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#401-414, Batman Annual #11, and Detective Comics #571- #568-581.
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
It -- and DC Finest: War -- showed up a day early! So for the first time, I've got SIX DCF volumes uncompleted here. It's a good thing I'm not planning to buy another one till February! (I'm only about 30 pages from the end of the Science Fiction volume... then I've got to put the hammer down on The Spectre and Horror, with maybe a little Batman here and there.)
I got the "War" one last week. My plan is to rotate through "War" and "Horror" and "Science Fiction" at the same time, but those are on hold for the time being because I don't want to over-extend myself while I'm in the midst of the "Batman Villains" discussions.
Not a bad plan. I might bounce between Horror & War too.
And yeah, you've got your work cut out for you with those Batman villains.
My copy of WAR was delayed because two other books that I ordered are out of stock.
It's my biggest gripe with InStockTrades that their listings do not say when they are out of a certain item.
That *is* really frustrating. I got hit with that once before.
Update: I should be getting WAR (minus the book, Jay Garrick: The Flash which is out of stock) next Tuesday or Wednesday, the same day GREEN LANTERN should be arriving!
Nice! I've read the first two stories in WAR so far, and one happy surprise is that the stories are written by a variety of people, not just Bob Kanigher! That'll allow me to go through it at a faster clip than one Kanigher story after another.
I wrapped up DC Finest: Science Fiction a couple days ago, and it had one last surprise at the end: an appearance of another recurring (if not exactly regular) character, scientific investigator Darwin Jones! He'd first appeared in Strange Adventures #1, and then issue 14... and issue 48, at the tail end of this book, was only his third appearance! He continued to appear sporadically throughout Strange Adventures' run, up through issue 160 -- and a reprinted story in issue 230.
I never knew much about him; probably my first encounter with him was as a character in DC Challenge from the 80s.
If there's a volume 2 that follows this one, it's possible we'll get to read his fourth appearance in Strange Adventures 58! Otherwise -- aside from one more Captain Comet appearance, Strange Adventures won't offer many more recurring characters for a while. Mystery In Space will continue with Interplanetary Insurance, Inc. for a few more issues, and also adds Space Cabbie to the lineup. From what I can tell, Tommy Tomorrow skips a couple issues of Action Comics, but then continues into 1959, so he should appear in the next few volumes. Also, in 1956, Tales of the Unexpected begins to be published, which was kind of a hodgepodge of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy stories. Some of those might be included in future volumes as well... and that's where Space Ranger eventually shows up, in issue 40, after some Showcase appearances. (Those 1958 Showcase issues -- #15 & #16 -- should be the first that qualify for inclusion in the Science Fiction line, assuming Challengers of the Unknown get their own title.)
You're really getting me excited about what's to come, Rob! I started SF the other other day, but haven't cracked War yet. Heck, I'm still wading through some old ones, like Aquaman. But I find I enjoy them more when I juggle them. As Bob pointed out elsewhere, they weren't written to be read one after the other.
Yep, it's not until the 80s that they really start being page-turners from issue to issue! That's why I'm enjoying some of the modern ones so much... I'm in a six-part Batman/Catwoman/Nocturna story now, as the red skies of Crisis loom! And the 80s Wonder Woman volume was a surprising treat! A real blast for as long as Dan Mishkin was writing it (although the last few issues go off the rails as Mindy Newell and then Gerry Conway come in to wrap everything up).
In the genres, Horror is fun too -- the freer 70s style is such a refreshing change from DC's mid-50s layouts!
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