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 #404-414, Batman Annual #11, and Detective Comics #571-581.
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
Superboy met Batman in The Brave and the Bold 192 (cover date November 1982) and his older self in DC Comics Presents 14 (October 1979) and 87 (November 1985) which was a Crisis On Infinite Earths tie-in.
The Superboy from DCCP #87 is not the classic Superboy but the Superboy of Earth-Prime.
Between Superboy and the Legion and New Adventures of Superboy, there were brief runs in Adventure Comics, Superman Family, the Superboy Spectacular one-shot and the infamous DC SUPER-STARS #12.
What's infamous about DC Super-Stars #12? It was almost 50 years ago, so it was probably kinda dumb. Might have had some nice Curt Swan or Kurt Schaffenberger art.
I don't know how infamous it was, but it was a reprint (Adventure Comics #240) with a framing sequence.
The framing sequence is by Cary Bates and Curt Swan, the main story by Edmond Hamilton and John Sikela.
The plot is indeed a bit silly; it tells how a robotic Kryptonian super-teacher tested Superboy so that he could call himself Superman.
Superboy also appeared (in a manner of speaking) in Superman #380-381.
It's the one that strongly implied Superboy lost his virginity under somewhat... dubious circumstances.
[SPOILERS for Adventure Comics #240 and DC Super-Stars #12.]
ADVENTURE COMICS #240 - "The super-Teacher from Krypton":
A robot arrives from outer space claiming to be Kal-El's teacher, programmed by Jor-El. It puts superboy through a series of tests (super-strangth, super-speed, x-ray vision, invulnerability and ingenuity) to determine whether of not he's worthy to be Superboy. Each of the tests has some sort of writer's fiat built in to prevent Superboy from performing at peak capacity, and the robot is keeping the scoring to itself. At the end of the story, the robot annonces that Supeboy has failed and must give up his super career. Reluctantly, Superboy agress, thereby passing the final test: whether or not to sacrifice his own wishes for the good of others. Then the robot flies off into space, supposedly never to be seen again.
21st Century Aside: In on part of the story, Superboy is tasked with replacing a statue of a (Confederate?) soldier with one of a pioneer.
DC SUPER-STARS #12 - "Don't Call Me Superboy!"
Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are in a passenger jet flying over Smallville, which triggers a memory in Clark. It is revealed that he was 12 years old at the time of the robot's first visit, but the robot returned five years later, in 1956 when Clark is "on the edge of manhood," in order to determine whether of not he is worthy to become Superman. Clark has a crush on Misty, the new girl in town. He sends her a note via Lana Lang inviting her to the school dance, and she accepts! After grooving to the tunes of the Del Monties ("I love you true-true-true... Yes I do-do-d0... My heart goes woo-woo-woo... Over you-you-you..."), Misty invites him to walk her home.
Once there, she reveals that her parents are out of town. Then she turns on a slide projector showing a magnified close-up of the note Clark wrote. Through handwriting analysis, Misty was able to determine that Clark Kent is really Superboy. Then to "prove" it, she projects an image of Superboy's costume over Clark's street clothes. They kiss in front of the screen. Fade to black.
The next morning, Ma Kent notices that Clark's bed hasn't been slept in. Over the course of the next couple of days, Clark and Musty are inseparable... until, that is, Misty is struck on the head by a rock thrown by a "bigfoot" and is killed. (I am not making this up.) The robot appears on the scene and explains that Misty is not dead after all, her "death" was simulated by "super-scientific methods" as part of his training. Then the robot reveals that "There never was a Misty! I selected this girl from among thousands... after I compuited your requirements of your ideal physical type! I programmed her mind with all the personality traits you hoped for in a girl! It was impossible for you to avoid falling in love with her! I will now return her to her own town so she can resume her own life! Needless to say she'll remember nothing of you or Smallville!"
Clark responds, "Don't call me Superboy! After what I've been through... I deserve to be called a man!" After what he's been through? What about "Misty"? Millennials seem to have a problem with Superman's red trunks, so much so that they have been removed from modern continuity. But back in the Silver/Bronze age, the big question on fans' collective minds was: "Is Superman a virgin?" I believe this story was written by Cary Bates to answer that question. Now aren't you glad you asked? Back in the present, "Misty" is the stewardess aboard Clark and Jimmy's flight.
The Robot-Teacher of Krypton had a third appearance, this time testing Supergirl in Adventure Comics #382 (Jl'69). Thankfully it wasn't as provocative as Superboy's last test.
Still, how would Jor-El's robot even know about Kara's existence?
I'm surprised and not surprised that they never brought "Misty" back, to either confirm one way or another if she had sex with Clark, exonorate Clark of any moral imbiguity or just kill her off!
Now I remember that story! And hated it. Yeah, I don't know what the technical term is for what Teacher did to Misty, but I call it rape.
So I wrote it off in my head canon. I had various justifications at the time:
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