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 wrapped up DC Finest: Birth of the Demon before I headed off on vacation, and it ends on a Wonder Woman guest appearance -- a three-parter, but undeniably a come-down from Etrigan's Kirby heyday. (I was happy to get some more pre-Crisis Wonder Woman, though!) It's possible that the reason why the Blackbriar Thorn DC Comics Presents appearance has been held till the next volume is that it's the start of an upswing for the Demon again -- a Kubert-drawn story, then appearances in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and a Matt Wagner miniseries -- that's some prestigious stuff! (More likely, it was held for page-count mapping reasons.)
Next up, I'll be reading DC Finest: Batman: A Death in the Family, which leads off with a Batman annual written by Mike Baron, where Bruce Wayne gets involved with a murder mystery dinner party. Plus the Cult, the death of Robin, and Wagner/Grant/Breyfogle continue to build the foundations of their run!
DC Finest: Western is still in the mix as well.
DC Finest: Batman: A Death in the Family features the older comic I've probably read the most in these last few years, Detective Comics Annual #1. It's the first part of a three part tryptych involving Batman, the Question, and Green Arrow, although it stands alone better than the other two chapters. In recent years, I've read it in the Question Omnibus, and then in the first DC Finest: Green Arrow volume. It's good stuff, although Denny O'Neil's depiction of the Penguin is a little jarring compared to the icy crime boss of today -- he's got two falcons (named Shoe and the Perfesser!) as his main themed accoutrements, instead of being more penguin- and arctic-focused. And he's really sadistic and murderous, enjoying the thought of sending women and children to their deaths. O'Neill writes him with a bit of a W.C. Fields lilt to his dialogue, too.
And meanwhile, the story hinges on Batman and Talia's unrequited love for each other. I miss that element, pretty much jettisoned with the ascendance of Catwoman.
A slight digression. I’ve spent some more money on Marvel’s Epic Collections. I had purposely stopped buying Spider-Man Masterworks after they covered Amazing Spider-Man 1-99 and the annuals of that time. I recently realized that the following Spider-Man Epic Collections cover ASM 105-185, and the annuals of that time :
Epic Volume 7, The Goblin's Last Stand
Epic Volume 8, Man-Wolf at Midnight
Epic Volume 9, Spider-Man Or Spider-Clone?
Epic Volume 10, Big Apple Battleground
Amazon was selling most of them for original price or half price. Volume 7 was a reprint. Volume 8 was approximately double the original price on eBay, reprinting being unlikely. They are all in mint condition and pricewise they average out.
I was also unhappy that the “Spider-Girl Complete Collection” volumes had stopped short of completion. I discovered that a seamless continuation was being covered by four Epic Collections, the first two of which I am expecting today, covering the end of her original run, Spider-Girl. The second run, Amazing Spider-Girl, is being covered by two volumes, one arriving next month and the last presumably following that.
I’m pretty happy with these. Like some of you, I don’t care for the Omnibus size books.
Nice! I've only got one Epic book right now, Daredevil: A Touch of Typhoid, which contains a chunk of Nocenti & Romita Jr's Daredevil run, something I missed when it was being published. I haven't dug too far into it, though, and need to get back to it soon!
FYI... I started a thread specifically to discuss MARVEL EPIC COLLECTIONS.
Thanks, Jeff!
I duplicated this post on the MARVEL EPIC COLLECTIONS thread..
Thanks, Richard.
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