DC Comics Presents | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Schedule | Bi-monthly (#1–2) Monthly (#3–97) |
Format | Ongoing series |
Publication date | July/August 1978 – September 1986 |
No. of issues | 97, plus 4 Annuals |
Main character(s) | Superman |
Creative team | |
Written by | |
Penciller(s) | |
Inker(s) | |
Colorist(s) | Gene D'Angelo |
DC Comics Presents is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four Annuals. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring back-up feature "Whatever Happened to...?" had stories revealing the status of various minor and little-used characters.
DC Comics Presents debuted with a July/August 1978 cover date and was edited by Julius Schwartz. [1] The series was launched with a team-up of Superman and the Flash by writer Martin Pasko and artist José Luis García-López. [2] The winner of the DC Comics Presents letter column name contest appeared in the Superman/Hawkman story in issue #11 (July 1979). [3] The "Whatever Happened to...?" backup feature began in issue #25 (Sept. 1980) and would appear in most issues for the next two years until its last installment in issue #48 (Aug. 1982). [4] Issue #26 included an insert introduction story to the then-upcoming New Teen Titans series by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. [5] Len Wein and Jim Starlin co-created the supervillain Mongul in issue #27 (Nov. 1980) [6] as part of a three-issue storyline. [7] [8] [9] Another insert in issue #41 previewed the "new direction" Wonder Woman. [10] In issue #47, Superman traveled to Eternia and met the Masters of the Universe. [11] Ambush Bug made his first appearance in issue #52 (Dec. 1982) [12] and made additional appearances in issues #59 [13] and 81. [14] The Superman/Challengers of the Unknown tale in issue #84 was drawn by Jack Kirby and Alex Toth. [15] The series also contained the Alan Moore Superman/Swamp Thing story "The Jungle Line" in DC Comics Presents #85 (Sept. 1985), pencilled by Rick Veitch and inked by Al Williamson. Issue #87 featured the first appearance and origin of the divergent Kal-El of the Earth Prime reality, who would become known as Superboy-Prime. [16] The last issue is an exception to the team-up format, instead featuring Superman in an "Untold Tale" involving the Phantom Zone by Steve Gerber, [17] following up as the conclusion to Gerber's previous limited series of the same title.
In 2004, the title DC Comics Presents was revived for eight one-shot issues, each a tribute to DC editor Julius Schwartz who had recently died. Each issue featured two stories based on a classic DC Comics cover of the past, reflecting Schwartz's frequent practice of commissioning a cover concept, then telling the writers to create a story about that cover.
In 2010, DC launched a new DC Comics Presents, a line of 100-page reprint issues reprinting stories that have not seen print since their original publication.
Issue | Character(s) |
---|---|
#1 | The Flash [2] |
#2 | The Flash |
#3 | Adam Strange |
#4 | The Metal Men |
#5 | Aquaman |
#6 | Green Lantern |
#7 | The Red Tornado |
#8 | The Swamp Thing |
#9 | Wonder Woman |
#10 | Sgt. Rock |
#11 | Hawkman |
#12 | Mister Miracle |
#13 | The Legion of Super-Heroes |
#14 | Superboy |
#15 | The Atom |
#16 | Black Lightning [Note 1] |
#17 | Firestorm |
#18 | Zatanna |
#19 | Batgirl |
#20 | The Green Arrow |
#21 | The Elongated Man [Note 2] |
#22 | Captain Comet |
#23 | Doctor Fate |
#24 | Deadman |
#25 | The Phantom Stranger |
#26 | Green Lantern |
#27 | The Martian Manhunter [6] |
#28 | Supergirl |
#29 | The Spectre |
#30 | The Black Canary |
#31 | Robin |
#32 | Wonder Woman |
#33 | Captain Marvel |
#34 | The Marvel Family |
#35 | The Man-Bat |
#36 | Starman |
#37 | Hawkgirl |
#38 | The Flash |
#39 | Plastic Man [Note 2] |
#40 | Metamorpho [Note 1] |
#41 | The Joker |
#42 | The Unknown Soldier |
#43 | The Legion of Super-Heroes |
#44 | Dial H for Hero |
#45 | Firestorm |
#46 | The Global Guardians |
#47 | The Masters of the Universe |
#48 | Aquaman |
#49 | Captain Marvel |
#50 | Clark Kent |
#51 | The Atom |
#52 | The Doom Patrol [12] |
#53 | The House of Mystery |
#54 | The Green Arrow |
#55 | Air Wave |
#56 | Power Girl |
#57 | The Atomic Knights |
#58 | The Elongated Man |
#58 | Robin |
#59 | The Legion of Substitute Heroes |
#60 | The Guardians of the Universe |
#61 | OMAC |
#62 | The Freedom Fighters |
#63 | Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld |
#64 | Kamandi |
#65 | Madame Xanadu |
#66 | The Demon |
#67 | Santa Claus |
#68 | Vixen |
#69 | Blackhawk |
#70 | The Metal Men |
#71 | Bizarro |
#72 | The Phantom Stranger and the Joker |
#73 | The Flash |
#74 | Hawkman |
#75 | Arion |
#76 | Wonder Woman |
#77 | The Forgotten Heroes |
#78 | The Forgotten Villains |
#79 | Clark Kent |
#80 | The Legion of Super-Heroes |
#81 | Ambush Bug |
#82 | Adam Strange |
#83 | Batman and the Outsiders |
#84 | The Challengers of the Unknown |
#85 | The Swamp Thing |
#86 | Supergirl |
#87 | Superboy-Prime [16] |
#88 | The Creeper |
#89 | The Omega Men |
#90 | Firestorm |
#90 | Captain Atom |
#91 | Captain Comet |
#92 | The Vigilante |
#93 | The Elastic Four [Note 3] |
#94 | The Harbinger, Lady Quark and Pariah |
#95 | Hawkman |
#96 | Blue Devil |
#97 | The Phantom Zone villains |
Annual #1 | Superman of Earth-Two |
Annual #2 | Superwoman |
Annual #3 | Captain Marvel |
Annual #4 | Superwoman |
Issue | Character(s) |
---|---|
#25 | The Golden Age Hourman |
#26 | Sargon the Sorcerer |
#27 | Congorilla |
#28 | The Western Johnny Thunder (John Tane) and Madame .44 |
#29 | The Golden Age Doctor Mid-Nite |
#30 | The Golden Age Atom |
#31 | The Golden Age Robotman |
#32 | Mark Merlin and Prince Ra-Man |
#33 | Star Hawkins |
#35 | Rex the Wonder Dog |
#37 | Rip Hunter, Time Master |
#38 | The Crimson Avenger |
#39 | Richard Dragon |
#40 | The Golden Age Air Wave |
#42 | The Golden Age Sandman |
#47 | Sandy the Golden Boy |
#48 | The Black Pirate |
Writer Mike Tiefenbacher had several proposals for other "Whatever Happened to...?" stories. These included Captain Action, Blackhawk, Genius Jones, Nighthawk, the Ragman, the Sea Devils, the Silent Knight, and Wildcat. [4]
In September and October 2004, the title DC Comics Presents was revived for a series of eight one-shot issues, each a tribute to DC editor Julius Schwartz, who had died the previous February. [18] Each issue featured two stories based on a classic DC Comics cover of the past, reflecting Schwartz's frequent practice of commissioning a cover concept, then telling the writers to create a story about that cover.
DC Comics Presents: | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|
DC Comics Presents: Batman #1 | September 2004 | Cover art by Adam Hughes is a homage to the cover of Batman #183 (August 1966). |
DC Comics Presents: Green Lantern #1 | Cover art by Brian Bolland is a homage to the cover of Green Lantern #31 (September 1964). | |
DC Comics Presents: Hawkman #1 | Cover art by José Luis García-López and Kevin Nowlan is a homage to the cover of Hawkman #6 (February–March 1965). | |
DC Comics Presents: Mystery in Space #1 | Cover art by Alex Ross is a homage to the cover of Mystery in Space #82 (March 1963). | |
DC Comics Presents: Flash #1 | October 2004 | Cover art by Alex Ross is a homage to The Flash #163 (August 1966). |
DC Comics Presents: Justice League of America #1 | Cover art by José Luis García-López is a homage to Justice League of America #53 (May 1967). | |
DC Comics Presents: Superman #1 | Cover art by Adam Hughes is a homage to the cover of Superman #264 (June 1973). | |
DC Comics Presents: The Atom #1 | Cover art by Brian Bolland is a homage to the cover of The Atom #10 (December 1963 – January 1964). |
In 2010, DC launched a new DC Comics Presents series featuring stories that have not seen print since their original publication. The issues are: [19] [20]
Action Comics is an American comic book/magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications and as National Periodical Publications, before taking on its current name of DC Comics. Its original incarnation ran from 1938 to 2011 and stands as one of the longest-running comic books with consecutively numbered issues. The second volume of Action Comics beginning with issue #1 ran from 2011 to 2016. Action Comics returned to its original numbering beginning with issue #957.
George Pérez was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling Fantastic Four and The Avengers for Marvel Comics. In the 1980s he penciled The New Teen Titans, which became one of DC Comics' top-selling series. He penciled DC's landmark limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, followed by relaunching Wonder Woman as both writer and penciller for the rebooted series. In the meantime, he worked on other comics published by Marvel, DC, and other companies into the 2010s. He was known for his detailed and realistic rendering, and his facility with complex crowd scenes.
Julius "Julie" Schwartz was an American comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various times he was primary editor over the company's flagship superheroes, Superman and Batman.
Marvin Arthur Wolfman is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's The Tomb of Dracula, for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's The New Teen Titans and the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series with George Pérez.
Leonard Norman Wein was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men. Additionally, he was the editor for writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons' influential DC miniseries Watchmen.
David Chester Gibbons is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything". He was an artist for 2000 AD, for which he contributed a large body of work from its first issue in 1977.
The Brave and the Bold is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two miniseries in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing anthology title in 2007 and 2023. The focus of the series has varied over time, but it most commonly features team-ups of characters from across the DC Universe.
World's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name. Michael E. Uslan has speculated that this was because DC received a cease and desist letter from Better Publications, Inc., who had been publishing a comic book entitled Best Comics since November 1939. Virtually every issue featured DC's two leading superheroes, Superman and Batman, with the earliest issues also featuring Batman's sidekick, Robin.
James N. Aparo was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories such as The Brave and the Bold, "A Death in the Family", and "KnightFall".
"Legends" was a comic book crossover story line that ran through a six-issue, self-titled limited series and various other titles published by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987. Each of the individual crossover/tie-in issues had a Legends Chapter # header added to their trade dress.
Earth-One is a name given to two fictional universes that have appeared in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. The first Earth-One was given its name in Justice League of America #21, after The Flash #123 explained how Golden Age (Earth-Two) versions of characters such as the Flash could appear in stories with their Silver Age counterparts. This Earth-One continuity included the DC Silver Age heroes, including the Justice League of America.
Carmine Michael Infantino was an American comics artist and editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are the Black Canary and the Silver Age version of DC superhero the Flash with writer Robert Kanigher, the stretching Elongated Man with John Broome, Barbara Gordon the second Batgirl with writer Gardner Fox, Deadman with writer Arnold Drake, and Christopher Chance, the second iteration of the Human Target with Len Wein.
Kevin Maguire is an American comics artist, known for his work on series such as Justice League, Batman Confidential, Captain America, and X-Men.
Chris Batista is an American comic book artist, known for his work on a number of titles for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including Steel, Spaceknights and Thunderbolts.
Richard Allen Dillin was an American comics artist best known for a 12-year run as the penciler of the DC Comics superhero-team series Justice League of America. He drew 115 issues from 1968 until his death in 1980.
Superman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Superman as its protagonist. Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938. The strip proved so popular that National launched Superman into his own self-titled comic book, the first for any superhero, premiering with the cover date summer 1939. Between 1986 and 2006 it was retitled, The Adventures of Superman, while a new series used the title Superman. In May 2006, it was returned to its original title and numbering. The title was canceled with issue #714 in 2011, and was relaunched with issue #1 the following month which ended its run in 2016. A fourth series was released in June 2016 and ended in April 2018, while the fifth series was launched in July 2018 and ended in June 2021. The series was replaced by Superman: Son of Kal-El in July 2021, featuring adventures of Superman's son, Jon Kent. A sixth Superman series was released in February 2023.
Batman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman as its main protagonist. The character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appeared in Detective Comics #27. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940. It was first advertised in early April 1940, one month after the first appearance of his new sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder. Batman comics have proven to be popular since the 1940s.
José Luis García-López is a Spanish-Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he has been responsible for producing the official reference art for characters in the DC Comics Style Guide, as used in licensed merchandise.
DC Comics Absolute Edition is a series of archival quality printings of graphic novels published by DC Comics and its imprints WildStorm Productions and Vertigo. Each is presented in a hardcover and slipcased edition with cloth bookmark consisting of one or more books which include restored, corrected and recolored versions of the original work, reprinted at 8 by 12 inches. Also included are supplemental materials regarding the creation of the work, including sketches, comic scripts and memos.
"For the Man Who Has Everything" is a comic book story by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, first published in Superman Annual #11 (1985). It contains the first appearance of the Black Mercy, a magical, extraterrestrial, plant-like organism which, upon symbiotically attaching itself to its victims, incapacitates them while causing them to hallucinate living out their greatest fantasy.
A new ongoing Superman series started to mix things up by teaming the Man of Steel with other heroes in the DC Universe. Writer Martin Pasko and artist José Luis García-López launched the inaugural issue.
The hotly-debated new Wonder Woman uniform will be bestowed on the Amazon Princess in her first adventure written and drawn by her new creative team: Roy Thomas and Gene Colan...This story will appear as an insert in DC Comics Presents #41.