Short Box: DC Finest: Justice Society of America – For America And Democracy
DC Finest: Justice Society of America – For America And Democracy
Release: Dec 03, 2024
Creators
| Writer | Gardner Fox |
| Artist | Sheldon Moldoff, Bernard Baily, Ben Flinton, Cliff Young |
| Cover Artist | Ee Hibbard |
As with my Watchmen post, this Short Box isn’t really as much about the content as it is the form.
DC launched the “DC Finest” line a bit ago and I’ve been meaning to pick one up to check it out, as I did with the Compact Comics line, but as with the Compact Comics line I had difficulty finding one I wanted to grab.
This isn’t a problem with the line itself, it’s just that most of what I’ve seen at the comic shop has been collections of comics I already have in one form or another. Which is rather the point of the line – it’s meant to collect classic/significant comics in a single, affordable volume, or in other words the exact kind of content that people who are veteran readers like I am already have and also the exact kind of content that newer readers should.
While I’ve read some reprints, I’m mostly familiar with the earliest adventures of the Justice Society of America through retellings, so, given my aforementioned interest in taking a look at this format, this – which collects the JSA’s adventures in All-Star Comics #3-12 – was an obvious choice.
The DC Finest line is intended to be comparable to Marvel’s Essentials line, serving as affordable and comprehensive collections of classic storylines from throughout DC’s near-century of publication. The difference from Essentials is that DC Finest books are in color.
But are they affordable? Well, the cost of each varies, but starts at $34.99 and at $39.99 this volume was certainly more affordable than buying the original comics would be…
More seriously, the question of affordability is one you’ll have to decide for yourself and it ultimately depends on the value of the convenience of having these comics collected in a single large volume.
It’s certainly a quality product that doesn’t feel cheaply-produced or likely to fall apart. It’s larger than the Compact Comics, having the dimensions of a standard modern comic, albeit considerably thicker.
Printing looks good. It’s readable. It’s 632 pages worth of classic comics. I see this volume – and the line in general – as a decent value proposition, particularly if you don’t already have these stories in some other format.
You can head here for some more information about the DC Finest line, including a full listing of what has been released and what is still to come.
Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.
