DC has released an ad for its new Compact Comics line, a range of some of the company’s most popular titles, scaled to a portable 5.5″ x 8.5″ and going for just $9.99 each.
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Just one inch taller than the average manga volume, the new line eschews the unwieldiness of traditional graphic novels, which are typically printed around the size of a paper magazine you cannot fold. Better still, these small books contain the entirety of their story arcs, instead of the multi-volume format of trade paperbacks or even the average manga series. Also unlike most manga, each volume will remain in full color, but printed on a paper stock slightly less glossy than the average $20+ graphic novel.
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These are the four titles currently available, followed by the line’s upcoming slate:
- Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
- Batman: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo
- All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely
- Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell
Coming soon:
- Wonder Woman: Earth One by Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette – August 6
- Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee – August 6
- Joker by Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo – September 3
- Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens by Paul Dini, Peter Calloway, Tony Bedard, Guillem March, Andres Guinaldo – September 3
- American Vampire Book One by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, Rafael Albuquerque – October 1
- Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker – October 1
- Kingdom Come – by Mark Waid, Alex Ross – May 6, 2025
- Static: Season One – May 27, 2025
- DCeased – June 3, 2025
- Batwoman: Elegy – June 17, 2025
- Superman: Birthright – June 24, 2025
- Superman/Batman: Book One – July 15, 2025
It really is. I’ve bought a few to give out as inexpensive gifts to friends and family that might be interested.
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll have to pick up Batman Court of Owls!
If you haven’t read them, several of these are quite good:
Watchmen by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell
American Vampire Book One by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, Rafael Albuquerque – October 1
Catwoman: Trail of the Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker – October 1
Kingdom Come – by Mark Waid, Alex Ross – May 6, 2025
I liked Watchmen but I enjoyed the film even more. Honestly from a perspective of storytelling, character development and overall solidity, I consider Watchmen one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s definitely among my favorite of all. I think even as celebrated as it is, it’s still underrated.
And A-SS, everyone loves A-SS.
Whole the ones you pick are top notch, you can’t really go wrong with any of them and, at that price, you can afford to take a shot on them or give them away as presents.
This is a really cool idea. I’d love to see Marvel and Dark Horse follow suit. I think there are quite a few I would be I retested in.
As a kid I actually had an X-men book that was exactly this. It was a story about Arcade trapping them in an amusement park.
It was black and white, but I read it way more than my other comics because I didn’t want to take them anywhere and wreck them.
