A while back, DC announced a new line of reprints, called DC Finest, that packages about 500 pages of comics from various eras into a $40 softcover. From all appearances, it looks to be an attempt to mimic Marvel's successful Epic Collections line, in which complete runs of their books are reprinted in similar paperbacks, but often out of order. So you might get Fantastic Four volume 3 (The Coming of Galactus) before volume 1 (the early stuff), but the volumes have all been mapped out, and gaps get filled in as time goes on.
DC announced a bunch of collections, ranging from the Golden Age (All-Star Comics, Superman) to the 2000s (Wonder Woman), with plenty in between. In October's solicitations, they've finally nailed down the contents for most of the announced books. Here's what's been announced so far.
DC FINEST: WONDER WOMAN: ORIGINS & OMENS
ON SALE 10/8/24
DC Finest: Wonder Woman: Origins & Omens collects these Wonder Woman issues from October 2007 to 2009: Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #14-35, Outsiders: Five of a Kind – Wonder Woman/Grace #1, and The Brave and the Bold #7.
DC FINEST: SUPERMAN: THE FIRST SUPERHERO
ON SALE 11/5/24
The First Superhero covers Summer 1938 to Fall 1940 and reprints classic stories from Action Comics #1-25, Superman #1-5, and New York World’s Fair #1.
DC FINEST: BATMAN: BATMAN: YEAR ONE & TWO
$39.99 US | 592 pages | 6 5/8″ x 10 3/16″ | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-835-3
ON SALE 11/5/24
Collects Batman #404#401-414, Batman Annual #11, and Detective Comics #571- #568-581.
DC FINEST: CATWOMAN: LIFE LINES
ON SALE 12/17/24
Collects Catwoman (vol. 1) #1-4, Catwoman (vol. 2) #1-12, Catwoman Annual #1, Batman/Catwoman: Defiant #1, and stories from Action Comics Weekly #611-614 and Showcase ’93 #1-4.
DC FINEST: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN EARTHS
ON SALE 11/19/24
Collects Justice League of America #45-72 from July 1966 to June 1969.
DC FINEST: GREEN LANTERN: THE DEFEAT OF GREEN LANTERN
ON SALE 12/3/24
Featuring works from revered comics writers and artists such as John Broome, Gardner Fox, and Gil Kane, this volume collects classic stories from Green Lantern #19-39, The Flash #143, and The Brave and the Bold #59.
DC FINEST: EVENTS: ZERO HOUR PART ONE
ON SALE 12/10/24
This first of two collections features Superman #93, The Flash #94, L.E.G.I.O.N. #70, Green Lantern #55, Super-man: The Man of Steel #37, Team Titans #24, The Darkstars #24, Valor #23, Batman #511, Batman: Shadow of the Bat #31, Detective Comics #678, Legionnaires #18, Hawkman #13, Showcase ‘94 #8-9, Steel #8, Superboy #8, Outsiders #11, and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #3-4.
DC FINEST: LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: ZAP GOES THE LEGION
ON SALE 12/10/24
This first collection starring the greatest heroes of the 30th century features stories pulled from the pages of Action Comics #378-387 and #389-392, Adventure Comics #374-380 and #403, and Superboy #172-173, #176, #183-184, #188, #190-191, #193, #195, and #197-203.
DC FINEST: THE FLASH: THE HUMAN THUNDERBOLT
ON SALE 11/26/24
Collects Showcase #4, #8, and #13-14, and The Flash #105-123.
DC FINEST: JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: FOR AMERICA AND DEMOCRACY
ON SALE 12/3/24
Collects All-Star Comics #3-12.
DC has also announced three more for January, although the exact contents aren’t announced yet:
DC Finest: Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters – 21st of January, 2025
The most iconic stories starring Green Arrow! (From the cover, it looks like it’s the start of the Grell run, starting with The Longbow Hunters miniseries.)
DC Finest: Supergirl: The Girl of Steel – 14th of January, 2025
The earliest stories starring Supergirl! (Looks like Supergirl, from the beginning.)
DC Finest: Aquaman: The King of Atlantis – 7th of January, 2025
The earliest stories starring the King of the Seas: Aquaman! (Silver Age Aquaman, with Jack Miller, Robert Bernstein, and Ramona Fradon listed as creators.)
So for the purposes of discussion... which ones of these interest you the most? And looking forward, where would you go for the second volumes of these titles?
Replies
We've known about that one for a bit, Cap (I posted about it back in March, on p67)
Sorry! I looked back a few pages and didn't see it, so I posted it. It's from the October solicitations, which came out last week. Those also included the second Western and, weirdly, a Swamp Thing cover with no copy. I'm guessing that's been covered, too.
DC Finest: Romance: Escape From Loneliness
I'll be getting this, but I want to remind everybody that these stories will have aged poorly and were pretty bad to begin with. There's "so bad it's funny" and "so bad it's unreadable," and DC Romance comics genrally tend to the latter. The art, however, is worth the price of admission.
DC Finest: Superman Family: The Stray Superdog
The discussion on the whys of what's included is pretty insightful. I'll be getting this, but of course I've read these, and what I really want are the comics that came out before I was a collector in the early Silver Age. Especially 1960-1963, since I've read a lot of '50s Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane in Showcase Presents. (Although color would be nice.) The Giant Turtle Man volume was great, but not enough! I may have an Archive or two, as well, I don't remember. So what I want is a nice long long Superman Family run from 1954 (Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #1) to when this book begins. Less Ernie Chua and Vince Colletta, please, and more Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger!
DC Finest: Hitman: A Rage in Arkham
I grew weary of this title in real time. I was excited at first because Garth Ennis was writing it, and Garth Ennis has done many clever things. But he didn't do anything that was particularly clever here; he just regurgitated the adolescent snark of his British comics, along with his usual co-conspirator in those books, Joel McCrea. Which for me wears thin quickly. And after you strip away the "I can't believe they did that" factor, what you're left with is a juvenile joke book where the lead character is an immature arsehole. When I arrived at that conclusion, I found it very difficult to get through the book each month until its inevitable cancellation. I think the one where he throws up on Superman's boots (or Kyle Rayner's, I've forgotten) was the final straw.
Hitman's terrific, but not for everybody. It was definitely one of my favorite books of its era, and I suspect it holds up better than Preacher these days.
And that's what makes horse races! Glad you enjoyed it, Rob!
Could Arak and Arion be next?
I would be very surprised, as they didn't sell nearly as well as Warlord. Arion lasted 35 issues and Arak 50, and were never big sellers. Warlord lasted 133 issues and six annuals, and Scaramanga, or whatever the ERB location swipe is, has become DC's Savage Land. Flash was set there recently for many issues.
Skartaris!
There's definitely some running bits in Hitman that made my eyes roll then, and would probably even moreso now. But I also remember the core of the series being the friendship between Tommy and Nat, and to a lesser extent the other guys at the bar. There's an inherent silliness to the supporting cast (Section 8 grates on my nerves), but in the best parts of the book, those guys are just the seasoning, and the story itself could be really effective. (In the earlier issues, it helps if you don't take certain DC mainstays too seriously, but later on the book veers away from superhero cameos.)
Six-Pack is a character you couldn't get away with now, as alcoholism isn't nearly as funny as it used to be.
True.. but this is also a comic that gave us Dogwelder and Bueno Excelente, so the "good taste" train has left the station on a number of occasions with this book.
We've got a couple more DC Finests announced today, although one has a temp cover without the DC Finest trade dress yet.
DC Finest: Batman: Night of the Stalker
On sale Feb 23, 2027 | 584 Pages
Bringing together core Batman stories with rare and unexpected material, this DC Finest volume delivers an immersive, wide-ranging collection that captures the tone and evolution of the Dark Knight Detective during this pivotal period.
Collects Batman #246-281, Detective Comics #430-445, and the never-before-collected five-page Batman story that was included with the Batman model kit released by Aurora in 1974.
As Dick Grayson continues to grow into a hero in his own right, he takes on dangerous criminals, mysterious conspiracies, supernatural threats, and globe-spanning adventures that test his courage, intelligence, and leadership. Whether working alone, joining forces with Batgirl, or teaming with heroes from across the DC Universe, Robin proves that he is more than a sidekick—he is a hero capable of carrying the spotlight himself.
From college campuses and traveling carnivals to hidden criminal organizations and extraordinary mysteries, these stories showcase the variety and excitement that defined Robin during the late Bronze Age. Along the way, Dick develops friendships, faces personal challenges, and gains the confidence that will help shape his future as one of DC's most enduring heroes. Together, these stories capture the moment Dick Grayson begins to feel like a hero with his own world, his own instincts, and his own future beyond Batman.
Collects stories from Secret Origins #50; Batman #333-334, #337-339, and #341-343; Detective Comics #481-495; DC Comics Presents #58; and The Batman Family #4, #6-9, and #11-20.
That's seven so far. I think we'll have a few more before we're done. (If the intention is still to ship 3 a month, we might not even be halfway through these!)
Where do the Dynamite Duo stories fit in?
The Robin / Batgirl team-ups? Going by the list of contents, most or all of the remaining of them will indeed be in "Robin: The League of Crime". The volume's cover is taken from Batman Family #8; his opponent is actually not Catwoman, but rather Duela Dent in her early, one-time guise as "Catgirl".
Their team-up in Batman Family #2 is a reprint from very early in Batgirl's career, but the stories in #1 and #3 are very important. However, apparently they are already reprinted at the tail end of the previous volume ("DC Finest: Robin: The Origin of Robin").
The details haven't come in yet, but here are 5 more covers... Hopefully we'll have on-sale dates and contents by tomorrow!
I want to support any Legion collection but I can't get the Great Darkness Saga again!
Hopefully the Question volume will contain his Silver Age run!
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