DC Special Series was an umbrella title for
one-shots and special issues published by
DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. DC Special Series was published in four different formats:
Dollar Comics,[1] 48 page giants,
digests, and treasury editions. Neither the umbrella title nor the numbering system appear on the cover; the title "DC Special Series" appeared only on the first page in the
indicia. Most issues featured new material, but eight issues were reprints of previously published material.[2]
DC Special Series started out as a biweekly title in 1977 until Spring 1978, when it became quarterly. The series went on hiatus after the Fall 1978 issue and was revived in Summer 1979. Two stories originally scheduled to appear in DC Special Series were split apart and published in other titles due to the
DC Implosion.[5]
The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told includes "How to Prevent a Flash" from DC Special Series #1, 288 pages, February 1991,
ISBN978-0930289812
Kobra: Resurrection includes "The Dead on Arrival Conspiracy" from DC Special Series #1, 144 pages, February 2010,
ISBN978-1401226558
Secret Society of Super Villains Vol. 2 includes DC Special Series #6, 328 pages, May 2012,
ISBN978-1401231101
Deadman Book Four includes DC Special Series #8, 168 pages, January 2014,
ISBN978-1401243241
Deadman Omnibus includes DC Special Series #8, 944 pages, December 2020,
ISBN978-1779504883
The Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told includes "Beyond the Super-Speed Barrier" from DC Special Series #11, 208 pages, August 2007,
ISBN978-1401213725
The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told includes "Death Strikes at Midnight and Three" from DC Special Series #15, 352 pages, 1988,
ISBN0930289-39-0
Legends of the Dark Knight: Marshall Rogers includes "Death Strikes at Midnight and Three" from DC Special Series #15, 496 pages, November 2011,
ISBN978-1401232276
Batman Arkham: Ra’s Al Ghul includes “I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!” from DC Special Series #15, 232 pages, March 2019,
ISBN978-1401288815
Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden includes “I Now Pronounce You Batman and Wife!” from DC Special Series #15, 248 pages, June 2019,
ISBN978-1401289614
The Complete Frank Miller Batman includes "Wanted: Santa Claus -- Dead or Alive!" from DC Special Series #21, 312 pages, December 1989, Longmeadow Press,
ISBN978-0681409699
Superman: The Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude includes DC Special Series #26, 200 pages, May 2012,
ISBN978-1401234232
The Marvel/DC Collection: Crossover Classics Volume 1 includes DC Special Series #27, 320 pages, June 1997,
ISBN978-0871358585
^Romero, Max (July 2012). "I'll Buy That For a Dollar! DC Comics' Dollar Comics". Back Issue! (#57). Raleigh, North Carolina:
TwoMorrows Publishing: 39–41.
^Stroud, Bryan D. (July 2015). "DC's Bronze Age Reprint Giants". Back Issue! (#81). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 62.
^Kelly, Rob (August 2009). "Kobra". Back Issue! (#35). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 63–66.
^Wells, John (October 24, 1997), "'Lost' DC: The DC Implosion", Comics Buyer's Guide, no. #1249, Iola, Wisconsin, p. 132, DC Special Series planned Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Superboy/Legion giants were split into two-parters published in Green Lantern #111–112 (Dec. 78 and Jan. 79) and Superboy and The Legion of Super-Heroes #250–251 (Apr. and May 79).
^
abcEury, Michael (December 2012). "The Amazing World of Superman Tabloids". Back Issue! (#61). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 11–16.
^
abManning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:
Dorling Kindersley. p. 195.
ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. Written by Len Wein and illustrated by José Luis García-López, the comic saw...Batman and the Hulk doing battle with both the Joker and Marvel's ultra-powerful Shaper of Worlds.
^Riley, Shannon E. (December 2015). "Christmas With the Superheroes From Capes to Sci-Fi, Mystery to 'Mazing Man: A Survey of DC Christmas Tales of the '70s, '80s, and Early '90s". Back Issue! (#85). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 20–21.