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
The only one with stories I haven't read is Sgt. Rock, so naturally that's the one I'm most interested in. I have read his first appearance, and any others that have been reprinted in the last 50 years. But I imagine almost all of it will be new to me.
The DCF reprints Our Army at War #81-122. Sgt. Rock Archives (v1-3) reprints #81-125 (and v4 #126-137).
As I was going to bed last night I remembered the Archives. Which means I have read all these stories. Cuss it!
I checked, and I have the first three Sgt Rock archives, too... so I'll be on board for the next Rock volume, but will give this one a pass. (And will probably earmark that money for a different DCF title. There are certainly plenty to choose from!)
I've been reading the DC Finest: Batman: Red Skies volume, which has the first appearance of Film Freak. When I read these stories the first time, I didn't make the connection that he was named for Adam West and Burt Ward -- his name is Burt Weston. Given the low opinion a lot of comics fans had of the 60s TV show at the time, I'm not surprised Doug Moench decided to name a washed-up actor after them, though it strikes me as kind of a cruel tribute.
I like the team-up of Robin and Harvey Bullock, since Bullock has all the classic film knowledge. That said, those TCM-era clues all seemed kind of rudimentary to me. And the idea that Julia and Vicki wouldn't immediately know the name "Norman Bates" seems ludicrous... but pop culture changes, what's common knowledge to some people is minutia to others.
I was reading a few stories in DC Finest: Horror -- The Devil's Doorway last night, and wondered once again why these particular months were chosen for reprint. The only thing that jumps out at me is that House of Secrets #81-- the first issue of that title in the collection -- is the first "horror" issue after a long run of features like Eclipso and Prince Ra-Man. But that was a September issue, and the other titles in the DC Finest collection start in August. If House of Secrets #81 is the starting point, why not start all the titles in September?
But! I looked it up and found an anomaly. House of Secrets #79 is listed as July-August 1969. House of Secrets #80 is September-October. But House of Secrets #81 is listed as August-September. It leaped back a couple of months! So it could be considered an August book, along with House of Mystery #180, The Witching Hour #3 and The Unexpected #113, which are the other starting issues in the collection.
Addendum: I've read farther, including House of Secrets #81, and am more convinced that the collection is pegged to that issue. It features the introduction of the House of Secrets, locating it in rural Kentucky across a cemetery from the House of Mystery. So it's Abel's origin, kinda.
But that wasn't his first appearance. This collection begins in August 1969, but one month prior DC published DC Special #4, a reprint horror anthology. It featured a new framing sequence by Bill Draut that ran throughout the book, with the first appearance of Abel (if you don't count Picture Stories from the Bible), along with Cain, Cynthia, Mordred, Mildred, Judge Gallows and the Phantom Stranger (?) as hosts. Reprint or not, it seems a shame they didn't lead this book with DC Special #4 (not to be confused with DC Special Series #4, headlining The Unexpected), to keep Abel's two-part intro all in one place.
Do These Kids Today™ look on these kinds of stories as classics? Or as boring junk from "ancient" times?
My opinion? I don't think "These Kids Today™" look on these stories at all.
I would say that's generally true of those comic and comic-adjacent fans that I've met from Gen Kids TodayTM, but I've met a few who know older comics.
I tend to agree with Jeff here -- of all the DC Finests, I think the anthologies probably have the least appeal to younger readers. I could see certain readers being drawn in by some artists -- Toth, or Adams, or Kubert, or Heath -- but I think most younger readers (mid-30s and under) will gravitate toward the character books. Heck, pretty much ALL readers will gravitate toward the character books first. I like the anthologies, but it's the character histories that really draw me.
And I agree, Cap, that the history of the House of Secrets is probably why DC started where they did.
I should probably add that I hope the anthologies jump around a bit in time, jumping a few volumes ahead or behind of the last one to give us the slightly different flavors that time brings. That said, repurposing material already collected for omnibuses is part of what makes these books cost-effective, so we're probably more likely to see some dovetailing.
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