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've got no idea, Cap. But they're the same company as Lunar, DC's distributor, so I imagine they get the books on really good terms.
My discount (20-35%) depends on how big of a discount my LCS gets from Diamond. For the big publishers (Marvel, DC, etc.) his discopunt is something like 50-55%, so he can afford to give me 35% and still make a profit. For smaller publishers, his discount is less and so is mine. But I have to pre-order them and I have to buy them. If I don't pre-order them and get them off the shelf, I get my standard discount: 10%. What will happen to our agreement if Diamond goes under I don't know.
"Discopunt" is my favorite typo so far!
Hey, at least I spelled it correctly four out of five times.
Rich Lane once nailed me for "creeping plaque" instead of "creeping plague" (the disease which wiped out Galactus' home planet, Taa).
That's fantastic -- I wish my LCS had loyalty rates like that. Or any, TBH. So as things stand, I go with IST for most trades.
All P&H customers ay my LCS get a standard 10%. I negotiated this one special based on rates I could get on Amazon.com. If I'd've known about IST, perhaps I could have gotten a bit more, but I think we're both happy with out deal. He makes a sale and I save some money.
I get a straight 20% off, which is more than the standard 10%, but it ain't no 35%!
I used to get 25% off from my LCS before they closed but I was going to them for almost twenty years. Most people were getting 10-15% off.
I wish my LCS had loyalty rates like that.
I get a straight 20% off, which is more than the standard 10%, but it ain't no 35%!
You guys should negotiate. Point out what you could get it for on Amazon or via IST.
In fact, Cap, I think I got the idea from your LCS in Memphis. They had a really good deal on an X-Men omnibus (which I already had), and when I asked how they could sell it for that price, they said, "That's what it goes for on Amazon." You could say, "I'm Captain Comics, dammit!" :)
I recently got the Peacemaker volume and I'm a bit disappointed that a big part of it is excerpts from books like Suicide Squad, Checkmate and Eclipso. I never liked the idea of not reprinting complete books let alone stories!
It would be like if they did an Elongated Man volume (which I would buy in a heartbeat) but put the pages of Justice League of America that he directly on!
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