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
Captain Comics said:
I wound up getting the complete Nightshade from Gwandanaland.
Are they still in business? I was curious what would constitute the complete Nightshade, but was unable to find it via Google. I found a current Facebook page for Gwandanaland, but that's all.
It consists of the Captain Atom stories in which she appears (already in the Action Heroes #2 hardcover) plus her unreprinted backup stories. I bought it a few years ago.
I think Jeff is more familiar with Gwandanaland. I haven’t bought directly from the company, which I’m pretty sure is still in business. I only have the Nightshade and Sarge Steel books. Amazon has a ton of their stuff (from today):
Amazon.com : gwandanaland comics
If Amazon has given them the boot, they still have a lot listed for sale. Maybe they are being careful be be sure a particular title is truly in public domain.
The furthest-out DC Finest volumes have started to appear on the Penguin Random House website.
It looks like plans have shifted (or were initially posted incorectly) for two of the upcoming Superman books. Superman: Time and Time Again (Triangle era) will now be out on February 17, and Superman: The Last Days of Superman (1950s) will now be out on May 26. The books have essentially changed places on the schedule.
I've gotten a little farther into the Wonder Woman volume, while dipping into Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore and the Blue Beetle and Science Fiction volumes.
First up, Wonder Woman: Just as Crisis is about to hit, Dan Mishkin leaves the book; Mindy Newell takes over the writing credits for a story, a bit of a cluttered mess set in the fictional South American country of Tropidor (it had previously appeared in Mishkin's run; I don't remember ever seeing it post-Crisis, when the fictional country hot spots all seemed to be in Europe and the Middle East). Also -- it looks like Themiscyra gets used as the name of Paradise Island in one caption, unless I'm misinterpreting it. Gerry Conway will write the final issue of the WW series, but I haven't read that yet. I think I had a bad impression of Mishkin's run because I had barely read it -- and some of the issues I'd had read were Newell's, who likely had to cram too much into her issues just to wrap things up for the finale.
Of the Superman book, it's interesting that some World of Krypton short stories were left out; I suspect they're being saved for a WoK volume that may or may not happen (but ain't a bad idea!). They also juggle the order of the backups that *are* there, allowing a two-parter in Action to play out before showing the Superman backup adventures from both issues.
I've just read one story of the Blue Beetle book so far, and I'm already regretting buying it; I have a feeling it's going to be a slog. Hopefully I get in the spirit soon.
As for Science Fiction, I've just read one Captain Comet story, written by John Broome and drawn by Murphy Anderson. In it, we see several things that will be reimagined later in the DCU:
1) Captain Comet participates in an interplanetary chess game, much like the JLA does in Justice League of America #1.
2) The cover, drawn by Murphy Anderson, shows Flash playing chess with Despero -- who looks just like an alien Anderson draws in the Captain Comet story, except red instead of green.
3) Captain Comet is sent to the chess match by the Guardians of the Universe. They don't look like Broome's Oan Guardians, but they seem to operate the same way, sending out agents to do good.
4) The Guardian Captain Comet talks to is named Nestro ... whereas Broome will later create Sinestro as a villain for GL, just by adding one syllable!
That's a lot of precursors in a 6-page story!
At first, I wasn't planning on getting the BATMAN: RED SKIES volume then I thought about the InStockTrades discount and decided "Why Not?"
Now, seeing what's actually in it, I'm excited to get it!
I've just read one story of the Blue Beetle book so far, and I'm already regretting buying it; I have a feeling it's going to be a slog. Hopefully I get in the spirit soon.
I'm currently reading the Blue Beetle volume and am enjoying the hell out of it. (It helps, I think, that the last thing I read before starting it was "The Kindly Ones" and I was looking for something completely different in all respects. On that count, I succeeded.) At first I thought I might post some thoughts about it here, but I think I will have enough to say to maintain a (short) discussion. I hope to get that started tomorrow.
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