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
My Green Arrow and Aquaman DC Finest issues have arrived!
I took a break in the middle of the Aquaman volume to read the Supergirl one (what I'm going to read of it at the present time, anyway). I have since returned to Aquaman and am very close to the end. I will probably return to the discussion I started to post some final thoughts when I finish.
I was hoping for some more DC Finest volumes announced today...
Me, I'm content to wait for more volumes to be announced. Wanna know why? Because I'm sick of living in anticipation! Last year, time stood still as I awaited the Atlas Era Venus collection (my "Pick of the Year" for 2024). Now I am similarly waiting in limbo for the DCF volume of Superboy solicited for May. For the record, here are the onesI am currently committed to...
I will undoubtedly have more to say about each of these (either here or on dedicated threads of their own) once I am holding them in my hot little hands.
Aw, anticipation is half the fun!
I'll definitely be on board for Team-Ups and Peacemaker. I'll probably also be going for Harley Quinn, Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore, Legend of Wonder Woman, and Science Fiction.
I'm glad DC is puting out Golden Age volumes, but so far, they're the ones I have most duplicated with my archives.
Today I ordered Green Arrow, Justice League and All Star Comics. I have the ASC Archives but they're twenty-five years old now!
I'm looking forward to the Team-Ups, Superboy, Superman Family, Peacemaker and especially Plastic Man!
I would like to see Warlord, 70s Metal Men, All Star Squadron and Shadow War of Hawkman!
I'd love to see all of them -- espeically Warlord and All-Star Squadron.
I just started on Green Arrow today, and have been delighted by the 6-pagers in Aquaman so far! Those two volumes are night and day: Green Arrow is so serious and grim, dominated by a pair of stories that each last for 150 pages or so; Aquaman is light as air, mostly beautifully drawn confections that are little puzzles for readers: why is Aquaman acting this way? Which fish is his best helper?
You're going to love Plastic Man. I've got the first 5 or so volumes of the Plas Archives, so I'm holding off on that one, but I might dig out those books and revisitsome favorite stories soon.
I'll probably also be going for... Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore...
Yeah, as I mentioned previously, I'm down for "Kryptonite Nevermore" as well. (I didn't list it above because I haven't seen the actual solicitation yet and have not yet added it to my records.) I didn't buy the Green Arrow one because I already have the stories it collects in omnibus format. And I am this close to finishing the "Aquaman" volume. Look for my final comments on that in a day or so.
Nice! I was a little on the fence about Green Arrow, becuase there are 5 issues -- the three-annual crossover, and a 2-part guest appearance in The Question -- that I've already got, and pretty much just reread, in the Question Omnibuses. But those same omnibuses made me realize how much I missed those Reagan-era action-hero tough guy comics, with more heroics than superheroics, and Green Arrow was right on target for that.
Also, I should note: the current run of Green Arrow, written by Chris Condon, is the closest we've gotten to that mood from DC in a long time! At a time when the Question is solving mysteries in space(!), it's good to have a ground-level adventure mystery comic to scratch that itch. It's well worth a look!
One of the biggest head-scratchers for me is the upcoming DC Finest Batgirl: Nobody Dies Tonight. The collection starts with Batgirl #7 -- obviously not the start of the Cassandra Cain Batgirl series, but without enough issues ahead of it to fill out a full volume. Of course, I knew the character debuted in the No Man's Land crossover, but I wasn't keeping up witht he Batbooks at the time, and didn't know how extensive those appearances were.
Which leads me to say, I found a list of Cass's appearances prior to Batgirl #1. And even accounting for some books where she likely only appears in a short story or an info page, like Secret Files, it seems like there might be enough to fill out approximate 14 issues worth of story before her own issue 1. Here goes!
These first two issues are important, but Cass isn't Batgirl yet in them. But she's a central character, and it's likely the story will be collected, as it's essential to her origin.
Batman #567 (July 1999): "Mark of Cain, Part 1"
Detective Comics #734 (July 1999): "Mark of Cain, Part 2"
From here on out, Cass is Batgirl. I don't know how extensively she appears in any of these issues, but I'd be surprised if there's not around 12 issues worth of content among all of these books:
Edited to add: I've looked at a few of these books on DCUI, and some are just cameos. But more significant appearances happen in LODK 120, Azrael 56 (and presumably 57), Batman Chronicles 18, Gotham Knights #2, and Young Justice 21. I'm assuming all three of the Outlaws books are one long story that includes Cass as part of the team.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #120 (August 1999): "Assembly"
Azrael: Agent of the Bat #56 (September 1999): "The Night Foretold!"
Azrael: Agent of the Bat #57 (October 1999): "Scratched Out!"
Batman Chronicles #18 (fall 1999): "Spiritual Currency"
Batman #569 (September 1999): "I Cover the Waterfront"
Detective Comics #738 (November 1999): "Going Downtown, Part Two: The Vandal"
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #124 (December 1999): "Captain of Industry"
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #92 (December 1999): "Stormy Weather"
Detective Comics #739 (December 1999): "Jurisprudence, Part Two"
Batman: Shadow of the Bat #93 (January 2000): "Assembly Redux"
Azrael: Agent of the Bat #60 (January 2000): "Evacuation"
Azrael: Agent of the Bat #61 (February 2000): "Presents of Mind"
Detective Comics #741 (February 2000): "Endgame, Part Three: ...Sleep in Heavenly Peace..." [Appears in Azrael: Agent of the Bat #61 between pages]
Batman: Gotham Knights #2 (April 2000): "Down With the Ship"
Young Justice #20 (June 2000): "Time Out"
Young Justice #21 (July 2000): "Young, Just Us Too"
Batman: Outlaws #1 (September 2000): "Shadowplay"
Batman: Outlaws #2 (October 2000): "Dead Gargoyles"
Batman: Outlaws #3 (November 2000): "Covert Action"
Batman: Gotham City Secret Files #1 (April 2000): "Night Games"
And then, rounding out the (prospective) collection, we'd have Batgirl 1-6!
I have the five No Man Land's trades and the Batgirl there was not Cassandra Cain or Barbara Gordon!
Not at first, at least...
For a while, Batgirl was Helena Bertinelli. But as Luis suggests, somewhere along the line -- I think it's Legends of the Dark Knight #120 -- Batman kicks Helena out of the fold, and gives the Batgirl mantle to Cassandra.
I've got to say, I completely understand why DC would want to start Batgirl's adventures post- No Man's Land. There was a *lot* of bad art in the mix back then, as so much Bat-content was being churned out.
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