''Limited Collectors' Edition'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

series published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

from 1972 to 1978. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an oversized 10″ x 14″ tabloid (or "treasury") format.

Publication history

''Limited Collectors' Edition'' was launched with a collection of

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on C ...

stories which went on sale October 24, 1972.

vice president Sol Harrison had suggested the format stating that "we could create a tabloid size comic that would stand out on the newsstand". ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' shared its numbering with two other treasury format series, ''Famous First Edition'' and ''All-New Collectors' Edition''. The final issues of the latter two series were tie-ins to the release of '' Superman: The Movie''. DC later published treasuries as part of '' DC Special Series'' in 1981 and as a number of one-shots from 1999 to 2003 primarily produced by

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...

and

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

. In 2020, DC put out a new ''Famous First Edition'', C-63, which reprinted in hardcover the first issue of ''New Fun Comics'', which launched the company that became DC.

The issues

Several planned features for ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' were never published. These include several projects by writer/artist Sheldon Mayer. Mayer had been working on an adaptation of ''The Wizard of Oz'' but DC's then-publisher

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

canceled the project upon learning of a similar adaptation by Marvel Comics. The two companies published the project jointly and the adaptation was crafted by

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

and

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

instead. Mayer also worked on a follow-up to "The Bible" issue of ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' titled "The Story of Jesus" as well as "Rudolph's Easter Parade", an Easter-themed Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer issue. Neither project was published. "The Legend of King Arthur" by writer

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

and artist Nestor Redondo was a four-issue storyline which was advertised as "Coming Soon" in DC comic books dated September 1975, but the series was never published. A second volume of "The Best of DC" would have included stories reprinted from ''The Brave and the Bold'' #42; ''

All-Star Western ''All-Star Western'' is the name of three American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second from 1970 t ...

'' #11; ''Superman'' #247; and ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' #75 but was canceled as part of the

DC Implosion The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...

Famous First Edition

''Famous First Edition'' was a series of oversized reprints of original

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

comics. All but two (#F–7, ''All-Star Comics'' #3 and #F–8, ''Flash Comics'' #1) included full-size glossy cover-stock reprints of the front and back covers in addition to the usual cardstock outer covers. ''Famous First Edition'' reprinted the comics in their entirety, including any paid advertising and other features that appeared in the original. Several issues of ''Famous First Edition'' were also published in hardcover editions by Lyle Stuart, Inc. The

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

only lists hardcover versions for issues #C–26 (''Action Comics'' #1), #C–28 (''Detective Comics'' #27), #C–30 (''Sensation Comics'' #1), #F–4 (''Whiz Comics'' #2), and #F–6 (''Wonder Woman'' #1) while the ''

Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' (or ''Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'') is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in t ...

'' includes a listing for a hardcover version of #F–5 (''Batman'' #1) with a notation of "exists?" The reprint of ''New Fun'' #1 published in 2020 was released in a hardcover edition only.

All-New Collectors' Edition

Three features originally intended for ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' were published elsewhere due to the title's cancellation as part of the DC Implosion. "Superman's Life Story" by

Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...

and

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

was published in ''Action Comics'' #500 (October 1979). The planned 1978 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tabloid's material appeared in '' The Best of DC'' #4 (March–April 1980). A

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

story by

and

Rich Buckler Rich Buckler (February 6, 1949 – May 19, 2017) was an Americans, American comics artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' in the mid-1970s and for creating the character Deat ...

saw print in ''Justice League of America'' #210–212 (January 1983–March 1983).

DC Special Series

Other DC treasuries

* ''The Amazing World of Superman: Metropolis Edition'' (1973): Reprints stories from ''Action Comics'' #210; ''Superman'' #170; and ''Superboy'' #153, 161, and 169. New story by writer E. Nelson Bridwell and artists

, and Murphy Anderson. * '' MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz'' (1975): The first joint publishing venture between

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and

. Comics adaptation of the

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

film by

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

, and Tony DeZuniga. * '' Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man'' (January 1976): The first crossover between DC and Marvel characters, written by

and drawn by

Ross Andru Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21. In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...

and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

. * ''Superman: Peace on Earth'' (January 1999): One-shot by writer

and artist

. * '' Superman/Fantastic Four: The Infinite Destruction'' (April 1999): Intercompany crossover by writer/penciler

Dan Jurgens Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC Comics, DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday (DC Comics), Doomsday, Hank H ...

and inker Art Thibert. * ''Batman: War on Crime'' (November 1999): One-shot by writer Paul Dini and artist Alex Ross. * ''JLA: Heaven's Ladder'' (October 2000): One-shot by writer

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...

and artists

Bryan Hitch Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and comic book writer, writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence o ...

and Paul Neary. * ''Shazam! Power of Hope'' (November 2000): One-shot by writer Paul Dini and artist Alex Ross. * ''Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'' (November 2001): One-shot by writer Paul Dini and artist Alex Ross. * ''JLA: Secret Origins'' (November 2002): One-shot by writer Paul Dini and artist Alex Ross. * ''JLA: Liberty and Justice'' (November 2003): One-shot by writer Paul Dini and artist Alex Ross.''JLA: Liberty and Justice''
at the Grand Comics Database

Collected editions

* ''Adventures of Superman:

José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...

'' includes ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–54, 360 pages, April 2013, * ''The Amazing World of Superman'' collects ''The Amazing World of Superman'', 64 pages, April 2021, * ''The Bible'' collects ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' #C–36, 72 pages, May 2012, * ''Shazam! The World's Mightiest Mortal'' Vol. 2 includes ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–58, 328 pages, April 2020, * ''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes'' Vol. 1 includes ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–55, 312 pages, June 2017, * '' Superman vs. Muhammad Ali'' collects ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–56, 80 pages, November 2010, (treasury size); (comic book size) * ''Superman vs. Shazam!'' includes ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–58, 192 pages, March 2013, * ''Superman vs. Wonder Woman'' collects ''All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C–54, 72 pages, December 2020, * ''Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'' collects ''Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'', 72 pages, March 2020, * '' The World's Greatest Super-Heroes'' collects ''Superman: Peace on Earth'', ''Batman: War on Crime'', ''Shazam!: Power of Hope'', ''Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'', ''JLA: Secret Origins'' and ''JLA: Liberty and Justice'', 396 pages, July 2005,

References

External links

* * * * * * {{cite web , url= http://www.treasurycomics.com/gallery/galleryDCfamous.htm, title= ''Famous First Edition'', first= Rob, last= Kelly, date= n.d., publisher= TreasuryComics.com, archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20151026020346/http://www.treasurycomics.com/gallery/galleryDCfamous.htm, archivedate= October 26, 2015, url-status= dead 1972 comics debuts 1974 comics debuts 1978 comics debuts 1978 comics endings 1979 comics endings Comics anthologies Comics by Dan Jurgens Comics by Dennis O'Neil Comics by Gerry Conway Comics by Mark Waid Comics by Neal Adams Comics by Paul Dini Comics by Paul Levitz Comics formats DC Comics one-shots DC Comics titles Defunct American comics