As you might expect from my interest in DC's old SHOWCASE PRESENTS line I have some interest in their upcoming DC FINEST line, which is like a colour version of that line and also takes some cues from Marvel's long established EPIC line of reprints. The initial releases are a few weeks away as I write this, and in an unusually aggressive launch DC has already announced 31 books coming in the line, almost weekly releases until the middle of next year. And they will look something like this:
[* thanks to Todd Klein's advance copy, we know the classic DC bullet will be used. And they modified the contents a bit from the original solicitations starting and ending a few issues earlier]
I suspect the cover art on a few will change as well.
While I would probably go with a logo on the cover like SHOWCASE had, the bold font that they're using for the series titles is nice, and adds some consistency to the line. Not really crazy about the "DC FINEST" name, but maybe it'll grow on me (I want to add a possessive, DC'S FINEST, since the antecedent is WORLD'S FINEST. The title sounds like Bizarro "Them am DC Finest comics". Also, they aren't. The finest, that is. Some are, but others are at best mediocre). I also like the relatively unusual choice to put all the title information on the bottom, which makes for a nice unique look for the line. I also like the addition of a subtitle for each book, and the credits on the cover (although the choice of credits, at least in the mock-ups, is questionable for some of the books).
Overall I do like the design.
And it's much better than any of these lines:
(they've recently started a "Modern Era" line, which appears to be defined as roughly "21st Century"). Have to say, my ideal would probably be halfway between the classic Epic and the Finest. That "Modern Era" Epic is some weak tea. Seems almost apologetic about having to give you any information.
The preliminary look at the unfinished back covers and spines also reveals some information.
The sampling of covers provides some nice context, especially for a few of the books that have non-representative front covers. The emphasis on the years is interesting, especially since there's no hint that these will be numbered in any way. Like Marvel's EPIC line, they aren't being released in order (the SUPERMAN FAMILY book will probably be the fourth in the line, it mostly overlaps with the SHOWCASE SUPERMAN FAMILY v4, starting a few issues later and going a few beyond), so it'll be interesting to see if they have a number, like Marvel uses on the back covers, or will depend on the years to establish the order.
As to the choice of books, it's certainly eclectic. Unlike the SHOWCASE line they seem to have all of DC's history to choose from, going back as far as 1938 and up to 2009 so far (with the cover design indicating plans up to at least 2023). While there does seem to be a bias towards stuff already reprinted before, there are some pleasant surprises. I can confidently say I'll be buying some of these, but I will never be all-in on the line (cut to 15 years from now, "Can someone get me a copy of CATWOMAN: VENGEANCE & VINDICATION? I can't find it anywhere. How much? Sold!").
I'll go over each individual announced release in a later post. At a quick glance I'd say there are maybe seven I have no intention of ever buying, five or six I might buy on release, maybe as many more I would if I didn't already have almost all the contents in another form and a vast middle which I might pick up if the price is right or a leaf-through convinces me.
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