DC Compact Comics
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Far Sector
DC Compact Comics are budget re-releases of trade paperbacks published by DC.
At digest size, they're smaller[1] and cheaper than regular trade paperbacks. The series seems designed to appeal to more casual comic readers, who might be more accustomed to prose novels and tankΕbon of manga. The collection is pretty well curated, and certainly good value, if a little harder to read with the smaller text.
Many of the books contain a complete limited series, making them full standalone stories, as with any novel. Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns are all prime examples.
Some combine several shorter limited series, as with Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman. Some are merely the first volume of a larger series, seemingly in an attempt to get you hooked into buying a far less affordable or portable omnibus, as with Gotham Central. Even then, it certainly beats chancing an expensive omnibus to discover whether you actually like it or not.
It's like DC remembered they're in the business of selling stories for people to read, not selling artificially scarce art for people to collect. The only collectable things about this series are the matching covers and that the stories are generally well-received β perfect.
More likely, it's an attempt to expand their audience via a loss-leader product for newcomers, featuring relatively high quality old stories re-released as lower quality physical books. It seems to be working too, with the budget format being ideally suited for tentatively checking out stories, or indeed a whole medium, that you'd otherwise skip.
Books
| Released | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024-06-04 | Batman: The Court of Owls Saga |
| 2024-06-04 | Watchmen |
| 2024-07-02 | All-Star Superman |
| 2024-07-02 | Far Sector |
| 2024-08-06 | Batman: Hush |
| 2024-08-06 | Wonder Woman: Earth One |
| 2024-09-03 | Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens |
| 2024-09-03 | Joker |
| 2024-10-01 | American Vampire: Book One |
| 2024-10-01 | Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman |
| 2025-05-06 | Kingdom Come |
| 2025-05-27 | Static: Season One |
| 2025-06-03 | DCeased |
| 2025-06-17 | Batwoman: Elegy |
| 2025-06-24 | Superman: Birthright |
| 2025-07-01 | The Authority: Relentless |
| 2025-07-15 | Superman/Batman |
| 2025-08-05 | DC: The New Frontier |
| 2025-08-19 | Wonder Woman: Blood and Guts |
| 2025-09-02 | Batman: Arkham Asylum |
| 2025-09-16 | Harley Quinn: Wild at Heart |
| 2025-10-07 | Batman: The Long Halloween |
| 2025-10-21 | Y: The Last Man |
| 2025-11-04 | V for Vendetta |
| 2025-11-18 | We3 |
| 2026-01-06 | Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow |
| 2026-01-20 | Batman: Gotham by Gaslight |
| 2026-02-03 | Batman: White Knight |
| 2026-03-03 | Nightwing: Leaping into the Light |
| 2026-03-17 | The Flash: Rebirth |
| 2026-04-07 | Batman: The Dark Knight Returns |
| 2026-05-05 | Green Arrow: Year One |
| 2026-05-19 | Gotham Central |
| 2026-06-02 | Superman: Red Son |
| 2026-07-07 | Batgirl of Burnside |
| 2026-07-21 | Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One |
| 2026-08-04 | Dark Nights: Metal |
| 2026-08-18 | Batman & Son |
| 2026-09-01 | Fables: No More Happily Ever After |
| 2026-10-06 | Swamp Thing: The Anatomy Lesson |
| 2026-10-06 | Batman: Harley and Ivy |
| 2026-11-03 | Crisis on Infinite Earths |
| 2026-12-01 | Mister Miracle |
| 2026-12-01 | Justice League: Origin |
References
- "Got the Compact Edition of Watchmen early. Here's some comparison photos to the first printing of the trade and the Absolute Edition." @NaveenKalirai Twitter, May 2024
Further reading
Official webpage
- "DC Compact Comics Series" Penguin Random House
Comics: Batman | Comic book | DC Compact Comics | Graphic novel | Limited series | Masked vigilante | Modern Age | Superhero | Watchmen
