DC Archive Editions are hardcover editions reprinting stories from currently DC Comics-owned properties of Golden Age and Silver Age comics, regardless of whether DC was the original publisher of those works. Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives, T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents Archives, Mad Archives and Elfquest Archives are not technically part of the DC Archive Editions series (typified by a cover format consisting of a black pinstriped background into which a color v-shaped area is overlaid from the top, reaching almost to the bottom for all of the books) as they do not own those properties/characters, but are licensing them from the copyright holders (in the case of Mad, the property is owned by DC's parent company, but not DC themselves). These non-DC Archive Editions* series are included in the list here.
Title
Vol. #
First printing
Years covered
Material collected
ISBN
The Action Heroes Archives
1
2004
1960–1961, 1965–1966
Captain Atom from Space Adventures #33–40, 42; Captain Atom #78–82
Captain Atom stories from Captain Atom #83–89; Blue Beetle stories from Captain Atom #83–86; Blue Beetle #1–5; Charlton Portfolio #9–10; Charlton Bullseye #1–2; The Question stories from Blue Beetle #1–5; Mysterious Suspense #1; Charlton Bullseye #5
Initial copies of Golden Age Hawkman Volume 1 were printed with the story on pages 131–136 out of sequence (i.e., 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, and 6). Corrected copies were made by removing those pages and tipping in the corrected sequence. Both versions thus say "First printing" in the indicia. For a while, DC would switch out copies if they were sent in.
DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age.
The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known characters were introduced, including Superman, Batman, Robin, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Wonder Woman.
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, and MAD Magazine from its inception in 1952 until 1964, as well as for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and work for Warren Publishing's Creepy. He drew a few early issues of Marvel's Daredevil and established the title character's distinctive red costume. Wood created and owned the long-running characters Sally Forth and Cannon.
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of Action Comics, which included the debut of the superhero Superman. This was followed by a superhero boom that lasted until the end of World War II. After the war, while superheroes were marginalized, the comic book industry rapidly expanded and genres such as horror, crime, science fiction and romance became popular. The 1950s saw a gradual decline, due to a shift away from print media in the wake of television and the impact of the Comics Code Authority. The late 1950s and the 1960s saw a superhero revival and superheroes remained the dominant character archetype throughout the late 20th century into the 21st century.
Adventure Comics is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues, making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman. The series was revived in 2009 through a new "#1" issue by artist Clayton Henry and writer Geoff Johns. It returned to its original numbering with #516. The series ended again with #529 prior to a company-wide revision of DC's superhero comic book line, known as "The New 52".
In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status.
Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
DC Archive Editions is a line of hardcover reprint runs of early, often rare comic book series, titles, and stories which ran from 1989-2014. They include more than 160 Golden Age and Silver Age comic properties currently owned by DC Comics, regardless of whether DC Comics was the original publisher. The series first published Superman Archives Vol. 1 in 1989. Most of the restoration work to make the pages suitable for quality printing has been done by Rick Keene, who has restored more than 2,500 pages.
The Bronze Age of Comic Books is an informal name for a period in the history of American superhero comic books usually said to run from 1970 to 1985. It follows the Silver Age of Comic Books and is followed by the Modern Age of Comic Books.
Darwyn Cooke was a Canadian comics artist, writer, cartoonist, and animator who worked on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit and Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter. His work has been honoured with numerous Eisner, Harvey, and Joe Shuster Awards.
Boy Commandos is a fictional organization from DC Comics first appearing in Detective Comics #64 by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They are a combination of "kid gang" characters, an international cast of young boys fighting Nazis — or in their own parlance, "the Ratzies".
Edward Nelson Bridwell was a writer for Mad magazine and various comic books published by DC Comics. One of the writers for the Batman comic strip and Super Friends, he also wrote The Inferior Five, among other comics. He has been called "DC's self-appointed continuity cop."
Showcase Presents was a line of black-and-white paperback books published by DC Comics at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' Essential Marvel volumes, each book usually included over 500 pages of reprints, primarily from the Silver Age. Like the Essential line, a Showcase Presents volume carried the suggested retail price of US$16.99 and was usually devoted to one character, "reprint[ing] all of their adventures in sequential order via cover date", or occasionally to a specific title rather than individual. The reprint line started in October 2005 with the releases of Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Vol. 1 and Showcase Presents: Superman, Vol. 1, both offered at the lower introductory retail price of US$9.99.
Captain Triumph is a superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who first appeared in Crack Comics #27, published in January 1943 by Quality Comics. He continued to appear until the end of the series with issue #62.
Sylvester Pemberton, alternately known as The Star-Spangled Kid and Skyman, is a superhero in the DC Comics universe. Sylvester first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #1 and was created by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman.
Action Comics #1 is the first issue of the original run of the comic book/magazine series Action Comics. It features the first appearance of several comic-book heroes—most notably the Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster creation, Superman—and sold for 10 cents. It is widely considered to be both the beginning of the superhero genre and the most valuable comic book in the world. Action Comics would go on to run for 904 numbered issues before it restarted its numbering in the fall of 2011. It returned to its original numbering with issue #957, published on June 8, 2016 and reached its 1,000th issue in 2018.
Comic books have been recalled for various reasons including simple printing errors, stories or images that were deemed inappropriate or to avoid potential lawsuits. The rarest of these books is probably The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 1, issue #5, which was recalled due to the inclusion of a 19th-century advertisement for "Marvel"-brand douche; since League was published by an imprint of DC Comics, DC's publisher felt that this could be perceived as an attack on DC's main rival, Marvel Comics. Other notable recalls were the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant which included a portrayal of baby Superman in a microwave, and Marvel Knights' Elektra #3 which included tame nude images of the title character.
The history of American comics began in the 19th century in mass print media, in the era of sensationalist journalism, where newspaper comics served as further entertainment for mass readership. In the 20th century, comics became an autonomous art medium and an integral part of American culture.
Thorpe & Porter was a British publisher, importer, and distributor of magazines and comic books. At first, the company was known for repackaging American comics and pulp magazines for the UK market. Later on, it became a publisher of original material. The company released more than 160 comics titles in the UK, the most prominent being Classics Illustrated, MAD UK, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes, Larry Harmon's Laurel & Hardy, House of Hammer, and Forbidden Worlds. T & P's most prominent imprints were Top Sellers Ltd. and Brown Watson. Thorpe & Porter operated from 1946 to c. 1979.
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