DC Compact Comics is a line of full-color paperbacks from DC Comics. Announced in November 2023, ahead of a June 2024 launch, they were described as "perfect for readers of prose and manga looking to pick up a new-reader-friendly storyline in a self-contained full color graphic novel".[1]
At 8.5in x 5.5in, they are smaller than the traditional 10.2in x 6.6in size of a collected trade paperback comic.
The initial 10 titles released in 2024 included: Batman: The Court of Owls, Watchmen, All-Star Superman, Far Sector, Batman: Hush, Wonder Woman: Earth One, Harley Quinn & The Gotham City Sirens, Joker, American Vampire Book One, and Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman - with a further 15 books announced for 2025.[2]
The announcement was largely greeted positively in the comics community with SKTCHD's David Harper saying about the line that, "It’s honestly the best thing to come from one of the Big Two in I don’t even know how long."[3] and Gordon Jackson at Gizmodo noting that, "DC’s Compact Comics Line Is the Smartest Thing It’s Done in Years."[4] In Comicsbeat, Joe Grunenwald stressed that " the size, price and content are all suitable for mass market."[5]
As well as being dedicated to a specific character or series, each release is also designated by genre via a tag in the top right of the cover. These genres include ‘Science Fiction’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Horror’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Adventure’, and ‘Mystery’.
The line launched five months ahead of the DC Finest series, which was aimed at a similar market to the Marvel Epic Collection.
In late 2024, at the New York Comic Con, Marvel Comics announced the Premier Collection: a similar line of digest-sized 9in x 6in releases "featuring Marvel’s most celebrated and prestigious storylines and creators from its entire comic book legacy".[6]
List of volumes
editAmerican Vampire
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | 2010–2011 |
|
Scott Snyder, Stephen King | Rafael Albuquerque | Horror | 320 | 1 Oct 2024 | 978-1779527349 |
The Authority
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | 1999–2000, 2017 | * The Authority (vol. 1) #1–12, and more
|
Warren Ellis | Bryan Hitch | Adventure | 360 | 1 Jul 2025 | 978-1799501992 |
Batman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Court of Owls Saga | 2011–2012 |
|
Scott Snyder | Greg Capullo | Thriller | 304 | 4 Jun 2024 | 978-1779527271 |
| Hush | 2002–2003 |
|
Jeph Loeb | Jim Lee | Mystery | 312 | 6 Aug 2024 | 978-1779527264 |
| Batman: The Long Halloween | 1996-1997 |
|
Jeph Loeb | Tim Sale | Mystery | TBC | 7 Oct 2025 | 978-1799502883 |
Batwoman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elegy | 2009–2010 |
|
Greg Rucka | J. H. Williams III | Adventure | 240 | 17 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501824 |
Catwoman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trail Of The Catwoman | 2001–2002 | * Catwoman: Selina's Big Score, and more
|
Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker | Darwyn Cooke | Adventure | 336 | 1 Oct 2024 | 978-1779527288 |
DC: The New Frontier
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC: The New Frontier | 2004–2005 |
|
Darwyn Cooke | TBC | Science Fiction | TBC | 5 Aug 2025 | 978-1799502340 |
DCeased
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCeased | 2019 |
|
Tom Taylor | Trevor Hairsine | Horror | 216 | 3 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501633 |
Death
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Death | 1993 |
|
Neil Gaiman | TBC | Fantasy | TBC | 2 Sep 2025 | 978-1799502647 |
Harley Quinn
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harley Quinn And The Gotham City Sirens | 2009–2010 |
|
Paul Dini, Guillem March | Guillem March | Adventure | 320 | 3 Sep 2024 | 978-1779527301 |
| Harley Quinn: Wild At Heart | TBC |
|
Amanda Conner | Jimmy Palmiotti | Adventure | TBC | 16 Sep 2025 | 978-1799503033 |
Joker
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joker | 2008 |
|
Brian Azzarello | Lee Bermejo | Thriller | 136 | 3 Sep 2024 | 978-1779527318 |
Static
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season One | 2021–2022 |
|
Vita Ayala, Reginald Hudlin | Adventure | 184 | 27 May 2025 | 978-1799501541 |
Superman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Star Superman | 2005–2008 |
|
Grant Morrison | Frank Quitely | Fantasy | 296 | 2 Jul 2024 | 978-1779527257 |
| Birthright | 2003–2004 |
|
Mark Waid | Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan | Adventure | 312 | 24 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501916 |
Superman/Batman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | 2003–2004 |
|
Jeph Loeb | Ed McGuinness, Michael Turner | Adventure | 304 | 15 Jul 2025 | 978-1799502135 |
Wonder Woman
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth One | 2016–2021 |
|
Grant Morrison | Yanick Paquette | Fantasy | 376 | 6 Aug 2024 | 978-1779527332 |
| Wonder Woman: Blood And Guts | 2011–2012 |
|
Brian Azzarello | Cliff Chiang, Tony Akins | Adventure | TBC | 19 Aug 2025 | 978-1799502494 |
Y: The Last Man
edit| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book One | 2002-TBC |
|
Brian K Vaughan | Pia Guerra, José Marzán | Science Fiction | TBC | 21 Oct 2025 | 978-1799502890 |
Miniseries
editThis section includes books that have self-contained miniseries and are unlikely to have a sequel
| Title | Years covered | Issues collected | Writers | Artists | Genre | Pages | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Far Sector | 2019–2021 |
|
N. K. Jemisin | Jamal Campbell | Science Fiction | 296 | 2 Jul 2024 | 978-1779527295 |
| Kingdom Come | 1996 |
|
Mark Waid | Alex Ross | Fantasy | 208 | 6 May 2025 | 978-1799501299 |
| V For Vendetta | 1982-1989 |
|
Alan Moore | David Lloyd | Thriller | TBC | 4 Nov 2025 | 978-1799503132 |
| Watchmen | 1986–1987 |
|
Alan Moore | Dave Gibbons | Thriller | 416 | 4 Jun 2024 | 978-1779527325 |
| We3 | 2004 |
|
Grant Morrison | Frank Quitely | Science Fiction | TBC | 18 Nov 2025 | 978-1799503255 |
Upcoming releases
edit| Title | Pub. date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Come | 6 May 2025 | 978-1799501299 |
| Static: Season One | 27 May 2025 | 978-1799501541 |
| DCeased | 3 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501633 |
| Batwoman: Elegy | 17 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501824 |
| Superman: Birthright | 24 Jun 2025 | 978-1799501916 |
| The Authority: Book One | 1 Jul 2025 | 978-1799501992 |
| Superman/Batman: Book One | 15 Jul 2025 | 978-1799502135 |
| DC: The New Frontier | 5 Aug 2025 | 978-1799502340 |
| Wonder Woman: Blood And Guts | 19 Aug 2025 | 978-1799502494 |
| Death | 2 Sep 2025 | 978-1799502647 |
| Harley Quinn: Wild At Heart | 16 Sep 2025 | 978-1799503033 |
| Batman: The Long Halloween | 7 Oct 2025 | 978-1799502883 |
| Y: The Last Man Book 1 | 21 Oct 2025 | 978-1799502890 |
| V For Vendetta | 4 Nov 2025 | 978-1799503132 |
| We3 | 18 Nov 2025 | 978-1799503255 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "DC Announces 'DC Compact Comics'". DC. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ David Brooke (12 November 2024). "New 'DC Compact Comics' coming in 2025 with 2nd printings on the way too". AIPT comics. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ Says, Linus (2023-11-03). "Comics Disassembled: Nine Things of Note from the Past Week in Comics, Led by DC Going Compact". SKTCHD. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Jackson, Gordon (2024-08-16). "DC's Compact Comics Line Is the Smartest Thing It's Done in Years". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Grunenwald, Joe (2023-11-02). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
- ^ Nico Marjolin (17 October 2024). "Marvel Comics Unveils All-New 'Marvel Premier Collection'". Penguin Random House. Archived from the original on 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.