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 four-volume Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus series as well as the single-volume Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus are both presented in shipping order, but Cap's right: experiencing them in that order does not enhance the reading experience. My preferred order begins...
Then, Forever People #3 begins a five-part story. (Note also that Jimmy Olsen #133-134 is a two-parter, the "Wild Area.") Jimmy Olsen #135-138 is the "DNA Project" storyline, and so on. Back on the old board I went through the entire "Fourth World" saga and determined what I consider to be the optimum reading order, but they've never been published in that order and never will be.
As published, the "Fourth World" is Jimmy Olsen top heavy, and New Gods #1 comes between Forever People #1 and Mister Miracle #1. Also, there's this big "reveal" of Desaad in New Gods #2 (in which he removes the mask he had been wearing). Obviously Kirby had intended that to be readers' first look at Desaad but, as published, it occurs after this "first" appearance in Forever People #2. Just try reading those first four issues in my suggested order and see if you don't agree it "reads" better than as published.
I also agree that the inclusion of the periferal Lois Lane stories is more of a distraction than an enhancement.
I was thinking continuity order for the Fourth World, as Jeff pointed out with the multi-issue stories.
But just what is the "optimum reading order"?
Although I tweak it from time-to-time (as I did slightly since yesteday), mine would be...
I'm pretty satisfied with these bulleted "blocks," although I may re-arrange them as the mood strikes.
*These are the two "historical flashback" issues. I like to place them together here, after the five-part FP storyline.
**You may have noticed I didn't include JO 139-141 (Goody Rickles), 142-143 (Transilvane) and 144-146 (Loch Trevor) as I don't consider them true "Fourth World" stories. I would have eliminated 148 (Victor Volcanum), but it's too closely tied to 147 (Supertown), which is essential.
I have finished the "Horror" book, which was decent fun. As noted, I had read the House of Mystery and House of Secrets stories before, in their respective omnibuses and Showcase Presents. Heck, I may have read some in their original monthly form -- I'm not sure when I started buying HoM and HoS regularly. Not that it matters, because I forget them as soon as I read them, so they're always kinda new. And the others, like Witching Hour and Unexpected, really are new (to me).
I was switching back and forth among the DC Finest (sometimes reading the same sort of thing over and over can be tiresome), but I decided to finish "Horror" and I did. I mean to do the same with "War" but it's slower going, because it's more repetitive than most. (I have already gotten through the story about the guy who's jealous of his own arm, and whew. Kanigher could stretch any old idea to six pages, couldn't he? That isn't to say they were good stories!)
I've jumped back into "Superboy," which, let's face it, was written for kids. No wonder the Boy of Steel is pre-adolescent. (Or mid-adolescent.) I'm still trying to figure out why these particular issues were reprinted. There doesn't seem to be a trigger of any kind -- no first issue, no editorial change, no format change. Anybody know? I mean to plow through this one, too, as fast as my tired eyes will allow. It's less repetitive than the War book, can be inventive and has some genuinely charming stories. There's way too many stories about Clark protecting his secret identity (primarily from Lana), but it is what it is.
Meanwhile, I still haven't finished "Aquaman." They're not quite as charming as "Superboy" but I'll get there!
I'm nearing the end of the War book, just as two more volumes (Green Arrow and Superman Family) are heading my way through the mail.
The war books, as you say, are pretty repetetive. I enjoy them mostly for the art (check out the face Kubert draws on the machine gunner on the splash page of "The Silent Gun" -- so implacable and unperturbed he could be played by Robert Mitchum.). But every now and then, Kanigher hits with one of his formulaic stories. One of my favorites is "The Long Walk to Wonsan,' from GI Combat #46, by Kanigher and Ross Andru. Like many of the stories around it, it starts with a simple theme -- in this case, an infantryman who feels like he hasn't done much walking -- and then presents three combat obstacles to overcome. But because, in this case, they all happen over the course of this GI's walk to the town of Wonsan before the troop carriers can land there, we've got a more compressed timeline than usual. (Sometimes these stories happen over a GI's entire career, or even across wars, as a tree on the battlefield saves one soldier's life after another.) As he takes what he thinks is a short walk, he's at first pinned down by a sniper. After he bests the sniper, he encounters a tank. After that, a mortar crew on a hill has him in their sights. And each time, as he realizes he's in more and more danger, the walk gets longer and longer... It's every bit as formulaic as some of the other stories, and yet its one of those occasions where the formula sings, At least, it did for me.
Then, of course, a few stories later, we get a soldier who takes it personally whenever anyone gestures with their thumb. Pure silliness, only redeemed by a stylish splash page.
I actually found Aquaman more charming than Superboy -- a combination of Ramona Fradon's art and the silly fish stunts -- though when Aquaman got his own title and the stories moved to full-lengthers, they lost a bit of their luster for me, even though I also enjoy Nick Cardy's art. I much prefer Aquaman lassoing gangsters with a rope of eels to him being bedeviled by undersea monsters! Which is something I didn't expect at all.
They didn't happen at ComicsPro, but if DC is continuing the Finest line (and I've heard no rumors that they're not), we should be getting some new titles announced soon. So here's some speculation on ten books that might be forthcoming.
In the ten (as I played with this in my mind), I decided I'd definitely include a new book for each of the Trinity. I'd also include two new lines. Plus I'd continue two teams, and three solo books. Here's what I came up with. These aren't necessarily titles I'm looking for -- it's just my brain exploring some possibilities.
1) Superman: We've got a number of different timelines for Superman active -- 40s, 70s, and 90s -- but I'm guessing we'll see a 4th branch open, and get some Silver Age Superman soon.
2) Batman: Batman's already had a lot of success in the mid- to late 80s, and I'm sure A Lonely Place of Dying is just around the corner. But we're already getting two of those books pretty much back to back, with Death in the Family and Blind Justice. I think a second Golden Age volume could be coming up the pipeline.
3) Wonder Woman: We've got three branches of the Wonder Woman line -- Golden Age, 80s, and 2000s (almost immediately before Flashpoint). I'm going to go with wishful thinking and hope DC puts out another 80s volume, giving us the Thomas/Colan run, as well as the beginning of the Mishkin run.
4) Legion: A new Legion series is coming up, so why not follow up Zap Goes the Legion with the volume immediately after it?
5) Teen Titans: Likewise, following up The Judas Contract with a new book (that would include the Tales of the Teen Titans comics that ran concurrently with the Baxter series) seems like a good plan.
6) Batgirl: The first Batgirl volume did well enough to get a second printing, so I'm guessing a second volume following it up would be a good plan. And never bet against a Bat-spinoff.
7) Plastic Man: A second GA Plas title seems a good bet -- there's still a bunch of material already prepared for the Archives.
8) Blue Beetle: Collecting Ted Kord's first DC series in the mid-80s. This one seems like my biggest reach.
9) Birds of Prey: The first of my two new lines. I'd start with the Simone/Benes run, which would likely be the third collection.
10) Firestorm: Like the Legion, there's a new comic out there. I'd start at the beginning here, with Firestorm's first comic in the 70s, then his run of backup stories and team-ups (and perhaps his induction into the JLA), and then the first year of Fury of Firestorm.
I'm ignoring the Events line -- we're all but guaranteed to see two more volumes of Crisis on Infinite Earths on their way -- and I think the anthologies might be a little too fresh to follow up just yet, as they haven't seen the numbers on Westerns yet.
Assuming new book announcements are closing in, what do you think might appear?
I would like to see a true science fiction volume, without focusing on an obvious trope like apes.
And if they're reviving Jonah Hex again, why not collect all his western tales from the beginning?
Lee, I don't know if you've looked at the existing SF volume, but despite the title, it doesn't focus on apes at all. There are a couple, maybe three, stories with an ape in them; they just took the volume's title from one of those stories. But the book itself is OVERWHELMINGLY non-ape material.
Isn't SF like the war and horror, several months' worth of titles from the same genre? I have to ask, because Lee's post made me realize that I haven't read it -- or even seen it lately. It must be in one of the Towers of Shame in the bedroom. I'll have to fish it out and read it with the others!
Yep, it's Mystery In Space and Strange Adventures, with the Tommy Tomorrow stories from Action Comics as an added bonus. If the series goes forward, I imagine Tales of the Unexpected will probably enter the mix in 1956.
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