Popverse's top stories of the day

• Milhouse lives! What will happen to The Simpsons after voice actor Pamela Hayden's retirement?
• Watch the official Dragon Ball DAIMA panel from NYCC 2024!
• Before Doctor Doom takes over the MCU, he's taking over Marvel Comics with 2025's One World Under Doom

This fall, DC will release the first three books in a new initiative designed to give casual readers the best of their biggest superheroes in a cheap, easy-to-access format, with Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman up first. But what else should we expect from a line titled DC Finest?

Originally announced just months after the reveal of DC Compact Comics, a new line of evergreen collected editions, this additional line of evergreen collections will be built on editions collecting material by character, era, or genre, offering affordable — each book will be priced $34.99 for at least 20 comic books' worth of material — and extensive collections of material that act as introductions to their particular subject. The first three releases according to the publisher will be:

DC FINEST: WONDER WOMAN: ORIGINS & OMENS
Written by GAIL SIMONE, MARK WAID, and MARC ANDREYKO
Art by TERRY DODSON, RACHEL DODSON, BERNARD CHANG, and others
Cover by TERRY DODSON and RACHEL DODSON
$39.99 US | 584 pages | 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-834-6
ON SALE 10/8/24
On Themyscira, she is known as Diana, but to the rest of the world, she is called Wonder Woman due to her strength, bravery, and courage! In her first DC Finest collection, we land in the beginning of acclaimed writer Gail Simone’s (Birds of Prey) fan-favorite era that delved heavily into the history and mythology of the Amazons. These stories, including “The Circle,” “Ends of the Earth,” and “Rise of the Olympian,” saw Diana facing classic foes like Captain Nazi, literary monsters such as Grendel, and, of course, her longtime nemesis Ares. Each DC Finest volume is the perfect starting point to get acquainted with a character and jump into tales that have contributed to their rich histories! 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
Written by JERRY SIEGEL
Art by JOE SHUSTER, WAYNE BORING, PAUL CASSIDY, and others
Cover by JOE SHUSTER
$39.99 US | 584 pages | 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-754-7
ON SALE 11/5/24
Journey back to the Golden Age of comics, when the world was introduced to the very first superhero: Superman, champion of the oppressed, who has sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need! This inaugural volume showcases Superman’s origin tale in Action Comics #1 and his first self-titled series from 1939 in a new format that is meant to be accessible to new and longtime fans who have yearned to collect Superman’s complete adventures. Learn how Superman’s early superpowers worked and witness his burgeoning relationship with star reporter Lois Lane. 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
Written by FRANK MILLER, MIKE W. BARR, MAX ALLAN COLLINS, and others
Art by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, TODD McFARLANE, DAVE COCKRUM, and others
Cover by DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI
$39.99 US | 592 pages | 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" | Softcover | ISBN: 978-1-77952-835-3
ON SALE 11/5/24
Begin your DC Finest: Batman collection with what is regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in comics: “Year One.” We all know the story of how young Bruce Wayne lost his parents. Now witness his early years, before he befriended an honest cop named James Gordon, as Bruce trains to become a dark guardian of justice. And in “Year Two,” Batman meets the Reaper, a villain so vile he made the Dark Knight rethink his stance on firearms. Collects Batman #404-414, Batman Annual #11, and Detective Comics #571-581.

Additionally, the following titles were part of the initial announcement, and will assumably be released in subsequent months:

• DC Finest – The Flash: The Human Thunderbolt: Collects classic adventures of Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, including 1956’s iconic Showcase #4. Also includes Silver Age Flash stories that include the first appearances of famous Flash rogues, including Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and Gorilla Grodd.
 
• DC Finest – Catwoman: Life Lines: Selina Kyle steps out of Batman’s shadow and becomes a protagonist in her own right in this collection featuring Catwoman’s 1989 solo debut by Mindy Newell and J.J. Birch, Peter Milligan and Tom Grindberg’s Catwoman Defiant from 1992, and the first year of DC’s Catwoman ongoing series, by writer Jo Duffy and artist Jim Balent.

Taken in combination with the Compact Comics line, it appears that DC is looking to offer as many entry points for new and lapsed readers into its vast back catalog as possible across the next few months, as the company prepares to relaunch its cinematic slate and, not coincidentally, celebrate its 90th anniversary. (DC initially launched all the way back in 1935.)

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.