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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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So this week, we've got:
Batman: Blackgate – Isle of Men (1998) 1: A one-shot tying in to "Cataclysm." By Doug Moench and Jim Aparo.
Icon (1993-1997) 21: The Long Goodbye -- Icon leaves Earth! By McDuffie & Bright, as usual.
Static (1993-1997) 22: Static fights... a plague of rabies? By Ivan Velez, Jr. and Wilfred Santiago.
Tales of Ghost Castle (1975) 3: The third and final issue!
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 10: A much more interesting DC horror title... this one with art by Gray Morrow and Alex Toth! Stories by Gerry Conway.
DC's sale this week is "Road to DC FanDome," whatever that means. Anyway, there's a ton of Vertigo available along with all the usual stuff, so why not buy the two collections of a forgotten title like Art Ops?
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This week's new DC backlist on Comixology includes:
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 16: We finally get to the Blood Syndicate chapters of the Worlds Collide crossover! The first of two. Guest-starring Superman.
Doom Patrol (1987-1995) Annual #1: A long-missing annual from the pre-Morrison years. Plus a Lodestone backup feature!
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 3: Elvira presents some old-west horror.
Hardware (1993-1997) 22: "Trust Never Sleeps." The first of a 3-parter by Otis Wesley Clay and Humberto Ramos.
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 11: As long as Alex Toth is involved, The Witching Hour is always worth a look!
DC's FanDome sale has some great discounts this week -- a lot of trades are going for $2.99! I think I mentioned Art Ops last week, at $5.99 per collection. It's $2.99 now. Enjoy!
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Here's what's on board for DC's backlist in November. The bronze-age Wonder Woman gap is getting filled, so that it looks like the next significant one is 231-273. We're also getting some gap-filling for the Titans, as the one missing issue of Teen Titans Spotlight appears, as do the beginnings of the only gap in the Silver Age run. Plus, more Milestone, more Elvira's House of Mystery (we'll probably get the final issue, #11, in December), and the return of Batman and Green Arrow after a hiatus for Halloween shenanigans!
Nov. 2
Icon (1993-1997) 23
Static (1993-1997) 24
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 209
Teen Titans Spotlight (1986) 15
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 6
Nov. 9
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 23
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 18
Hardware (1993-1997) 24
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 210
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 7
Nov. 16
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 24
Icon (1993-1997) 24
Static (1993-1997) 25
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 211
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 8
Nov. 23
Batman (1940-2011) 221
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 19
Hardware (1993-1997) 25
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 25
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 9
Nov. 30
Green Arrow (1988-1998) 17
Batman (1940-2011) 222
Icon (1993-1997) 25
Static (1993-1997) 26
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 26
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 10
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Permalink Reply by Lee Houston, Junior on
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I'm looking forward to Wonder Woman 211 finally being available, for that is one of the many missing 100 page giants from the 1970s!
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I hope it's fully available. In some cases, IIRC, they've just printed the new material. But Wonder Woman 211 is one of the first Wonder Woman comics I ever had, and I read it to a coverless state.
Lee Houston, Junior said:I'm looking forward to Wonder Woman 211 finally being available, for that is one of the many missing 100 page giants from the 1970s!
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I'll be away for a week, but before I forget, here's what came out on Comixology this week:
October 19
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 4: Comixology's credits don't list her, but this issue has some really nice art by Heather Kilgour and Jim Fern. According to the GCD, this is Kilgour's only comics work; she's known for nature and fantasy art.
Icon (1993-1997) 22: Rocket takes over the book while Icon is gone.
Static (1993-1997) 23: Static & Boogieman face off against chihuahua monsters.
The Witching Hour (1968-1978) 12: Kane and Toth art, under an awesome Cardy cover!
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 207: In one story, a Chinese mummy causes trouble. In another, Diana and her mom are put on trial by their fellow Amazons.
It's a Wonder Woman sale... and I'll suggest Future State: Superman & Wonder Woman 1 & 2. For under two bucks, you can get a really fun fable starring Jon Kent and Yara Flor. Future State was a mixed bag, but I thought this was one of the real highlights.
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I was away for a week, so here's the last two weeks' new arrivals quickly so I don't fall too far behind.
Oct 26 & Nov 2
Blood Syndicate 17: The final Worlds Collide crossover issue! Other than Worlds Collide #1 itself.
Elvira’s House of Mystery 5 & 6 : Issue 6 is a double-sized issue. The cover also proclaims it's a "sideways" issue, but all the images are printed traditionally. Maybe this cover was intended for a different issue?
Hardware 23: Part 2 of Trust Never Sleeps.
The Witching Hour 13: The last of the Witching Hour issues we get this Halloween. Issue 3, skipped the last go-round, needs to go on the Gap List.
Wonder Woman 208 & 209: It is honestly bizarre how much the covers of these books, released in 1973, look like they're from the Golden Age. 207, on the other hand, definitely felt Bronze Age, so I'm not sure what's going on here.
Icon 23: More Rocket solo, while Icon is in space.
Static 24: Static fights the vigilante Dusk, who has a crush on him.
Teen Titans Spotlight 15: The Omega Men issue, at last! This fills the only gap in the series.
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I've been hella busy, so here's another two-week installment of DC's digital backlist.
Nov. 9
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 23: Wonder Girl's new costume! This one's so iconic I'm surprised it's taken this long to make available.
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 18: DMZ flies solo!
Hardware (1993-1997) 24: Trust Never Sleeps. Humberto Ramos on art, before he caught people's eye on Impulse.
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 210: Pinched by giant tweezers!
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 7: Special sci-fi issue with Adam Strange (at least on the cover)!
Nov. 16
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 24: Skis of DEATH!
Icon (1993-1997) 24: Rocket's baby is born, and she gets a letter from the spacefaring Icon.
Static (1993-1997) 25: Giant anniversary issue!
Wonder Woman (1942-1986) 211: It's the entire reprint giant -- what a steal!
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 8: Elvira gets patriotic on the cover.
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For those interested, I have absolutely no idea when it started or how long it will last, but I have just stumbled onto the fact that (apparently all of) the Marvel Epic Collections are currently $3.99 each on Kindle via Amazon!
Imagine, 500+ page volumes for the price of a current/standard size comic book!
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Phew, I've been away from here for a while. Again, super busy. But here's what came out in the last two weeks:
Nov. 23
Batman (1940-2011) 221: Batman goes to Fledermaus Castle in Germany!
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 19: The return of old friends...and foes!
Hardware (1993-1997) 25: Extra-sized anniversary issue! Hardware fights a group of villains, and has a final confrontation with Alva.
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 25: The Titans are held responsible for the death of a guy who was *just about* to create World Peace. (Suuuure he was...) This was my first really old back issue of Teen Titans when I was a kid, and man, was it a bummer.
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 9: A haunted house story, and a dark and murky secret!
Nov. 30
Green Arrow (1988-1998) 17: Ollie avenges a murdered stripper. Who said comics can't be fun?
Batman (1940-2011) 222: A Beatles homage, just in time for Get Back!
Icon (1993-1997) 25: Extra-sized anniversary issue: Icon fights for Earth in a space courtroom, while Rocket works with a new Icon in Dakota.
Static (1993-1997) 26: Amusement park chaos!
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 26: The Titans give up their costumed identities and work for Mr. Jupiter! And Mal Duncan debuts!
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 10: Elvira's Back to School issue. One more to go.
DC's current sale is on Annuals, and to my mind, there's no annual quite as good as Legion of Superheroes Annual #1, from 1982 (the return of Computo and the introduction of the new Invisible Kid), and there's no annual quite as bad as Legion of Superheroes Annual #4, from 1993, a Bloodlines crossover featuring the introduction (and final appearance) of JAMM. Each for 99 cents! Spend wisely!
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And here's what's coming up in December. We wrap up Elvira's House of Mystery, but Elvira's Haunted Holidays Special is unfortunately nowhere to be found. We also get to final missing issue in the Teen Titans Silver Age run. We continue with Batman and Green Arrow, for a while -- Green Arrow closing the gap between the previous issues and the already available Blood & Shadows story (although there'll still be a gap from 25 to 79), and Batman leaving off at 226, when 5 more issues would fill the gap to the run kicked off by the first appearance of Ra's Al Ghul (not that that's unbroken, either).
Milestone continues along, although there's still no second-wave titles. And we get a little Zatanna, and Superman: The Secret Years!December 7
Green Arrow (1988-1998) 18
Batman (1940-2011) 223
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 20
Hardware (1993-1997) 26
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 27
Elvira’s House of Mystery (1986-1987) 11
December 14
Green Arrow (1988-1998) 19
Batman (1940-2011) 224
Icon (1993-1997) 26
Static (1993-1997) 27
Teen Titans (1966-1978) 28
December 21
Green Arrow (1988-1998) 20
Batman (1940-2011) 226
Blood Syndicate (1993-1995) 21
Hardware (1993-1997) 27
Zatanna Special (1987) 1
December 28
Icon (1993-1997) 27
Static (1993-1997) 28
Superman: The Secret Years (1985) 1
Zatanna (1993) 1
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Well, I've completely fallen down on this job this month, so let's let those December posts stand for themselves. And January, I hate to say, looks meager. Apparently we're not getting continuations of Zatanna or Superman: This Missing Years for at least a month; I suspect the holiday crunch hit the digitizers, and we're only getting 3 books a week for the coming month. So we're getting our two bi-weekly Milestone books and...The New Guardians? Is this a prank?
January 4
The New Guardians 1
Blood Syndicate 22
Hardware 28
January 11
The New Guardians 2
Icon 28
Static 29
January 18
The New Guardians 3
Blood Syndicate 23
Hardware 29
January 25
The New Guardians 4
Icon 29
Static 30
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