Every time I get a new DC Finest volume, I think of DC’s similar series, Showcase Presents, published from 2005 through 2016. I wonder if the “build” of a DC Finest book was inspired by a similar volume of that earlier series, if someone, somewhere at DC is taking note of those 120+ volumes of the previous series and using it as a map for the new series …
But before we discuss that, let’s have a little “collected editions” history lesson …
The Marvel Masterworks series first volumes, including a look at the volume number (circled) on the first Fantastic Four book, and one of the later redesigns that caused heart attacks for long-time collectors.
When it comes to chronological, deluxe (and not-so-deluxe, as we shall soon see) reprintings of classic comic book titles, Marvel has always led the way. They started the ball rolling with their Marvel Masterworks series, debuting in 1987 with the first volumes of Amazing Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Avengers, and X-Men. Each volume reprinted the first 10 issues of each series in a deluxe hardbound book. As the series reprints progressed, other important issues were included chronologically, like the Annuals. In my humble opinion, Marvel did collectors a disservice by sequentially numbering all the volumes: The first Spider-Man book was volume 1, followed by the first FF as vol. 2, etc., thus preying on us OCD-addled fans who HAD. TO. HAVE. THEM. ALL. They cost $29.95 when they debuted, pricey for its time. The series had numerous redesigns, too, which angered fans who had been collecting the books since the beginning, causing Marvel to issue a variant edition with a dustjacket that looked like the original design (and for a higher price, of course). The latest volumes are priced at $75.00, but sadly, Marvel has announced they’re putting the series on hiatus (or cancelling it outright, depending on who you read on the internet), after more than 375 volumes. They had reprinted some of the series in trade paperback form, and recently started a remastered Masterworks series, which acknowledged one of the biggest faults of the original series: The reproduction of the material was sometimes lousy. (Marvel has licensed their reprints out to so many different companies these days—Taschen, Folio Society, Penguin—that high-end, deluxe format books are saturating the market.) Marvel also did smaller format, less expensive price-point reprints, called “Mighty Marvel Masterworks,” retailing for $15.95, but sadly, they discontinued that series earlier this year.
The three looks for the Essential series, including the god-awful first printings (far left).
In 1996, Marvel launched the Essential Marvel line, which consisted of black and white reprints on coarse, newprint-like paper. Each volume included over 20 issues, with anywhere from 500-650 pages per book. The intent was to offer cheap, complete reprints, and most volumes were priced at $16.99-$19.99. They were nicknamed “phone books” at the time they came out, due to their thickness and paper stock, a reference that is totally lost in this day and age. Marvel changed the cover design of these books three separate times, causing much consternation among collectors, especially since they reprinted the original volumes with the new cover designs (COLLECT ‘EM ALL, KIDS … MULTIPLE TIMES!). The original design was one of the ugliest I’ve ever seen on a book, and even new cover art by artists like Bruce Timm, couldn’t save it.
In 2013, Marvel stopped publishing the Essentials (there were 176 volumes) and started the Epic Collection line, which reprinted 18-20 issues of a series, plus annuals and other related issues, in color on slick, bright-white paper, with a page-count in the 500+ range. Priced originally at $29.95, the current price per volume is anywhere from $49.95 to $54.99, almost doubling the cost in a dozen years.
Twenty years ago, Marvel started their Omnibus line, which offered huge, back-breaking (for us readers) and occasionally spine-breaking (for the books themselves) compilations of reprints. I personally won’t even consider buying an Omnibus—from either Marvel or DC—if it’s over 800-900 pages. It’s just too heavy to sit and read comfortably.
Just three volumes of DC Archive Editions. In addition to the DCU books, they also published the ElfQuest Archives and 26 volumes of Will Eisner’s The Spirit Archives, among others, collecting the entire run of Sunday newspaper supplements for the very first time.
DC has pretty much always played catch-up with Marvel on these reprint formats, and they undoubtedly learned from Marvel going first. They started the DC Archive Editions line in 1989, employing a similar format to Marvel Masterworks, however DC opted out of numbering the series like Marvel did, instead numbering each volume according to the series it collected. (For example, there were 12 volumes of the All Star Comics series, numbered 0 through 11). The DC Archives Editions were priced at $39.95 originally and then $49.95. The series ended in 2013 when DC started their own Omnibus editions, at a much-higher price-point. There were 168 volumes titled DC Archive Editions.
DC started their Showcase Presents line in 2005. It was their version of the black and white, newsprint Essential Marvel format, and it lasted until 2016, with over 120 volumes published. The difference between the Showcase Presents line and the Archive Editions (besides black and white vs color and different paper stock) is that Showcase reprinted only Silver Age and up titles, while the Archives included the Golden Age, and series outside of DC, like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Price-points for the Showcase books ranged from $9.99 to $19.99, depending on page-count and when the book was published.
DC started their own Omnibus line in 2007 and separated some of their volumes into ages: Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age. I think DC publishes more sensible Omnibus editions, usually with smaller, more manageable page-counts, although their recent Superman Triangle Era Omnibus volumes weigh in at 1384 pages for Volume One and 1456 for Volume Two. Another problem with the Omnibus format is its price: Most cost at least $100, with some at topping out at $150.
And that brings us to DC Finest, their answer to Marvel’s Epic Collections, albeit ten years later. Started in late 2024, I think DC is doing a better job with this line than Marvel does with the Epics. DC has a consistant price point (so far) at $39.95, larger volumes (Superman Family weighs in at 640 pages), better reproduction, and the lack of volume numbers, thus sparing me—and similar collections—from having to buy them all for completist’s sake.
I love this line. And while it has a number of similarities with its predecessor, Showcase Presents, I will admit to hating both that one and Essential Marvel when they first came out, if only for the simple reason that they were in black and white.
But now—20 years later—it’s for that very reason that I love Showcase Presents. Over the years, DC has taken much better care of the material they’ve used to print their comics. Because of this, DC has access to stories from across its history, from the Golden Age until now. For the most part, Timely/Atlas/Marvel didn’t care to keep negatives and high-quality stats; It’s one of the reasons why Fantagraphics’ Atlas Library of Comics is resorting to scanned pages from actual comics and retouching/restoring them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re doing a great job … but these reprints would look much better if they were reproduced from actual stats and recolored, matching the original publications.
Showcase Presents fascinates me now on two levels: The incredibly esoteric collections it published and the fact that some of the pages reproduced in these volumes are as close to original art as they can be. I recently got both Sea Devils Volume 1 and The Losers Volume 1; see below for more info on each.
The Showcase Presents volumes are getting increasingly hard to find. They tend to be pricey on Ebay (I felt lucky to get Sea Devils Volume 1 for under $30, plus postage and tax). I found The Losers at a local used bookstore in San Diego for $24. And my biggest find was a box full of Showcase Presents volumes at Comic-Con last year, marked at half cover price. I picked up the Eclipso volume, which reprints all the House of Secrets stories, for five bucks!
I tend to go to the more esoteric Showcase Presents volumes; here’s what I currently have, chosen mostly based on price and artists who look great in black and white.
Bat Lash is a slim 240-page volume that reprints Showcase 76, Bat Lash 1 through 7, plus other later stories. Once again, the art in this—by the great Nick Cardy—looks spectacular in black and white.
Dial H for Hero is a complete reprinting of all the House of Mystery stories from issues 156-173, drawn by Jim Mooney. If you want to see DC at it’s 1960s wonkiest, this is the book for you.
Eclipso is the complete run of the character’s solo series from the House of Secrets title. Early issues include art by Lee Elias and Alex Toth, two more artists that look great in black and white.
Enemy Ace by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert … Kubert’s art is another one that lends itself to black and white printing, and this is one of his most spectacularly-illustrated war series. It reprints the original Our Army at War, Showcase, and Star-Spangled War Stories issues.
The Losers is another case of pages that are of almost original art quality. With covers by Joe Kubert, this volume (the only one, unfortunately; it stops before the Jack Kirby stories begin) also features Heath, but is drawn primarlly by John Severin, another artist who had a detailed style that lends itself to black and white reproduction.
Sea Devils contains the first 16 issues of that title, plus its three Showcase appearances and the majority of the art is by the great Russ Heath. And even with the crappy paper the Showcase Presents volumes are printed on, the art is sharp and crisp. Heath went in for a lot of cross-hatching and lines in his art for shading, and he was a master at it. And for the most part, it’s all there on the printed page in this volume.
Showcase Presents … um, Showcase reprints the original Showcase issues 1-21, which include the first Silver Age Flash stories, Jack Kirby’s earliest Challengers of the Unknown appearances, the first Lois Lane try-out issues, Space Ranger, and Adam Strange. There was an Essential Showcase color volume in 1992 that reprinted some of the early Showcase run, 1954-1959, but it wasn’t as complete as this one, which also includes the complete first three issues of the title.
The War That Time Forgot features the wonky dinosaurs vs soldiers stories from Star-Spangled War Stories issues 90-128, written by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.
And I also just nabbed the rare Young Love volume of Showcase Presents … no cover yet.
(For you completists out there, here’s a link to Wikipedia’s list of Showcase Presents volumes, including publication dates and contents.)
But I haven’t answered my original question: Is DC using the Showcase Presents volumes as a road map for it’s new DC Finest collections? Well, let’s compare a few recent DC Finest volumes against their Showcase Presents predecessors.
Showcase Presents Metamorpho Vol. 1 was published in October 2005. I’m curious about this one because it would contain black and white reprints of Ramona Fradon’s great art. It reprinted The Brave and the Bold 57 and 58, plus the character’s team-ups in issues 66 (with the Metal Men) and 68 (with Batman, at the height of Batmania); Metamorpho 1-17 (the complete Silver Age run); and Justice League of America 42. It was 560 pages long.
The new DC Finest Metamorpho the Element Man, published in June 2025 included The Brave and the Bold 57 and 58, 66, 68, 88 (I think this is a mistake; that’s a Batman/Wildcat team-up), and 101 (with Batman); Metamorpho 1-17; and Justice League of America 42. So basically the same line-up, and as you can see the same cover art!
Let’s look at another: the upcoming DC Finest volume featuring The Spectre, one I’m particularly looking forward to, with art by Murphy Anderson, Neal Adams, and Jim Aparo. The Showcase Presents Volume 1, published in 2012, included: Showcase 60, 61, and 64; The Spectre 1 through 10; The Brave and the Bold issues 72, 75, 116, 180, and 199; Adventure Comics 431-440; DC Comics Presents 29; and Ghosts 97-99.
The DC Finest volume titled The Spectre: The Wrath of the Spectre, and due in September, features Showcase 60, 61, and 64; The Spectre 1 through 10; The Brave and the Bold issue 72, Adventure Comics 431-440, All Star Squadron 27 and 28, Ghosts 97-99, and Wrath of the Spectre 4. So it’s missing four Brave and the Bold issues, plus the DC Comics Presents 29, but its added some issues. The covers are different though, with the Showcase Presents one going with a recolored Jim Aparo cover from Adventure Comics 439, while the DC Finest volume has a cover by Murphy Anderson from The Spectre number 1.
And since I like to do things in three, let’s do one more: the upcoming DC Finest: Hawkman Wings Across Time volume and the first (of two) Showcase Presents Hawkman volumes. Showcase Presents Hawkman was published in March 2007 at 560 pages and featured The Brave and the Bold 34-36, 42-44, and 51 (the latter being a team-up with Aquaman); Mystery in Space 87-90; Hawkman 1-11; and The Atom issue 7. The cover is by Joe Kubert, recolored from The Brave and the Bold issue 43.
The upcoming DC Finest Hawkman volume—due August 2025—is also 560 pages and contains The Brave and the Bold 34-36, 42-44; Mystery in Space 87-90; Hawkman 1-16 (five more issues!); and The Atom 7. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that Brave and the Bold 51 sneak in there, too; DC’s descriptions of these books often change from when they’re announced to when they’re actually published, and these are chronological collections. The cover art is also by Joe Kubert, from The Brave and the Bold 35.
My meager collections of both DC Finest and Showcase Presents so far.
My collections of both Showcase Presents and DC Finest are kind of tiny so far, as you can see from the photos above, but large enough to each have a dedicated shelf. I’ve been concentrating on Superman and Batman in the DC Finest line, but there are a number of volumes coming up—including The Spectre, Hawkman, and one simply called “War,” the latter of which deviates greatly from Showcase Presents reprints by combining numerous series under one umbrella title instead of individual series reprints. I’ve already pre-ordered these three thanks to a generous birthday present gift card from a dear friend, and I got Superman: Kryptonite Nevermore and Batman: The Killing Joke also from friends as additional birthday gifts.
So there you have it. I think it’s safe to say that the Showcase Presents volumes do indeed provide a kind of road map for the new DC Finest line, with a few strategic additions and omissions. I may still pick up Showcase Presents volumes when I find them out in the wild, if the art looks great and the price is right, even if there’s a DC Finest volume that reprints the same material. Sometimes that black and white version is too good to pass up.
Whichever you prefer—DC Showcase Presents or DC Finest—happy collecting!
@innocent-bystander.com 
Great overview. And I love my complete set of all 124 Showcase Presents! (Also my full runs of DC Archives (168 volumes), Marvel Masterworks (375+ volumes), and Marvel Essentials (176 volumes)!)
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Thanks for that info! I’ve added it into my post.
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