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
I just finished War, and I have to thank Rob for how much I enjoyed the last third.
Prior to his comments here, my initial enthusiasm had been flagging witht the relentlous repetition and preposterous premises. Not only "how many different ways can a soldier go underwater in a single patrol" but the time-and-again of a single soldier facing a series of escalating threats, no two alike, and beating them all with magic hand grenades. (Do you have machine-gun nests in your house? Stukas in the backyard? Tanks in the attic? Get "Magic Hand Grenade!"! Guaranteed two wipe them out or your money back! No muss! No fuss! And no blood for the busy soldier to clean up!) But then this:
There's another thing I noticed: There's really no suspense in these books at all. These are men -- usually lone men, somehow -- in life-and-death circumstances in which no one but the enemy ever dies. (And we don't even see that -- just, usually, an enemy helmet falling into the panel!) The comics code was at the height of its power, and it neutered the actual stakes of war. Looked at that way, with those restrictions, and it's easier to appreciate Robert Kanigher's work. He figured out how to sell war stories -- tons of them! -- where the stakes are not survival, but "how can this same soldier be saved by a mirror three times in his career?" or "How many ways can I make an infantryman go under water to fight the enemy?" As formulaic as these stories are -- and boy howdy, are they! -- they also represent an exceedingly clever solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. These aren't war stories, so much as puzzle stories written to resemble war stories.
This gave me a different slant on the stories, a new perspective that increased my enjoyment. Thatnks for that, Rob!
Super Friends, on the other hand, is pure joy.
I can't remember if I got this one -- probably not, as I have read the entirety of the first couple of Super Friends series, and have some or all in various collections already. But all the comments here make me really eager to read them again. They were fun, they were wel-written and well-drawn (Ramona Fradon!) and yes, they were chockablock with Easter eggs. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed to like Super Friends, given the TV show's village-idiot level of writing, but then I remember I'm a grown-up and can enjoy what I like.
Sure thing, Cap! I have to admit, when I wrote that paragraph about the war stories, I felt like I'd finally cracked some kind of code.
We've got a new one! From the Penguin Random House website:
On sale Aug 04, 2026 | 624 Pages
Across the multiverse, worlds live or die on the Justice League’s next move. From the Nazi-ruled Earth-X to the metafictional Earth-Prime, these landmark adventures showcase the super-team at their most iconic. This DC Finest volume celebrates the definitive Bronze Age era of Justice League of America, headlined by writer Len Wein and artist Dick Dillin.
In this volume, members of the JLA and JSA from Earth-2 are unexpectedly transported to Earth-X, where they must help that world’s heroes defeat a Nazi regime that won World War II. But it’s not all danger and doom, for amidst the chaos, the JLA finds time to save Christmas and attend an intergalactic wedding!
Collects Justice League of America #103-132.
That's the only new DC Finest book I've seen so far, and it will probably take us through tomorrow's solicitations, so it's possible we won't get any more until sometime next month. But I'll keep my eyes peeled!
In the meantime, I'll add this book to the timeline on p41 of this thread, but I won't copy the timeline and repost it again until we see more new titles to add to it.
As I have said several times before, Justice League of America #103 was the very first comic book I ever read so this era of JLA is near and dear to my heart. More importantly save for the JLA/JSA teamups, most of these issues have seldom been reprinted, especially in the trade paperback format.
There's a solid chance this will be the first JLA finest I pick up...though I took a look at the first one they released (issue numbers in the 50s through 70s) and that actually looked more attractive than I originally thought (i.e., I don't have those issues in Archives after all!).
This JLA book appears in the June solicitations, so from what I can tell, every DC Finest book we know about (aside from the canceled Superman one) has been solicited at this point. So unless the line is ending or drastically slowing down (both doubtful), we'll know about some more books to look forward to by this time next month, if not sooner.
Why not include issues 100-102 in the JLA volume, the JLA/JSA search for the Seven Soldiers of Victory? Those three are also written by Len Wein.
Issue 132 ends with Supergirl's guest appearance and the start of the missing members hunt, which concludes in issue 134 before the JLA//JSA Earth Shazam team up begins in 135.
It probably has less to do with this volume, and more to do with the map of the series as a whole, and trying to keep each book at roughly similar page counts. The volume just before this will go from 73 to 102 -- so, 30 issues, same as this one.
So, serious question to all of you getting the JLA book: Did you not get the omnibuses when they came out? DC has issued three Bronze Age JLA edtions, completing the series through Jusice League of America #181. I got those, even though I already had the originals (I'm missing one issue of the original run of Justice League of America -- #1 or #3, I don't remember). And, of course, all the JLA/JSA crossovers have been collected in various formats before.
I ask, because I'm genuinely curious if you're getting these stories again in a more readable form. Or if you skipped the omnibuses, waiting for a softover. Or if you'e never read these stories before. IOW, is the format, or the content, that you want?
I don't need this particular DC Finest, but I would be very eager for collections that pick up after the omnibuses end.
I don't like the omnibus format. It's too bulky, hard to casually read and way too expensive. And many series just don't demand the format. It always feels like a cash grab. Many Golden, Silver and Bronze Age books are "trapped" in omnibuses.
I only own ONE omnibus: the first WHO'S WHO volume because it fits the larger space. And I'm still upset that it didn't include the Legion series, flawed as that was!
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