiDio.  “These new monthly books combine new and accessible stories with reprints of classic comic series. It’s a great way for new readers to get into comics and follow the characters they’ve grown to love in TV and film.”

The debut title lineup includes:

SUPERMAN GIANT #1

SUPERMAN GIANT #1 features chapter one of the two-part “Endurance,” an original story written by Jimmy Palmiotti (HARLEY QUINN, ACTION COMICS) with art by Tom Derenick (HARLEY QUINN, CYBORG, BATMAN/SUPERMAN). The Daily Planet sends Clark Kent to Tornado Alley to do a story on the area, but when the storm hits, it turns out that this mild-mannered reporter is more helpful as Superman.

The issue also includes:

THE TERRIFICS #1­ (2018) – From this year’s New Age of Heroes and born of the events of DC’s hit series DARK NIGHTS: METAL. Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Phantom Girl are a team of heroes bound together by fate and united by the spirit of exploration and discovery. Together these heroes plumb the depths of the fantastic to learn what it means to become family.

GREEN LANTERN #1 (2005) – Written by best-selling writer Geoff Johns with art by Ethan Van Sciver and Carlos Pacheco, this first chapter launches the fan-favorite three-part story “No Fear,” in which Hal Jordan makes his return to the DC Universe as the Green Lantern, casting the light of justice on the darkest corners of Space Sector 2814.

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #1 (2003) – The iconic fan-favorite story arc, “Public Enemies,” returns, courtesy of writer Jeph Loeb, with artists Ed McGuinness and Tim Sale. Batman and Superman unite when President Lex Luthor accuses the Man of Steel of a crime against humanity and assembles a top-secret team of powerhouse heroes to bring Superman in by any means necessary.

September’s SUPERMAN GIANT #3 features Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King’s first return to the Man of Steel since his poignant and heartfelt tribute story, “For Tomorrow,” in the pages of ACTION COMICS #1000. Together with DC Master Class artist Andy Kubert, this powerhouse team will take readers on a new 12-part adventure titled “Up in the Sky!” When a little girl is kidnapped and taken from Earth, Superman embarks on a galaxy-spanning mission to find the perpetrators…but has to decide what lengths he will go to in order to save one life!

TEEN TITANS GIANT #1

In this original six-part Teen Titans story by Dan Jurgens with art by Scot Eaton, Wayne Faucher and Jim Charalampidis, the Teen Titans’ pizza dinner is interrupted by the introduction of a new villain, the Disruptor. Teaming up with the Fearsome Five and working as an agent of H.I.V.E., he had one mission: kill the Teen Titans! The battle spills onto the streets of San Francisco, putting its citizens at risk, while H.I.V.E. uses this distraction to begin their plan for world conquest!

Additional issue #1 stories include:

SUPER SONS #1 (2017) – From DC’s smash-hit Rebirth event, writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Jorge Jimenez reintroduce the sons of Superman and Batman, Jonathan Kent and Damian Wayne, in part one of “When I Grow Up.” As Robin, Damian’s more than ready to take his place at the heroes’ table and has zero plans to wait his turn. And he’s dragging Superman’s son along for the trip, whether Jon likes it or not!

SIDEWAYS #1 (2018) – Also from the New Age of Heroes, this story written by Dan DiDio with art by Kenneth Rocafort introduces fans to high schooler Derek James who, during the events of DARK NIGHTS: METAL, has acquired powers from the Dark Multiverse and stepped into the role of superhero! But when cracks begin to appear in the space-time continuum, he soon learns that with that much power comes even greater liability!

TEEN TITANS #1 (2003) – Written by best-selling author Geoff Johns with art by Mike McKone. Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy welcome in a new roster of young heroes to train to defend humanity—Wonder Girl, Impulse and a Superboy who’s been cloned from Superman’s DNA!

BATMAN GIANT #1

Batman is on the case of a missing girl in “One More Chance,” an all-new story by writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Patrick “Patch” Zircher. Batman is the world’s greatest detective, but what happens when the trail in his newest case leads him back to a place from his past that he never expected to revisit?

BATMAN GIANT #1 also includes:

BATMAN #608 (2002) – Written by Jeph Loeb with art by comics icon Jim Lee, issue #608 kicks off “Batman: Hush,” one of the most popular storylines in the Dark Knight’s fabled history. When Batman sets out to unmask the mystery character wreaking havoc in his life, he teams up with an unexpected ally (Catwoman) and finds himself facing off against not only his deadliest foes, but some of the toughest characters in the DC Universe, including Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and even Superman!

NIGHTWING #1 (2011) – From DC’s New 52, this story by writer Kyle Higgins and artist Eddy Barrows debuted a new look for Dick Grayson as he dives into a tale of murder, mystery and superhuman evil against the backdrop of Haley’s Circus, the place that started him on his path from acrobat to orphan to sidekick and ultimately superhero!

HARLEY QUINN #1 (2011) – Also from the New 52, writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Amanda Conner break Harley Quinn out of The Joker’s shadow with all the force of a giant mallet!

Beginning with BATMAN GIANT #3 in September, superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis makes his DC debut on the Dark Knight with a 12-part story, “Universe.” Batman’s run-in with the Riddler leads the Caped Crusader into a mystery that spans the globe!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA GIANT #1

Justice League member Wonder Woman is spotlighted in “The Conversion,” an all-new story from NIGHTWING writer Tim Seeley and artists Rick Leonardi and Steve Buccellato. In this single-issue story, Wonder Woman comes face to face with Ares, god of war—who sees her as a promising new recruit!

JUSTICE LEAGUE GIANT #1 also includes:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (2011) – From the incomparable team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee comes this version of the League from the New 52. In this alternative spin on the union of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, superheroes are a strange and new phenomenon. The mysterious Batman discovers a dark evil that requires him to unite these reluctant heroes to protect Earth from a cosmic-level threat!

THE FLASH #1 (2011) – In this New 52 version of the Fastest Man Alive, writer Brian Buccellato and artist Francis Manapul introduce Barry Allen to a villain who not only can be everywhere at once, but is also a close friend of the Scarlet Speedster!

AQUAMAN #1 (2011) – Award-winning writer Geoff Johns and dynamic artist Ivan Reis team up on this story from the New 52! Aquaman has given up the throne of Atlantis, but the sea still has plans for Arthur Curry as a broken race of undersea creatures, the Trench, emerges from the ocean depths, bent on destroying the surface world!

In issue #2, Seeley teams up with artists Felipe Watanabe and Chris Sotomayor on “Mother’s Day,” a stand-alone story where Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island for the first time since her exile, only to find that the Amazons – and Queen Hippolyta – have been abducted by Echidna, the mythological Mother of Monsters, with a brood of unstoppable beasts as children!

Issue #3 begins another original 12-part Wonder Woman story by HARLEY QUINN co-writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti called “Come Back to Me.” When Steve Trevor’s plane crashes on an island outside of time itself, it’s up to Wonder Woman to rescue him from this mysterious land, full of monsters, dinosaurs and some very surprising citizens.

 

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Sounds like the future of the Giants is up in the air. A lot of the upcoming Giants have been cancelled from shipping to comic shops (even ones that have already shipped to Walmart). So we'll see in a few weeks whether more of them show up at Walmart. Doesn't sound like a good sign to me.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

I know publishers are still trying to find their way through the pandemic maze like the rest of us. Even if they wind up reducing the line, I hope DC still continues the program in some capacity.

But if anyone does hear anything...

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Me too -- believe me, I'm keeping my eye out for any news. I really love this line.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

Found this while Internet surfing today.

https://www.cbr.com/dc-five-100-page-giant-titles-go-digital-only/

I'm assuming it's discussing the print issues that were scheduled for comic book stores, although I get my 100 page giants at Walmart, so I've already got everything I wanted from the last batch except WW84.

Doesn't say anything about the future of the series involved though.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I saw that too -- and a similar article on Bleeding Cool. I've got those issues too, but so far I haven't been able to find anything that indicates that the Giants are going away completely, or just from comics shops. 

I've asked @DCComics and @JimLee on Twitter. I doubt I'll get a response...but might, if the books will continue at Walmart.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

With DC cutting ties with Diamond altogether, I'm more confident that the Walmart program is actually continuing, and that the lack of previews for them in the Diamond catalog was simply an early-warning sign of that.

Next week, I expect to find the following books at Walmart:
Superman Giant 4
Aquaman Giant 5
Titans Giant 3
Wonder Woman Giant 5

That's just an educated guess. I also think there's an outside chance of a Harley Quinn Giant. 

[Lee Houston, Junior]

For what it's worth...

I stopped to look at the DC Display Box for the 100 page giants during my weekly grocery shopping hunting trip to my local Walmart last Wednesday and while there was nothing new, all six compartments of the box were full.

This week it is suddenly down to just the front two sections and what little inventory there was of Our Fighting Forces 1, Superman 3, Aquaman 4, Flash 5, Swamp Thing 5, and a stray copy of the Birds of Prey special.

Less than a dozen books between the above list.

Where and why everything else that was there the previous week disappeared to I have no idea.

Thoughts?

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Could be there's a point when the company that maintains those shelves takes the outdated stuff out, with an eye to restocking the following week. New books should come in on Sunday.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

Rob:

While the people who tend the trading cards and other products in that area follow such a merchandising practice, this is the very first time that whoever does the 100 page giants at my Walmart has ever done so, hence the shock of seeing such an action performed.

Since the beginning of the new program with the expansion of the line, usually the books are just allowed to accumulate, although there has never been more than a couple of any given title/issue in that box at any specific moment to begin with. There was even still a couple of copies of the last Superman (#16) and Titans (#7) series within it before now. So you can see how much attention the comics got on a regular basis. If it matters, even the Marvel box (of collected, prewrapped comics) has been empty for a couple of weeks now.

Will let everyone know how things look after my next Walmart visit.

Meanwhile, has anyone else been having trouble at least in this thread, if not elsewhere on the forum? For some reason I can post but then I can't go back and edit if necessary, even if I still have the time to do so.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Yeah, a few of us have had problem with the edit function and the reply function. I brought it to Ning's attention the other day, and will do it again. 

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Stopped in at a Walmart today; didn't see anything new. By now, there probably should have been. I'll check again next week. But this experiment might be done.

[Lee Houston, Junior]

For what it's worth, my Walmart's DC (and Marvel) box looked exactly as they did last week, as previously reported above.

Then again, as I've also mentioned on a past page of this thread, mine is in a rural area so it's not well known/famous for being stocked as well as it should be even before the pandemic started.