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DC's Digital Backlist - Secret Society of Super Villains spotlight!
A while back, I logged some week-to-week posts on DC’s digital reprint program through Comixology. It’s been a while, and their digital offerings have matured, so I thought I’d take another look at what they’re adding each week. Currently, they seem to be doing about 30 books a week. I might not list all the issue numbers going forward – if the 90s Superman titles continue moving forward at two of each a week, there’s not much value in listing each issue. But let’s take a look at this week’s, and let’s see where the patterns take us, shall we?
90s Superman: DC is following the 90s Superman titles (soon to be the 2000s Superman, as this week’s titles are from December 1999) pretty quickly, giving us 8 issues of the books every week. There’s a lot of material to get through, but that’s still an admirable clip. We may only have a few more weeks of this, judging by Action Comics (the one title of the bunch that doesn’t change its numbering and continues for a long while) – 761 is the most recent issue, and Action already seems to be in the digital library from 769 on. Superman, Adventures of Superman and Superman: Man of Steel have bigger gaps, though.
Action Comics 760, 761
Adventures of Superman 574, 575
Superman 152, 153
Man of Steel 95, 96
Arion: 11, 12
DC has been adding two issues of Arion: Lord of Atlantis a week for the last 6 weeks. There are 35 issues and a special, so there's a way to go before the series is completed.
DC Comics Presents: 75, 76
DCCP started out at a faster pace, but has been going two a week for a little while now. There are about 20 issues to go. Bonus: More Arion this week, in issue 75!
Guy Gardner: Warrior: 33
11 issues to go.
Huntress: 19, 4-issue 1994 series
We wrap up the Cavalieri/Staton ongoing that introduced Helena Bertinelli, and then power through a Chuck Dixon mini from 1994. Will Huntress return next week, or will we move on?
Justice League America (Bwa-ha-ha) 51, 52
This one has a ways to go before having everything available.
Manhunter: 34
Four more issues till it’s all there!
Mister Miracle: 23-25
This wraps up the 70s run – Kirby and then Marshall Rogers, it’s all there! (I think DC also recently wrapped the 70s Return of the New Gods run, too.)
Superman (Bronze Age): 233
This is an interesting one. The Kryptonite Nevermore cover – I’m surprised it wasn’t available before this. Will DC continue from here? Their 70s Superman offerings on Comixology are paltry.
Wanderers: 7, 8
This 80s Legion spinoff ran 13 issues, so we’re almost there.
Wonder Woman (Silver Age): 130, 131
DC has been making silver age Wonder Woman stories available, probably wishing to expand their catalog in anticipation of the movie. At this point the silver age issues go from 112-131, with a couple of gaps.
Swamp Thing (Diggle/Dysart run): 25
4 more issues to go.
Trigger: 5
This Vertigo sci-fi series lasted 8 issues. I don’t remember it at all.
That’s a pretty exhaustive look at this week’s offerings. Next week, I’ll probably just note new additions (what will replace Mister Miracle? The '89 and '96 series have already been collected, so we might be in for something new. And there might be more Huntress comics that haven't been reprinted yet, but Comixology has a bunch of them listed already, and the Bat-universe is so sprawling it's tough to search), unexpected omissions, breaks from the patterns, and go forward from there.
And to make things easy to follow:
Week 2. (April 6, 2017)
Week 3 (April 13, 2017)
Week 4 (April 20, 2017)
Week 5 (April 27, 2017)
Week 6 (May 4, 2017)
Week 7 (May 11, 2017)
Week 8 (May 18, 2017)
Week 9 (May 25, 2017)
Week 10 (June 1, 2017) -- All the golden age Wonder Woman goodness!
Week 11 (June 8, 2017)
Week 12 (June 15, 2017)
Week 13 (June 22, 2017)
Week 14 (June 29, 2017)
Week 15 (July 6, 2017)
Week 16 (July 13, 2017) -- Our Worlds at War! Underworld Unleashed!
Week 17 (July 20, 2017) -- The Great Ten! More Wonder Woman!
Week 18 (July 27, 2017) -- Batman Confidential and Deathblow? Young Heroes in Love?? Doom Patrol!
Week 19 (Aug 3, 2017) -- Some Bronze-age Batman!
Week 20 (Aug 10, 2017) -- Loeb/Sale Challengers begins!
Week 21 (Aug 17, 2017) -- Silver Age Challs!
MIDWEEK SALE BLAST (Aug 22, 2017): Wildstorm!
Week 22 (Aug 24, 2017) -- Holding pattern...
Week 23 (Aug 31, 2017) -- chugging along
Week 24 (Sept 7, 2017) -- Same old, but with newer Challengers
Week 25 (Sept 14, 2017) -- Baron/Jones Deadman debuts
Week 26 (Sept 21, 2017) -- Holding steady, with more Deadman
Week 27 (Sept 28, 2017) -- Deadman in Action Comics Weekly?
Week 28 (Oct 5, 2017) -- A slow swerve into Batman
Week 29 (Oct 5, 2017) -- Doom Patrol finishes in the smallest week ever
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) on
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Good call, Luke -- I think you got it all!
Also, thanks, Lee, for the rundown of all those Giants!
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Here's a quick rundown of this week's new DC backlist on Comixology & DC Infinite:
Aquaman Sword of Atlantis (2006-2007) 48: The penultimate chapter of Busiek & Guice's Sword of Atlantis run, before Tad Williams and Shawn MacManus take over. It's unclear whether we're getting issue 49 next week... they might leave us hanging.
Batman 218: A giant-size reprint issue featuring “The Strangest Cases from Batman’s Crime-File!”
Icon (1993-1997) 16: a Worlds Collide crossover with Superman.
Static (1993-1997) 17: Part 2 of the five-part story "What Are Little Boys Made Of?"
Strange Adventures (1950-1973) 6: The Vampire World! Confessions of a Martian! and More!
Who’s Who Update 1988 4: The last of the official Who's Who updates. There were more Who's Who pages in the 1989 annuals, and then a binder-style reboot of the concept in 1990.
DC's got a Suicide Squad sale going on in connection with the upcoming movie. If you haven't read the Ostrander/Yale/McDonnel/Isherwood originals, now's the time! Also: Europe Comics has a Blacksad sale, with each story starring the noir hero available for $3.99. You could do a lot worse for your dollar: Blacksad is excellent.
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I skipped a week! But it was a small one. Anyhow, here's what's arrived on Comixology last week and this!
August 3
First up, there's no Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #49. I'll have to put that on the Gap List. But here's what arrived last week.
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 11: The Shadow War is over and two new members join the team!
Hardware (1993-1997) 17: Meanwhile, Hardware gets its second Worlds Collide crossover issue.
Strange Adventures (1950-1973) 7: The World of Giant Ants!
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 43: Starting a 1950s run of Wonder Woman issues that I suspect will spill over into September. Is Wonder Woman the enemy spy z-1?
August 10
Action Comics (1938-2011) 600: An 84-page issue that wraps up Byrne's run on Action Comics -- with guest-artists like Swan, Perez, Bogdonove, Mignola -- before Action Comics Weekly begins!
Icon (1993-1997) 17: "The Mothership Connection" storyline begins! Is Icon canceled? (Not the comic...the hero!)
Static (1993-1997) 18: Static faces off against Princess Nightmare.
Strange Adventures (1950-1973) 8: Gorilla cover! An ape with a human brain!
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 44: Wonder Woman rides a seahorse, and somehow twirls a lasso underwater! (Hey, it's magic.)
DC's sale is DC on TV... which could be just about anything, at this point. Harley Quinn, Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, Lucifer, Watchmen, and lost more. I don't see deep discounts for the upcoming Y: The Last Man, though.
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This week's new DC back issues on Comixology are...
Aquaman (1962-1978) 1: For some reason, this one wasn't available before. Or maybe it was one of a handful of b/w digital comics DC released for a couple of weeks. In any event, DC seems to be planning to complete the Aquaman series, almost certainly through the hiatus at issue 56, but probably through 63. The Adventure Comics run (441-452) that came between issues 56 and 57 is already on Comixology, but in a truncated form -- some issues are doubled up, and there are none of the backup features. It'd be nice to get complete replacements, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 12: The Blood Syndicate encounters a kid who can turn himself into a dinosaur!
Hardware (1993-1997) 18: Worlds Collide, guest starring Steel!
Strange Adventures (1950-1973) 9: The first appearance of Captain Comet!
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 46: Wonder Woman has amnesia!
DC's sale focuses on the Sandman Universe, but for some reason, the 90s spin-off series The Dreaming isn't included... and likely a bunch of other spinoffs I'm forgetting.
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Well, I've been swamped these past few weeks. But here are the back issues DC's released on Comixology (and DCU Infinite) since August 24:
Aquaman (1962-1978) 53-55: Closing out the final issues of the run before the book went on hiatus for years. By Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. With next week's 56, this fills the gap before the 77 revival (already available), and will complete the original Aquaman title.
Batman (1940-2011) 220: Batman gets trapped in an exploding phone booth! By Frank Robbins and Irv Novick.
Blood Syndicate 13, Hardware 19, Icon 18 & 19, and Static 19 & 20: The original Milestone run continues its two-a-week releases!
Green Arrow (1987 - 1998) 13: Finally continuing the Mike Grell-written run from the late 80s! Art's by Rick Hoberg this time around.
Strange Adventures (1950-1973) 10: This concludes the Strange Adventures reprints for a while.
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 47-49: More Atomic Age Amazon fun! Marston had passed away by this point, but H.G. Peter is still providing the art on certain stories; It'll be a few years before Andru and Esposito arrive on the scene.
DC's sale this week is Y: The Last Man, since the TV show is about to debut. Image is also having a sale on its crime comics -- I bought the second series of Genius, and I'm sure you'll find something good, too.
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And here's a quick look at what's coming up (and is already available) in September. In short: We wrap Aquaman...AND the missing final Busiek issue of Sword of Atlantis, get more Green Arrow, more Milestone, fill up a gap in 90s Detective Comics, and release a missing Titans story!
September 7
Aquaman (1962-1978) 55
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 13
Icon (1993-1997) 19
Static (1993-1997) 20
Wonder Woman (1942) 49
September 14
Aquaman (1962-1978) 56
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 14
Detective Comics 639
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 14
Hardware (1993-1997) 20
September 21
Detective Comics 640
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 15
Icon (1993-1997) 20
Static (1993-1997) 21
The New Teen Titans Annual 2
September 28
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis (2006-2007) 49
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 15
Detective Comics 641
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 16
Hardware (1993-1997) 21
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OK, let's see if I can keep the week-by-week posts from getting away from me this time. On Comixology this week, we've got:
Aquaman (1962-1978) 56: The Sea King fights pollution in "The Creature That Devoured Detroit!" This would be the last issue of Aquaman for six years, until the title's revival in 1977. And this completes the 1962-1978 run!
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 14: "Infestation," part 2 of 3! Killer cockroaches???
Detective Comics 639: Part 2 of "The Idiot Root," by Peter Milligan and Jim Aparo. Parts 1 and 3 were already available, in Batman #472 and #473, with art by Norm Breyfogle. Part 4 will come next week, in 'Tec 640.
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 14: Someone is hunting Oliver Queen! By Grell and Jurgens.
Hardware (1993-1997) 20: Hardware visits New York for a tech convention! (I suspect there'll be some fighting anyway, not just seminars on coding.)
DC's sale is for Batman Day -- 450 graphic novels are on sale, as well as thousands of single issues.
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This week's new old DC comics on Comixology:
Detective Comics 640: The final chapter of "The Idiot Root"!
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 15: After a couple of fill-ins, Ed Hannigan rejoins the book on art.
Icon (1993-1997) 20: Milestone's 100th issue published -- so as Icon prepares to leave Earth, a lot of guest-stars show up.
Static (1993-1997) 21: In one of the all-time great premises for a team-up, Static and The Blood Syndicate attend the same movie on opening night.
The New Teen Titans Annual 2: A long-missing story that we can strike from the Gap List! Including the secret origin of Brother Blood, and a story penciled by John Byrne and inked by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez!
DC's sale this week focuses on Neil Gaiman, but there are plenty of offshoots of his work included, too -- for instance, the Black Orchid ongoing series by Dick Foreman and Rebecca Guay.
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Here's what we've got coming up for October, as DC offers up some Halloween treats in its reprints...as well as filling a Bronze Age Wonder Woman gap.
October 5
Batman: Blackgate – Isle of Men (1998) 1
Icon (1993-1997) 21
Static (1993-1997) 22
Tales of Ghost Castle (1975) 3
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 10
October 12
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 16
Doom Patrol (1987-1995): Annual #1 1
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 3
Hardware (1993-1997) 22
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 11
October 19
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 4
Icon (1993-1997) 22
Static (1993-1997) 23
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 12
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 207
October 26
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 17
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 5
Hardware (1993-1997) 23
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 13
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 208
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This week's new old DC comics are....
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis 49: After a month or so, we get the final issue of the Kurt Busiek run!
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 15: Searching the sewers for the White Roach! By Ivan Velez Jr. and J.H. Williams III!
Detective Comics 641: The conclusion of "Destroyer," a 3-part crossover that remade the Gotham skyline to be more like what Anton Furst designed for the Tim Burton movies. Part 1 is in Batman 474, released on Comixology in 2016. Part two was in Legends of the Dark Knight 27, released on comixology in 2011. So... it's been 10 years, but the whole story is finally available! I wonder what other Batman/Detective crossovers have been marred by Detective's spotty appearances on Comixology...? This chapter's by Alan Grant and Jim Aparo.
Green Arrow (1987-1998) 16: A bounty hunter hunts OIllie, while and Aussie secret agent hunts them both. By Grell and Hannigan.
Hardware (1993-1997) 21: Hardware's NYC adventure concludes, as he faces a magical foe: Arcana! Written by Adam Blaustein, with art by Prentis Rollins and Aubrey Bradford.
DC's sale is a spotlight on the Justice League. Among things I overlooked when they first came out is New Super-Man and the Justice League of China, from the New Super-Man title by Gene Luen Yang. Interestingly (and sadly), single issues for sale are now a straight 50% off their Comixology price. So older back issues are 99 cents (normally priced at $1.99), but newer books are more expensive, and they retained their print cover price for Comixology. (For a while DC was making them cheaper after a few months, but they abandoned that practice years ago.)
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Permalink Reply by Lee Houston, Junior on
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While we have previously discussed the lack of letter columns and house ads in e-books, looking over potential sale purchases for this week, I've just noticed that Justice League of America issues 91 and 92 (both originally 52 pagers) do NOT include the reprint material in the e-format.
Any idea why? Are there other DC e-books from the 52/48 page era that only present the new material of their day? If so, I humbly think they and JLA 91-92 need to be rescanned for a more complete presentation.
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I wish they'd include the reprints too. (In the Giant issue 93, they do.)
The main reason, I imagine, is that only the lead stories have been cleaned up for reprint, in the Last Survivors of Earth collection. And since they already did the work, why not release the comics digitally?
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