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
Hey everyone! There's a big poll up at Near Mint Condition that is asking which DC Finest books you want to see next. You can choose 8 extensions to existing lines, and 5 new lines. It's a pretty exhaustive -- one might even say unweildy! -- list, but it's a lot of fun to scroll through. I'm going to give it a bit more thought, but I'll tell you which ones I voted for once I settle on my list.
It's a pretty exhaustive -- one might even say unweildy! -- list...
I'll say!
There is also a sections for comments and write-ins. Like you, I'm going to have to give this some thought.
[See also "What Should Be Collected Next?"]
Poll closes Wednesday June 10 at 9 pm US 10.
Thanks for alerting us to this. I already submitted my choices:
1 Flash Bronze Age
2 Superboy Silver Age
3 Superman Silver Age
4 Sandman Wesley Dodds
5 Hawkman Silver Age
6 Supergirl Silver Age
OK, here are my choices.
First, the existing lines. In order from 1-8:
For new lines, I chose
For a write-in, I suggested Arion. It was hard to find a book that hadn't been mentioned!
I'm kicking myself that I left Omega Men off of my new lines choices. I'd probably replace Books of Magic with Omega Men.
First thing I did was to jot down the ones that appealed to me (12 extensions, 7 new), then I chose my 8 and 5 from those. I avoided ones I'd prefer to see in omnibus format, and tried to pick ones I thought others would be less likely to choose. I'm already starting to second-guess myself, but here are the ones I submittted.
Extentions:
New:
Write-Ins:
The latest solictitations:
This is one of my favorite eras of Green Lantern, and I already have the three "Sector 2814" tpbs which lead directly into it, so I'll be buying this one. My only quibble is that it doesn't go through #224, the last issue of the series.
I've decided to give a pass to the second "Horror" volume, though. I already have most of it reprinted in two House of Secrets omnibuses and three House of Mystery ones. That was the case with the first volume as well, but I decided to buy it anyway just because of the eleven Witching Hours and Unexpecteds mixed in. the second volume includes eleven of those series' issues as well, but although $40 is a good price for eleven comics (in today's market, at today's prices), I'm content to leave my DCF "Horror" representation at a single volume.
NOTE: I had already pre-ordered the second "War" volume (before I read the first), and now I kind of wish I hadn't. I'm content to have a single volume representing the post-Code "war" genre, but two is unnecessary. I'll have more to say about the first when I've finished reading it, but it's a slow-go.
The second War book is a focus on Sgt Rock, correct? Maybe that'll be something of a different experience. I've got those in the Archives, so I'm holding off.
I think I'll be picking up both the Green Lantern Corps book and the Horror volume. I don't have any dupication among my collected editions, though I have those old GLC issues. Would the follow-up volume go back to following Hal? Would it start with the Action Comics Weekly serial? After that, I imagine it'd be his subsequent solo series, which I suspect won't be reprinted for a while due to its writer. I wonder when/if DC will bite the bullet on those, considering reprinting around them leaves out a big chunck of Green Lantern and Justice League history.
New Guardians! I'd never considered putting them in with Green Lantern, but if we're mixing them into something, I guess that's where they'd go. I reread them (or mostly just read them for the first time) a couple years ago, and have no desire to own a collection of them.
But still, that would be a book that reeks of stalling, trying to avoid getting to the Jones stories.
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