DC will expand its DC Compact Comics line, which republishes “bestselling, new-reader-friendly titles” from the comics giant’s backlist in a full-color, 5.5” x 8.5” trim size priced at $9.99. A further 15 titles, following the 10 published last year, will be released beginning next May.
The line, announced last November, features a size and price in line with standards for book trade paperback novels and mass market paperbacks, respectively, rather than the typical 6.625” x 10.1875” trim and $19.99 price tag for trade paperback comics collections and graphic novels. The news follows a successful showing last year for the line, which has gone back to press on all titles published in the format last year, with one title, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, receiving a third printing in September. Titles in the line are available across multiple sales channels, including traditional bookstores and comics shops, big box retailers, and airports.
“The expansion of our DC Compact Comics collection into 2025 allows us to showcase the breadth and depth of DC’s iconic characters,” said Anne DePies, DC’s SVP and general manager, in a statement. “We want to make it as easy as possible for readers to discover more from DC’s extensive library of comics. DC Compact Comics are an affordable entry point to the DC Universe, and every title is a new-reader-friendly, self-contained graphic novel.”
Titles slated for next year include Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross and Static: Season One by Vita Ayala, Reginald Hudlin, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, and Denys Cowan, due in May, and DCeased by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, and Stefano Gaudiano, Batwoman: Elegy by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III, and Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, and Gerry Alanguilan, which are set to publish in June. Titles for July include The Authority Book One by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch and Superman/Batman: Book One by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, and Michael Turner, and titles for August include DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke and Wonder Woman: Blood and Guts by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.
September will see the release of Death by Neil Gaiman and Harley Quinn: Wild at Heart by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. (DC declined to comment on its current relationship with Gaiman following recent accusations of sexual assault against the author.) Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale and Y: The Last Man Book One by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, and José Marzán Jr. will be published in October, and V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd and We3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are set for November.
