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
I remember the panel size keeping me away from comic strip reprints for ages, even when I was young, TBH. I feel like IDW finally cracked the code with their Library of American Comics volumes, printing the strips in a horizontal volume, three to a page. I love my Terry & the Pirates reprints from them...and need to get back to reading Steve Canyon!
I don't know who did it first, but the hardcover Funky Winkerbean and For Better or for Worse volumes use this format, too. Three dailies to a page, one Sunday to a page.
You might be right that someone else did it first. I just know it's the IDW volumes that made me finally take notice. Fantagraphix was also doing some nice work with smaller volumes of Peanuts and Dick Tracy... but I think they eventually moved up to the larger size volumes.
My Wonder Woman: Origins and Omens DC Finest volume arrived today. It's the latest of the DC Finest volumes yet announced, covering the years 2007-2009. I'm looking forward to re-reading these stories. And it starts with one I hadn't read at all -- a teamup between Wonder Woman and Grace Choi from the Five of a Kind series of one-shots that launched a new team of Batman's Outsiders! Next up is a Brave & the Bold team-up with Power Girl... and after that, it's the main event: The lion's share of Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman, starting with art by Terry & Rachel Dodson, who are followed by Aaron Lopresti.
Just updating to say I'm having a blast rereading the beginning of the Gail Simone run on Wonder Woman in the recent DC Finest volume, Origins and Omens. I'm halfway through now -- I've read the teamups, the opener of the Simone run, "The Circle" (with art by the Dodsons, but also Ron Randall filling in on some pages toward the end), a two-parter with Bernard Chang art where Diana teams with the Khunds against a Green Lantern (I think this is the story where I first took note of Chang's art; he's become a favorite for me), and then "Ends of the Earth," a teamup with DC's lesser-known 70s fantasy heroes -- Stalker, Beowulf, and Claw. Next up: a two-parter in Hollywood, then the 8-part "Rise of the Olympian," then another two-parter -- a teamup with Black Canary. I read and enjoyed all these as individual issues, but they read much better in a set. Character beats in one story follow through in another, and you don't have to reach back in your memory 6-8 months to appreciate them.
In a couple weeks, I'll be buying Zap Goes the Legion, and I'll probably pick up Batman: Years One & Two as well.
I was just thinking of the utility of the DC Finest Team-Ups volume. The first one focuses on a mix of DC Comics Presents and The Brave & the Bold stories, and that's definitely what the book will be like in the late 70s through mid 80s. But beyond that? It can incorporate stories from Super-Team Family, and maybe even books like The Atom & Hawkman... or cherrypick the Flash and Green Lantern teamups in the Silver Age issue of those titles. And then later, it can follow things like the DC Plus+ specials, or the Five of a Kind one-shots. It's a really versatile title that can go a lot farther than I originally thought. They'd definitely have to watch out for problems with too much duplication (I'd certainly leave the GL/GA teamups out of it), but it could be a really fun line to follow.
I mean, a classic 12-issue series for ten bucks?
Is that what they are? I've never seen one.
...my eyes demand the bigger size, too.
there is a condition which afflicts my eyes as well: if I'm not interested in something, I can't see it.
I was thinking last night about which Legion volume I'd like to see next for the DC Finest line. And I came up with one that includes a lot of previously un-reprinted material, but also some popular stuff. If we start in 1984, we can get the beginning of the Baxter series, kicking off with the 5-part Legion of Super Villains storyline. But also, we can fold in the Tales from the Legion series that ran for a year before it started reprinting the Baxter series. So, Tales of the Legion 314-325, plus Legion of Super-Heroes 1-10. (The LSH title could go as for as 13, I think.) That should be around the right page count, and would be pretty much concurrent, without leaving us in the middle of a continued story.
I lieu of an omnibus, I wouldn't mind seeing a DC Finest edition of All-Star Squadron.
For those interested, Amazon is offering everything DC either already has or will publish between now and next summer in this line, but you will be paying full price ($39.99) for even the Kindle version unless Comixology has a sale.
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