DC Solo Characters Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll

Are you ready for the biggest DC Mapping Post you’ll ever read!? Today I’m mapping every DC solo character we haven’t covered in the past two weeks! I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted DC omnibus volumes every day until May 19th! Then, on the 19th, I’ll be joining with Near Mint Condition to launch the first annual Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus Annual Poll!

This post explains potential DC solo character omnibus mapping for votes on the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Secret Ballot. I’m posting all of these maps before the poll begins to give people the time to consider their favorites, correct our mapping mistakes, and catch books I might have missed.

Here’s the full list of the characters this post covers: Adam Strange, Ambush Bug, Amethyst, Arion, The Atom, Black Adam, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle, Blue Devil, Booster Gold, Brainiac, Brimstone, Cameron Chase, Captain Atom, Captain Carrot, Creeper, Cyborg, Damage, Darkseid, Deadman, Deathstroke, Demon Knights, Doctor Fate, Doomsday, Eclipso, Elongated Man, Etrigan, Firestorm, Frankenstein, Hawk and Dove, Hawkman, Hitman, Hourman, Human Target, Immortal Men, Jonah Hex, Kamandi, Kid Eternity, Lex Luthor, Lobo, Madame Xanadu, Manhunter, Martian Manhunter, Metamorpho, Mister Miracle, OMAC, Peacemaker, Plastic Man, Promethea, The Question, Ragman, The Ray, Red Tornado, Renee Montoya, Resurrection Man, Richard Dragon, Rose & Thorn, Sgt. Rock, Shazam, Sideways, Silencer, Solomon Grundy, The Spectre, The Spirit, Stargirl, Starman, Tom Strong, Valor, Vigilante, Warlord, and Zatanna.

If you don’t know DC well enough to know what to vote for, stick around for my explanations! Learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including giving us feedback if we missed the mark.

If voting is now open, you can use this as your crib sheet! Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how DC could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of DC creating a book with that title or covering that period.

High-effort, heavily-researched, over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics.

Adam Strange Omnibus Mapping

Adam Strange, Post-Crisis Omnibus Vol. 1 (1990 & on)

This would likely collect Swamp Thing (1982) #57-58, Adam Strange (1990) #1-3, JLA (1997) #20-21, Adam Strange (2004) #1-8, Rann-Thanagar War (2005) #1-6, assorted excerpts from 52 (2006), Countdown to Adventure (2007) #1-8, Rann-Thanagar Holy War (2008) #1-8, Adam Strange Special (2008) #1, Hawkman Special (2008) #1, and Strange Adventures (2009) #1-8.

Ambush Bug Omnibus Mapping

Ambush Bug (1982 & on)

This would start by mirroring the contents of a Showcase Presents black-and-white volume, which collected DC Comics Presents (1978) #52, 59, & 81, Supergirl (1983) #16, Action Comics (1938) #560, 563, & 565, Ambush Bug (1985) #1-4, Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer (1986) #1, Son of Ambush Bug (1986) #1-6, Secret Origins (1986) #48, and Ambush Bug Nothing Special (1992) #1.

That’s 480 pages, which is enough for a slim omnibus, but there’s plenty of room to push onward from there – especially because Ambush Bug doesn’t make all that many appearances before Flashpoint!

I think it would definitely include material from DCU Heroes Secret Files (1999) #1 and 52 (2006) #24, and then all of Ambush Bug: Year None (2008) #1-5 & 7 (there was no issue #6).

Amethyst Omnibus Mapping

Amethyst: Princess of the Gemworld (1983 – 1985)

This would start by mirroring the contents of a Showcase Presents black-and-white volume, which collected Legion of Super-Heroes (1980) #298 (a preview story), Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld (1983) #1-12 & Annual 1, DC Comics Presents (1978) #63, Amethyst (1983) #1-11.

That was about 650 pages, which is the perfect size for a Pre-Crisis DC omnibus! However, it could easily continue a bit farther to wrap up all of her major material by adding Amethyst (1983) #12-16 & Special and Amethyst (1987) #1-4, at which point she stars briefly in Legion of Super-Heroes and then fades into obscurity.

Animal Man Omnibus Mapping

See Vertigo Heroes & The Sandman Universe Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll.

Arion, Lord of Atlantis Omnibus Mapping

Arion, Lord of Atlantis (1982 – 1985)

Many thanks to my Near Mint Condition co-host Larry’s Library for submitting this run, which I definitely would have missed!

This would collect Arion, Lord of Atlantis (1982 – 1985) #1-35 & Special Edition 1. That leaves us enough room to add Arion the Immortal (1992) #1-6! Also, there is some lead-in material from Warlord (1976) that would be critical to appreciate this series.

The Atom Omnibus Mapping

Atom, The Silver Age Omnibus (1961 – 1968)

This would likely run two volumes, as the contents of a Showcase Presents black-and-white volumes ran for about 1100 pages – far too big for a DC Silver Age Omnibus! It would collect Atom stories from Showcase (1956) #34-36 and The Atom (1962) #1-38.

Atom, The Bronze Age Omnibus (1968 – 1982)

This would collect Atom and Hawkman #39-45 (1968), World’s Finest Comics #213, 236, & 260, DC Comics Presents #15 & 51, Superman Family #220 (1982), Justice League of America #213-216 (1983), and material from DC Special Series #1 (1977), Detective Comics #432, 463-464, & 489, and Action Comics #425, 427, 430, 433, 435, 438-439, 442, 447-448, 453-454, 487, 489, 513-516, 521-524, 530-533.

I think this ought to also include Sword of the Atom (1983) #1-4 and Sword of the Atom Special (1984) #1-3, though it would also be tempting to include those solo-focused series in a Post-Crisis omnius.

Atom: The Power of the Atom by Roger Stern & Tom Peyer (1988 – 1995)

This would collect Power of the Atom (1988) #1-18, Atom Special 1993 & 1994, and other post-Crisis material.

While it would be tempting to include Sword of the Atom (1983) #1-4 and Sword of the Atom Special (1984) #1-3, but they are Pre-Crisis by different creators and would likely fit better into the Bronze Age omnibus.

Atom: All New Atom by Gail Simone (2006 – 2008)

This would collect All New Atom (2006) #1-25 and pre-Flashpoint guest appearances (including material from Countdown to Final Crisis and DCU: Brave New World (2006) #1).

Black Adam Omnibus Mapping

Black Adam, The Modern Era Omnibus (2004 & on)

This rough mapping is courtesy of BrandXK in the Near Mint Community, who figured out if there was enough Black Adam solo material and key arcs to make this worthwhile. Of course, we’ve already missed the release window of the film, so this might never happen for us!

This would collect JSA #56-58, Hawkman #23-25, World War III #1-4, Black Adam: The Dark Age #1-6 Justice Society of America vol. 3 (2007) #23-25, Year of the Villain: Black Adam #1, Black Adam (2022) #1-12, and material from 52 (2006) #1-3, 6-10, 12-16, 18-26, 29-34, 36-40, 43-50, & 52.

Black Lightning Omnibus Mapping

Black Lightning, The Complete Omnibus (1977 – 2018)

This would collect all of Black Lightning’s major material from his introduction to the present day.

It would collect Black Lightning (1977) #1-11, Worlds Finest #260( plus a story from Cancelled Comics Cavalcade), World’s Finest Comics #256-259 & 261, DC Comics Presents #16, Justice League of America (1960) #173-174, Detective Comics (1937) #490-491 & 494-495, Black Lightning (1995) #1-13, Black Lightning: Year One (2009) #1-6, DC Universe Presents (2011) #13-16, Band lack Lightning: Cold Dead Hands (2017) #1-6.

Blue Beetle Omnibus Mapping

Many thanks to my frequent verbal sparring partner Lars of Mad Norwegian Press for tackling the majority of mapping for the Charlton Comics era of Blue Beetle!

Blue Beetle & The Mystery Men, The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1939 & on)

This would collect Blue Beetle material from Mystery Men Comics (1939) #1-31, to which we may be able to add contemporaneous material from Blue Beetle (1939) #1-15.

Blue Beetle, The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1939 & on)

This would start from either Blue Beetle (1939) #1 or Blue Beetle (1939) #16 and continue to collect Blue Beetle (1939) #16-42 & 44-60, Blue Beetle (1950) #1-2, and Blue Beetle (1955) #18-21.

Blue Beetle, The Silver & Bronze Age Omnibus (1964 & on)

This would collect Blue Beetle (1964) #1-5, (1965) #50-54; (1967) #1-5, back-ups from Captain Atom #83-86 (1966), Americomics (1983) #1-6, Americomics Special #1, and Charlton Bullseye #1 (1981).

Blue Beetle, The Post-Crisis Omnibus (1986 – 1988)

This would mirror the black-and-white Showcase Presents mapping to collect Blue Beetle (1986) #1-24 and Secret Origins (1986) #2, to which we could add any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Blue Beetle: Jaime Reyes (2006 – 2009)

Collects Blue Beetle (2006) #1-36 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period (though his trades never collected any additional issues).

Blue Beetle, The New 52 & Rebirth Omnibus (2016 – 2018)

Collects Blue Beetle (2011) #1-16 & 0 and Blue Beetle (2016) Rebirth & #1-18.

We could extend that to cover Blue Beetle: Graduation Day (2022 – 2023) #1-6, but that leads directly into Blue Beetle (2023), which runs for at least 11 issues. It might make sense to save all of that for a subsequent volume.

Blue Devil Omnibus Mapping

Blue Devil (1984 – 1986)

This would collect Blue Devil (1984) #1-31 and Annual 1 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Booster Gold Omnibus Mapping

Booster Gold, The Classic Omnibus (1986 – 1988)

This would mirror the mapping of a single Showcase Presents volume and a pair of 2019-2020 hardcovers to collect Booster Gold (1986) #1-25, and material from Action Comics (1938) #594, Secret Origins (1986) #35, and Millennium (1987) #3-7.

Booster Gold by Johns, Giffen, & Jurgens (2007 – 2015)

This would collect Booster Gold (2007) #0-47 & One Million, The Brave and the Bold (2007) #23, material from 52 (2006) #24, and possibly adding the later Booster Gold: Futures End (2014) #1 & Convergence: Booster Gold (2015) #1-2.

Captain Atom Omnibus Mapping

Captain Atom by Cary Bates Vol. 1 (of 2) (1987 – 1989)
Captain Atom by Cary Bates Vol. 2 (of 2) (1989 – 1991)

This pair of volumes would collect all of Captain Atom (1987), likely splitting it into Captain Atom (1987) #1-29 & Annual 1-2 and Captain Atom (1987) #30-57, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Captain Atom, The Modern Years (2005 – 2017)

This would collect 00s-era Captain Atom series and appearances including Captain Atom: Armageddon (2005) #1-9 (a crossover into the WildStorm universe!), Action Comics (1938) #879-889 (backups), material from DC Universe: Legacies (2010) #5 & 10, Captain Atom (2011) #0-12, and The Fall and Rise of Captain Atom (2017) #1-6, plus any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Captain Carrot Omnibus Mapping

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! (1982 – 1987)

This would mirror the black-and-white Showcase Presents mapping to collect Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! (1983) #1-20, a preview story from New Teen Titans (1980) #16, and Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War (1986) #1-3.

Since that’s not very big, we could add The Oz-Wonderland War (1986) #1-3 and Captain Carrot and the Final Ark (2007) #1-3, and some relevant Infinite Crisis material.

Cameron Chase Omnibus Mapping

Chase: The Cameron Chase Omnibus (1998 & on)

This would mirror an existing 400 page paperback to collect Batgirl Secret Files and Origins (2002) #1, Batman (1940) #550, Chase (1998) #1-9 & One Million, DCU Villains Secret Files (1999) #1, The Flash Secret Files (1997) #3, Hawkman Secret Files and Origins (2002) #1, Joker: Last Laugh Secret Files (2001) #1, JSA Secret Files (1999) #2, Secret Files & Origins Guide to the DC Universe 2000 (2000) #1, and Superman: Our Worlds at War Secret Files (2001) #1.

We could add to that Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape (2009) #1-6 and other key material, since this could easily absorb another 300 pages!

The Creeper Omnibus Mapping

Creeper, The Bronze Age Omnibus (1968 – 1983)

This could collect Showcase #73 (1968) 1st appearance, Beware the Creeper (1968) #1-6, Brave and the Bold #80 (1968), Justice League of America #70 (1969), Detective Comics #418 (1971), Detective Comics #447-448 (1975), Joker #3 (1975),, 1st Issue Special #7 (1975), material from Super-Team Family #2 (1975), Adventure Comics #445-447 (1976), World’s Finest Comics #249-255 (1978), Brave and the Bold #143, 178 (1978), Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, and Flash #318-323 (1983).

Creeper, The Modern Omnibus (1990 – 2009)

This could collect Hawk and Dove #18-19 (1990), Creeper (1997) #1-11 & One Million Superboy #93 (2001), Beware the Creeper (2003) #1-5 Creeper (2006) #1-6, and material from Secret Origins #18 (1987), Eclipso #3-6, 9, 11-13 (1993), Showcase ’93 #12 (1993), DCU: Brave New World #1, and “Beware the Creeper” story from Wednesday Comics (2009).

Cyborg Omnibus Mapping

Cyborg, The New 52 & Rebirth Omnibus by Walker, Semper, & Wolfman (2015 – 2018)

This would collect Cyborg (2015) #1-12 and Cyborg (2016) Rebirth & #1-23.

Damage Omnibus Mapping

Damage, The 90s Omnibus (1994 – 1995)

This would collect Damage (1994) #1-20 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Damage, The DC New Age of Heroes, by Robert Venditti & Tony Daniel (2018 – 2019)

This would collect Damage (2018) #1-16 & Annual 1 and Suicide Squad (2016) #35.

Darkseid Omnibus Mapping

Darkseid Omnibus Vol. 1 (1970 & on)

Darkseid first appeared in Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 in December 1970. While much of his early material is collected as a part of Kirby’s “Fourth World,” a Darkseid omnibus could collect his key appearances in other books continuing through Crisis and beyond.

DC New Age of Heroes Omnibus Mapping

The “New Age of Heroes” was a sub-line of comics launched in 2018, two years into DC’s Rebirth initiative. These books were a mix of re-imaginings of old heroes not seen for years as well as some newly-created ones – many with some major creators behind them.

Damage, The DC New Age of Heroes, by Robert Venditti & Tony Danie. (2018 – 2019)

See directly above!

DC New Age of Heroes Companion: Sideways, Brimstone, Immortal Men, Challengers, & Unexpected (2018 – 2019)

This would collect all of the shorter New Age of Heroes series, anchoring with Sideways. It would collect Sideways #1-13 & Annual, The Curse of Brimstone #1-12 & Annual, The Immortal Men #1-6, New Challengers #1-6, and The Unexpected #1-6.

The Silencer, The DC New Age of Heroes, by Dan Abnett, John Romita Jr, & Ken Marion (2018 – 2019)

This would collect The Silencer (2018) #1-18 & Annual 1.

Terrifics, The DC New Age of Heroes, by Lemire & Yang (2018 – 2020)

This would Collect The Terrifics (2018) #1-30 & Annual 1. Issues #28-30 were only released in the fourth trade paperback of this series – never in single issue!

Deadman Omnibus Mapping

Deadman, The Modern Omnibus Vol. 1 (by Kelley Jones et al) (1985 & on)

This would be multiple volumes, as Deadman’s solo material alone is 50+ issues!

The existing omnibus ends at Deadman (1985) #1-4 (1985-1986) but does NOT include his other 1985 series, so that’s where this would begin. It would include all of the following plus key guest appearances, which easily takes this over 50 issues.

This would begin to collect Deadman (1985) #1-7 (1985), Action Comics [Weekly] (1938) #601-612, 618-621, 623-626, and #642 (1988-1989), Deadman: Love After Death (1989) #1-2 (1989-1990), Deadman: Exorcism (1992) #1-2, Lobo / Deadman: The Brave and the Bald (1995) #1, Batman / Deadman: Death and Glory (1995) OGN, Deadman: Dead Again (2001) #1-5 (2001), Deadman (2002) #1-9 (2002), Deadman (2006) #1-13 (2006-2007), DC Universe Presents (2011) #1-5, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love (2016) #1-3 (2016-2017), and Deadman (2017) #1-6 (2017-2018).

Deathstroke Omnibus Mapping

Deathstroke: The Terminator by Marv Wolfman Vol. 2 (of 2) (1993 – 1996)

The first omnibus in this line ends with Deathstroke: The Terminator (1991) #26, so this would collect Deathstroke: The Terminator (1991) #27-40 & Annual 3, Deathstroke the Hunted (1994) #0 & 46-50, Deathstroke (1995) #46-60 & Annual 5, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Deathstroke, The New 52 Omnibus by Higgins & Jordan (2011 – 2013)

The Deathstroke By Tony Daniel Omnibus collects only the second of Deathstroke’s New 52 series! This is the first series, which directly precedes it.

This would collect Deathstroke (2011) #1-20 & 0.

Deathstroke Inc. by Ed Brisson & Dexter Soy (2021 – 2022)

This would collect Deathstroke Inc. (2021) #1-15 and and all of Shadow War (from Shadow War: Alpha (2022) #1, Batman (2016) #122-123, Deathstroke Inc. (2021) #8-9, Robin (2021) #13-14, Shadow War Zone (2022) #1, and Shadow War: Omega (2022) #1).

The Demon & Demon Knights Omnibus Mapping

Etrigan the Demon Vol. 1 (1990 – 1995)

This would begin to collect The Demon (1990) #1-58, 0, & Annuals 1-2, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Demon Knights, The New 52 Omnibus (2011 – 2013)

This would collect Demon Knights (2011) #1-23 & 0.

Doctor Fate Omnibus Mapping

Doctor Fate: The Golden Age of Earth-2 (1940 – 1986)

This is fun to explain!

During the actual Golden Age, Doctor Fate appeared only in stories in More Fun Comics (1936) #55-98. Those have been collected in a single DC Archives hardcover, which was 336 pages – only half the length we need for an omnibus!

However, Doctor Fate was unique amongst Golden Age characters in that when he was brought back in the Silver Age as an Earth-Two character he continued to make his own independent appearances away from the Justice Society. He has stories in World’s Finest Comics (1941) #201 & 208, Doctor Fate in 1st Issue Special (1975) #9, DC Special Series (1977) #10, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #156, DC Comics Presents (1978) #23, a story from DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest (1980) #3, The Flash (1959) #305 (full story) & 306-313 (back-ups), and Amethyst (1985) #13.

With all of that material included, this would be the perfect size for an omnibus!

Doctor Fate by DeMatteis & Loebs (Vol. 1 of 2) (1987 – 1992)

This would begin with a story from Secret Origins (1986) #24 and then The Weird (1988) #1-4, before continuing to Doctor Fate (1987) #1-4 and Doctor Fate (1988) #1-41 & Annual 1.

Doctor Fate: Jared Stevens (Vol. 2 of 2) (1994 – 1998)

This would continue collecting 1990s material with a new heroes behind the historic helmet – Jared Stevens.

This would collect Fate (1994) #0-22 and The Book of Fate (1997) #1-12.

That’s 35 issues, which is a fine-sized and reasonable omnibus.

To that we could also add Doctor Fate (2003) #1-5 and the “Helmet of Fate” one-shots (The Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp (2007) #1, The Helmet of Fate: Sargon the Sorcerer (2007) #1, The Helmet of Fate: Ibis the Invincible (2007) #1, The Helmet of Fate: Black Alice (2007) #1), and maybe even Countdown to Mystery (2007) #1-8.

That’s another 18 issues, which takes this to a somewhat kooky length – but, it truly is all of Doctor Fate’s material aside from JSA appearances and Reign in Hell (2008) #2-8.

Doctor Fate: The New 52 Omnibus (2015 – 2017)

This would collect Convergence Aquaman (2015) #2 (the debut of a new Doctor Fate), Doctor Fate (2015) #1-18, and material from DC Sneak Peek: Doctor Fate (2015).

Eclipso Omnibus Mapping

Eclipso, The Classic Omnibus (1963 & on)

A Showcase Presents black-and-white volume collected Eclipso stories from House of Secrets (1956) #61-80.

That’s just 296 pages, but the Silver Age Eclipso – Dr. Bruce Gordon – continues making appearances through Crisis and beyond. This volume could collect all of those stories.

DC Events: Eclipso: The Darkness Within, The Complete Omnibus (1992 – 1994)

Another of DC’s “Annuals Crossovers” events in the same model as Armageddon 2001. Yet, unlike Armageddon, this story was very much in continuity as it built Eclipso into a major villain of the Post-Crisis era. This event lead directly to an ongoing series for Eclipso, which could also be collected here in full!

In total, this could collect Eclipso: The Darkness Within (1992) #1-2, Action Comics Annual 4, Adventures of Superman Annual 4, Batman Annual 16, Deathstroke: The Terminator Annual 1, The Demon Annual 1, Detective Comics Annual 5, The Flash Annual 5, Green Arrow Annual 5, Green Lantern (1990) Annual 1, Hawkworld Annual 3, Justice League America Annual 6, Justice League Europe Annual 3, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’92 Annual 3, The New Titans (1988) Annual 8, Robin (1993) Annual 1, Superman (1987) Annual 4, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual 1, Wonder Woman Annual 3, plus Valor (1992) #1 and Eclipso (1992) #1-18 & Annual 1. See Guide to DC Universe Events – Eclipso: The Darkness Within for a full reading order.

The Elongated Man Omnibus Mapping

Elongated Man (1960 & on)

This would mirror the black-and-white Showcase Presents mapping to collect back-up stories from The Flash (1959) #112, 115, 124, 130, 134, & 138 and Detective Comics (1937) #327-371. However, Elongated Man continued to appear in Detective Comics (1937) #372-383.

The Showcase volume was already more than 500 pages, so with the additional back-ups stories this nearly the perfect amount of material for a Silver or Bronze Age omnibus! Plus, Elongated Man makes many regular appearances continuing into the Bronze Age – so this volume could continue into the 1970s.

Firestorm Omnibus Mapping

Firestorm: The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 1 (of 2) (1978 – 1986)
Firestorm: The Fury of Firestorm, The Nuclear Man Vol. 2 (of 2) (1986 – 1990)

This pair of volumes would collect Firestorm: The Nuclear Man (1978) #1-5, stories from The Flash (1959) #289-293, The Fury of Firestorm (1982) #1-64 & Annual 1-5,  Firestorm: The Nuclear Man (1987) #65-100, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Firestorm by Jolley, Moore, & McDuffie (2004 – 2006)

This would collect Firestorm (2004) #1-35 – most of which has never been collected! – and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Firestorm: The New 52 Omnibus (2011 – 2013)

This would collect The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men (2011) #1-20 & 0.

Frankenstein Omnibus Mapping

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., The New 52 Omnibus by Jeff Lemire (2011 – 2013)

This would collect Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1-16 & 0 and Men of War (2011) #8.

Grifter & Voodoo Omnibus Mapping

See Wildstorm Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll.

Hawk and Dove Omnibus Mapping

Hawk and Dove (1988 – 1991)

This would collect Hawk and Dove (1988) 1-5 and Hawk and Dove (1989) #1-28 & Annuals 1-2, as well as any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Hawkman Omnibus Mapping

Hawkman, The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1939 & on)

A single volume of Golden Age Hawkman Archives collected Hawkman stories from Flash Comics (1939) #1-22, but he continues to appear through #104. The stories are all quite short, so this would only likely need to be two volumes.

Hawkman, The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1961 & on)

This would mirror a pair of black-and-white Showcase Presents volumes collecting Hawkman stories from The Brave and the Bold (1955) #34-36 & 70, 42-44, & 51, The Atom (1962) #7 & 31, Mystery in Space (1951) #87-90, Hawkman (1964) #1-28, and The Atom and Hawkman (1968) #39-45.

If you’re asking yourself “Where are issues #29-38?” I’ve got you covered: Hawkman’s series was canceled, and he joined The Atom (1962), which retitled when he arrived.

That adds up to over 1100 pages, which is far too big for a DC Silver Age omnibus! Hawkman is next in Justice League of America (1960) for a significant run that continues deep into the Bronze Age, so there would certainly be material to fill out a second volume.

Hawkman by Tony Isabella (1985 – 1987)

This would collect The Shadow War of Hawkman (1985) #1-4, Hawkman Special (1986) #1, DC Comics Presents #95, Hawkman (1986) #1-17 by Tony Isabella & Dan Mishkin, and maybe also Legend of the Hawkman (2000) #1-3.

Hawkman: Hawkword by John Ostrander (1990 – 1993)

This would collect Hawkworld (1990) #1-32 & Annual 1-3.

Hawkman by John Ostrander & William Messner-Loebs (1993 – 1996)

This would collect Hawkman (1993) #1-33 & Annual 1-2, as well as any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Hawkman & Hawkgirl by Palmiotti, Gray, & Simonson (2004 – 2007)

There is one existing Hawkman omnibus – a book of the first 25 issues of Hawkman (2002) written by Geoff Johns and James Robinson. this volume would continue that run to its completion, including a title swap to Hawkgirl in 2006.

This would collect Hawkman (2002) #26-49 and Hawkgirl (2006) #50-66 and JSA Classified (2005) #21-22.

Hawman: The Savage Hawkman, The New 52 Omnibus (2011 – 2013)

This would collect The Savage Hawkman (2011) #1-20 & 0 and Green Arrow (2011) #14.

Hawkman by Robert Vendetti (2018 – 2020)

This would collect Hawkman (2018) #1-29.

We could add Death of Hawkman (2017) #1-6 and Hawkman: Found #1 as a prologue. They aren’t required to understand this season, but they’d be abandoned if we don’t include them here – they happen several years after the conclusion of the New 52 material, so they don’t make sense to append to that volume.

Hitman Omnibus Mapping

Hitman by Garth Ennis and John McCrea Vol. 2 (1999 – 2001)

We have to hope that this omnibus is already on DC’s mind, since they are publishing a Volume 1 this week!

A second volume would collect Hitman (1996) One Million & #34-60, Hitman / Lobo that Stubid Bastich (2000) #1, JLA/Hitman (2007) #1-2, and material from Superman 80-Page Giant (1999) #1.

My enthusiastic mapping colleagues informed me that we could also add further Ennis material from All-Star Section 8 #1-6 (drawn by McCrea) and Six Pack and Dog Welder: Hard Travelin Heroez #1-6 (a spin-off mini-series starring Six Pack & Co.).

Hourman Omnibus Mapping

Hourman by Tom Peyer (1999 – 2001)

This would collect Hourman (1999) #1-25.

As prelude material, this could add some or all of the material from JLA (1997) #12, 15, 23, 26, 28-31, 38, 40-41, & 1,000,000, as well as stories from JLA: Secret Files and Origins #1 (Lost Pages, Day In The Life), JLA: Secret Files and Origins #2 (Heroes), and JSA Secret Files and Origins #1-2.

We could also add some of the contemporaneous stories from JSA (1999) #1-11, 13, 15, 65, 66, but that’s a lot of outside material that would be fully collected in other omnibuses.

Human Target Omnibus Mapping

Human Target by Peter Milligan (1999 – 2005)

This would collect Human Target (1999) #1-4, Human Target (2003) #1-21, and Human Target: Final Cut (2002) OGN.

We could bookend that by adding Human Target Special (1991) #1 and Human Target (2010) #1-6, neither by Milligan. Those are the character’s only two other titled series until his modern Tom King series in 2021.

Jonah Hex Omnibus Mapping

Jonah Hex, The Classic Omnibus Vol. 1 (1970 & on)

Jonah Hex has an absolutely massive amount of Pre-Crisis material – enough for his own long-running line of omnibuses – and he continues past that into the 90s!

This would begin by mirroring a pair of black-and-white Showcase Presents volumes collecting All-Star Western (1970) #2-11, Weird Western Tales (1972) #12-14 & 16-38, and Jonah Hex (1977) #1-22.

Jonah Hex (1977) continues through issue #92 in 1985. From there, he continues in Hex (1985) #1-18. Finally, he is in Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo (1993) #1-5, Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such (1995) #1-5, Jonah Hex: Shadows West (1999) #1-3.

Jonah Hex by Palmiotti & Gray Vol. 1 (of 2) (2006 – 2009)
Jonah Hex by Palmiotti & Gray Vol. 2 (of 2) (2009 – 2011)

This pair of omnibuses would collect Jonah Hex (2006) #1-70.

Jonah Hex: All-Star Western, The New 52 Omnibus by Palmiotti & Gray (2011 – 2014)

This would collect Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti’s continuing run on Jonah Hex in All-Star Western (2011) #1-34 & 0.

Kamandi Omnibus Mapping

Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth, Vol. 2 (1976 – 1993)

This continues directly from the Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth by Jack Kirby omnibus to collect Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth (1972) #41-59, Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2, Kamandi: At Earth’s End (1993) #1-6, The Brave and the Bold #120 & 157, and DC Comics Presents #64.

Kid Eternity Omnibus Mapping

Kid Eternity (1940 – 1993)

This map was worked out by Near Mint Condition community member nextimaginaut.

This would collect material from Hit Comics (1940) #25-60, material from Kid Eternity (1946) #1-18, Shazam! (1973) #27, material from World’s Finest Comics (1941) #268 & 279-282, material from Adventure Comics #491-492, Kid Eternity (1991) #1-3, Kid Eternity, Vol. 3 (1993) #1-16, and material from Vertigo Jam (1993).

Lobo Omnibus Mapping

Lobo by Keith Giffen Vol. 1 (1990 & on)

There’s a lot of Lobo material in the 90s that DC has finally begun to recollect in their new paperback compendium line – but, why not have that in an omnibus!?

This would mirror the compendium line by beginning to collect. Lobo (miniseries) #1-4,Lobo #0-9, Lobo Annual #1-2, Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special #1, Lobo’s Back #1-4,Lobo: Blazing Chain of Love #1, Lobo: Infanticide #1-4, Lobo: Portrait of a Victim #1,Lobo: Unamerican Gladiators #1-4, Lobo Convention Special #1, Lobo: A Contract onGawd #1-4, Lobo: In the Chair #1, Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #8, Superman: TheMan of Steel #30, The Demon #11-15, The Omega Men #3, profile pages from Who’s Who #8, and the Lobocop #1 parody.

Madame Xanadu Omnibus Mapping

Madame Xanadu by Matt Wagner (2008 – 2011)

This would collect Madame Xanadu (2008) #1-29 and “Captive Audience” from House of Mystery Halloween (2009) Annual 1. Just for fun, we could throw in Madame Xanadu (1981) #1.

Manhunter Omnibus Mapping

Manhunter by John Ostrander, Kim Yale, & Steven Grant (1988 – 1995)

This would collect Manhunter (1988) #1-24, to which we could easily add Manhunter (1995) #0-12 (though it’s a different character).

Manhunter: Kate Spencer (2004 – 2009)

This would collect Manhunter (2004) #1-38, to which we could optionally add material from Streets of Gotham (2009) 1-13 back up stories and Bruce Wayne the Road Home: Oracle.

Martian Manhunter Omnibus Mapping

Martian Manhunter, The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1955 & on)

This would begin by mirroring a pair of black-and-white Showcase Presents volumes collecting stories from Batman (1940) #78, Detective Comics (1937) #225-326, and House of Mystery (1951) #143-73.

As with other characters who had just two Showcase volumes, we have the problem that this material comes to about 1100 pages – too big for one DC Silver Age Omnibus, but slightly too small for two.

two Showcase volumes, mapping stories from Detective Comics #225–326 and House of Mystery #143–173 – this is 1100+ pages, possibly too big for one DC omni. Unfortunately, there’s not much material we could add to fill this out beyond The Brave and the Bold (1955) #50 & 56, unless we pull in some material from Martian Manhunter’s membership in Justice League of America (1960) or push this slightly forward into the Bronze Age for more team-up material.

Martian Manhunter by John Ostrander (1998 – 2001)

This would collect Martian Manhunter (1998) #0-36, Annual 1-2, & One Million.

Since Martian Manhunter doesn’t have much solo material in the first decade of Post-Crisis, we could also reach back for 8 prior issues – Martian Manhunter (1988) #1-4, Martian Manhunter: American Secrets (1992) #1-3, and Martian Manhunter Special (1996) #1. However, it’s also possible that they get picked up alongside Justice League Task Force in omnibus, since he anchored that book.

Martian Manhunter by Lieberman, Williams, & Orlando (2007 – 2020)

This would collect three disconnected runs from three very different eras – Martian Manhunter (2007) #1-8 (Pre-Flashpoint), Martian Manhunter (2015) #1-12 (late New 52), & Martian Manhunter (2018) #1-12 (Rebirth).

Metamorpho Omnibus Mapping

Metamorpho, The Silver Age Omnibus (1965 – 1979)

This would mirror the black-and-white Showcase Presents mapping to collect The Brave and the Bold (1955) #57–58, 66, & 68, Metamorpho (1965) #1-17, and Justice League of America (1960) #42 (to which it could add Action Comics (1938) #413-416 & 418 and The Brave and the Bold (1955) #101, 123, & 154).

Mister Miracle Omnibus Mapping

Mister Miracle, The Bronze Age Omnibus (1971 – 1977)

This duplicates Kirby “Fourth World” omnibus content and extends past it.

It would collect Mister Miracle (1971) #1-18, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #112, 1st Issue Special (1975) #13, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #128, Mister Miracle (1971 / 1977) #19-25, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #138, and DC Comics Presents (1978) #12.

Mister Miracle, The Post-Crisis Omnibus (1987 – 1997)

This would collect Mister Miracle Special (1987) #1, Mister Miracle (1989) #1-28 (Jan 1989 – Jun 1991), Mister Miracle (1996) #1-7 (April 1996 – Oct 1996), & Mister Miracles appearances in The New Gods (1995) #13-15.

OMAC Omnibus Mapping

OMAC by Kirby, Rucka, Byrne, and Jones Omnibus (1974 – 2007)

I know close to nothing about OMAC, so I handed the wheel over to Near Mint Condition community member BrandXK and asked him to drive on this one!

This would collect OMAC (1974) #1-8, DC Comics Presents #61, OMAC (1991) #1-4, The OMAC Project #1-6, Infinite Crisis Special #1 OMAC (2006) #1-8, and material from Kamandi #59 (“The Return of OMAC”), Warlord #37-39 & 42-47, and DCU: Brave New World #1.

Peacemaker Omnibus Mapping

Peacemaker, The Complete Omnibus (1967 – 2023)

After my appearance on Near Mint Condition’s Old Reader / New Reader to read Peacemaker’s newest series, I’ve taken a liking to this somewhat too-firm-in-his ways hero – so I took it upon myself to check if he has enough material for his own omnibus.

While this isn’t an exact map, it’s a proof of concept that this omnibus could be a worthwhile compilation of stories!

This could collect Peacemaker (1967) #1-5, Vigilante (1983) #36-43 (December 1986 – July 1987), Peacemaker (1988) #1-4 Invasion! #2 (1988) (could be excerpted), Blasters Special #1 (1989) (excerpts only), the core issues of the “Janus Directive” crossover (Suicide Squad #27, Checkmate #16, SS28, CM17, SS29, CM18, SS30), War of the Gods #4 (excerpts only), featured stories from Showcase ’93 (1993) #6-11, Eclipso #11-14 (last appearance for a while), Day of Judgment #3, material from Blue Beetle (2006) (he appears throughout the series), Booster Gold Vol. 2 #28-29 (2nd stories), material from Suicide Squad (2021) (he appears in every issue), Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace (2022) #1, and possibly Peacemaker Tries Hard! (2023) #1-6 (though it’s Black Label and M-rated, so maybe not).

(I suspect we’ll skip Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #87, Checkmate #19-28, Justice League Europe #17, and Checkmate #32-33, for either being too long or not relevant, but I didn’t read them in full so I’m not 100% sure!)

Plastic Man Omnibus Mapping

Plastic Man, Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1941 & on)

Plastic Man had one of the longest DC Archives lines with eight volumes, which collected Police Comics (1941) #1-77 and Plastic Man (1943) #1-10, which would take three omnibuses to cover.

But, Plastic Man’s Golden Age adventures didn’t end there! He appeared in Police Comics (1941) through issue #102 in October 1950 and continues right through the precipice of DC’s Silver Age in his own title ending with Plastic Man (1943) #64 November 1956.

That means he has about as much Golden Age material as Wonder Woman!

Plastic Man Silver Age Omnibus (1966 – 1977)

Plastic Man’s Silver Age series began with Eel O’Brian, Jr as the titular hero, ending with issue #10 in 1968 and then restarted for issues #11-20 in 1976-1977 starring the Golden Age Plastic Man Edward Patrick O’Brian.

This would collect Plastic Man (1966) #1-20 [AKA (1966) #1-10 & (1976) #11-20), The Inferior Five (1967) #2, and The Brave and the Bold (1955) #76, 95, 123, & 148.

Since that’s only 25 issues, it would be very tempting to push into the 1980s to grab the Plastic Man stories from Adventure Comics (1938) #468-478, at which point this would be a complete Pre-Crisis omnibus.

Plastic Man, The Modern Age Omnibus (1988 & on)

Plastic Man’s complete 2004 series is already collected in the hilariously marketed Plastic Man: Rubber Banded: The Deluxe Edition (which was wrapped with a real rubber band!). However, there’s some additional material on either side of that series we could collect, which could stretch that out to full omnibus size.

This would collect Plastic Man (1988) #1-4, Plastic Man Special (1999) #1, Plastic Man 80-Page Giant Annual (2003) #1 (cover only; this was reprints), Plastic Man (2004) #1-20, Green Lantern / Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception (2010) #1, Convergence: Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters (2015) #1-2, Plastic Man (2018) #1-6, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Promethea Omnibus Mapping

Promethea by Alan Moore (1999 – 2005)

As I assembled this post, I was helpfully reminded by my Near Mint Condition mapping colleagues that DC pulled Promethea into Earth-0 continuity during Scott Snyder’s run on Justice League (2018). That means this modern classic run is now fair game for our poll!

This would collect: Promethea (1999) 1-32, Tom Strong (1999) #36; and material from ABC A to Z, America’s Best Comics Special (2001) #1.

Question Omnibus Mapping

We already have complete coverage of The Question’s initial Post-Crisis material thanks to a pair of recent Omnibus volumes.

Question: Renee Montoya (2007 – 2011)

Despite the title of this volume, it could actually begin with Vic Sage as The Question in The Question (2005) #1-6.

Then, it would primarily collect Crime Bible: The Five Lessons of Blood (2007) #1-5, material from 52 (2006) #48 & 52, Final Crisis: Revelations (2008) #1-5, Question stories from Detective Comics (1937) #854-864, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Commenter Cody points out that there’s some more obvious material for this book – The Question (1987) #37, Convergence: The Question (2015) #1-2, and perhaps Lois Lane (2019) #1-12. I think that Lois series is too disconnected from this main material and not solely focused on Montoya … but, it is also by Greg Rucka, her primary writer! I think if you want to see that in this book you could absolutely assume it could be included.

Ragman Omnibus Mapping

Ragman, The Complete Omnibus (1976 – 2018)

I took a special delight when Lars of Mad Norwegian Press reviewed our initial list of poll titles and said something to the effect of, “Well, you have Ragman, clearly this has been a deep dive.” 😂

This would collect Ragman (1976) #1-5, Ragman (1991) #1-8, Ragman: Cry of the Dead (1993) #1-6, Ragman: Suit of Souls (2010) #1, Ragman (2017) #1-6, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

The Ray Omnibus Mapping

Ray, The 90s Omnibus by Christopher Priest et al (1994 – 1996)

This would completely collect The Ray’s run of 1990s series. It would include The Ray (1992) #1-6, The Ray (1994) #0-28 & Annual 1, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Red Tornado Omnibus Mapping, including Primal Force

Red Tornado & Primal Force (1985 – 2010)

Red Tornado is typically a team member, but one of those teams is the little-known Primal Force – who don’t quite have enough material for their own omnibus.

Thus, this could collect Red Tornado (1985) #1-4, Primal Force (1994) #0-14, Red Tornado (2009) #1-6, and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Resurrection Man Omnibus Mapping

Resurrection Man by Abnett & Lanning (1997 – 2012)

I have a soft spot for Resurrection Man, a hero who just can’t die. I loved his little-read New 52 series and decided I would make my own custom bind of his material, all of which is by the writing team of Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning! That means I’ve had this map perfected for over a decade now!

This would collect Resurrection Man (1997) #1-27 & One Million, New Year’s Evil: Body Doubles (1997) #1, Supergirl (1996) #24 (between issues #16-17), Body Doubles (1999) #1-4, Resurrection Man (2011) #1-12 & 0, Suicide Squad (2011) #9, and material from Adventures of Superman (1987) One Million, DC One Million 80-Page Giant (1998) #1, DCU Heroes Secret Files and Origins (1999) #1, DCU Heroes Secret Files and Origins (1999) #1, and DC Infinite Halloween Special (2007) #1.

Richard Dragon Omnibus Mapping

Richard Dragon Omnibus (1975 & on)

DC Comics didn’t lean as heavily into the Kung-Fu craze of the 1970s as Marvel, but Richard Dragon was their primary star.

This would collect Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter (1975) #1-18, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #132, The Question (1987) #34-36, Richard Dragon (2004) #1-12, 52 (2006) #26-27, 41, & 44, and material from DC Comics Presents (1978) #39, The Question (1987) #2 & Annual 1, Batman Chronicles (1995) #5, Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood (2000) #3, and Detective Comics (1937) Annual 12.

Rose & Thorn Omnibus Mapping

Rose & Thorn (1947 & on)

Many thanks to Near Mint Condition community member Shalom Warburg, who went out of their way to prove this book had enough potential material to exist when we were considering cutting it from the poll!

While this isn’t an exact map, it’s a proof of concept that this omnibus could be a worthwhile compilation of stories!

First, it would collect material from Rose and Thorn, the Golden Age villainess of Earth-Two from Flash Comics #89 & 96; Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #113 (featuring two pages of unpublished Golden Age story); All-Star Comics #72-73; and later appearances in Infinity Inc. #13-14, 18, & Annual 1.

Then, we’d continue to Rose Forrest is also the Thorn, a Bronze and Modern Age heroine. She appears in (roughly in this order) Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane (1958) #105-130 (which begins in October 1970), Superman (1939) #336, The Brave and the Bold (1955) #188-189, Booster Gold (1986) #2-4 & 9, in Triangle Era Superman (Action Comics (1938) #669, 671, & 675, Adventures of Superman (1987) #482 & 488-489, Action Comics (1938) #671, Superman (1987) #62 & 65-66) Superman: The Legacy of Superman (1993) #1, Supergirl/Lex Luthor Special (1993) #1, Adventures of Superman (1987) #521, a featured story in Showcase ’95 (1995) #4-5, Green Arrow (1988) #107-109, a featured story in Showcase ’96 (1996) #5, Superman Metropolis Secret Files (2000) #1, Adventures of Superman (1987) #581 & 585-587, Harley Quinn (2000) #3, Wonder Woman (1987) #174-175, Harley Quinn (2000) #14 & 16-19, Rose and Thorn (2004) #1-6, Birds of Prey (1999) #79-80, 98, 100, & 108.

Not all of that material might be featured material, but between the Bronze Age run in Lois Lane, her Showcase stories, and her 2004 mini-series, I think there’s already enough material to justify an omnibus!

Then, much later in DC Rebirth, she is in Action Comics (1938) #1012-1015, Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium (2019) #1-2 Legion of Super-Heroes (2020), and Justice League vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes (2022) #4-6 – though I don’t think any of those appearances would make sense to include in this book.

Sandman, Wesley Dodds Omnibus Mapping

See Vertigo Heroes & The Sandman Universe Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll.

Sgt Rock Omnibus Mapping

Sgt. Rock, The Silver Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1959 & on)

Sgt. Rock was a character DC introduced early in the Silver Age to tell World War II stories. He was introduced in Our Army at War (1951) #81 and continued to appear in and anchor that title until 1977, when the title was changed to Sgt. Rock.

That means we really could have both a Sgt. Rock Silver Age Omnibus and a Bronze Age Omnibus on the poll, but we didn’t want folks to be confused about his classic material and to split their votes as a result.

This would begin to collect Sgt. Rock features from Our Army at War (1951) #81-301, and then Sgt. Rock (1977) #302-422 & Annual 3-4.

Sgt Rock, The Modern Era Omnibus (1992 & on)

This would collect Sgt. Rock’s Post-Crisis material, including Sgt. Rock Special (1992) #1-2, Sgt. Rock: Between Hell and a Hard Place (2003) OGN, Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy (2006) #1-6, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion (2008) #1-6, Our Army at War (2010) #1, DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock vs. The Army of the Dead (2022) #1-6; material from Joe Kubert Presents (2012) #5.

Shade, The Changing Man Omnibus Mapping

See Vertigo Heroes & The Sandman Universe Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 1st Annual Poll.

Shazam! Omnibus Mapping

Shazam is a hero that DC Comics adopted after battling original publisher Fawcett over the idea that Shazam (originally “Captain Marvel”) infringed on identifying elements of Superman.

That and other factors resulted in Fawcett shutting down their comics line in 1953, ending Shazam’s Golden Age run. DC later licensed the character in the 1970s (with his Golden Age history intact), though by that time Marvel Comics had their own “Captain Marvel” – which resulted in the character being renamed to his magic word: Shazam!

However, in a Post-Crisis world, Shazam exists wholly in the DC Universe with a completely revised continuity. To learn more, check out my comprehensive Guide to Shazam.

Shazam, Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 (1940 & on)

The idea of collecting the Golden Age of Shazam – then known as Captain Marvel – is a tricky topic because DC didn’t actually produce those comics! They were all a product of Fawcett comics. However, DC has collected some of these adventures before in an aborted four-volume Shazam Archives line!

Since DC’s Golden Age books are almost always 650-850pgs, I think this first volume might simply match the first three Archives, collecting WHIZ Comics (1940) #2, 3A, 3B, & 4-24 and material from Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #1-3 and Special Edition Comics (1940) #1.

In total, this line would need to cover material from WHIZ Comics (1940) #2-144 (Feb 1940- Jun 1953), Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #1-150 (Spring 1941 – Nov 1952), and Captain Marvel Storybook (1946) #1-4 (Summer 1946 – 1949), plus Captain Marvel material from America’s Greatest Comics (1941) #1-8 (Nov 1941 – June 1943) and Captain Marvel Family material in The Marvel Family (1945) #1-89 (Dec 1945 – Jan 1954)

There is also Captain Marvel Jr. content from Master Comics (1940) #21-133 (Dec 1941 – Apr 1953) and Captain Marvel, Jr. (1942) #1-119 (Nov 1942 – Jun 1953) and Mary Marvel content from Wow Comics (1940) #9-57 (Dec 1942 – Jun 1947) and Mary Marvel (1945) #1-28 (Dec 1945 – Sep 1948).

Obviously, this is a Golden Age line that could run as long as Superman’s! I had hopes that the Shazam’s movie could jump-start this Golden Age line. Alas, we might need to send a message via this poll.

Shazam!: The World’s Mightiest Mortal, The Bronze Age Omnibus (1973 – 1982)

This Bronze Age Shazam revival lived on Earth-S and with his Golden Age exploits still completely in continuity, though he sometimes interacted with the DC heroes of Earth-Two.

This would collect Shazam! (1973) #1-35 (issues #8 & 21-24 are reprints) as well as the “vs Superman” story from All-New Collectors’ Edition (1978) #C-58, material from World’s Finest Comics (1941) #253-270 and 272-282, and Adventure Comics (1938) #491-492, plus Secret Origins (1986) #3 – which is an explicitly Pre-Crisis origin despite being published afterwards!

Shazam: The Power of Shazam Vol. 1 (1987 & on)

Despite being named for Shazam’s 1995 ongoing series, this would actually begin by collecting some Post-Crisis Shazam material from before his ongoing series began. That includes material from Legends (1986) #1 & 5-6, Shazam!: The New Beginning (1987) #1-4, The Power of SHAZAM (1994) OGN, Action Comics [Weekly] (1938) #623-626, and material from War of the Gods (1991) #1 & 4.

Then, it would begin to collect The Power of SHAZAM! (1995) #1-47, Annual 1, & One Million (Mar 1995 – Mar 1999) and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Shazam: Billy Batson Magic of Shazam (2008 – 2011)

This would collect the out-of-continuity All-Ages comics Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! (2008) #1-21 & Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! Mind Over Matter OGN.

Shazam by Geoff Johns (2012 – 2020)

After a decade spent as a member of the JSA, Geoff Johns relaunched Shazam and his family as an ongoing back-up feature in Justice League (2011) #7-11 (2nd stories), 0, 14-16 (2nd stories), 18-20 (2nd stories), & 21 before he continued to his own series – Shazam! (2019) #1-15.

Solomon Grundy Omnibus Mapping

Solomon Grundy: Born on a Monday Omnibus (1944 & on)

Near Mint Condition community member and mapping superhero BrandXK took on the challenge of mapping the very best of Solomon Grundy into a single omnibus!

This would collect All-American Comics #61 (1944), Comic Cavalcade #13 & 24, All-Star Comics #33 (1947), Showcase (1956) #55 (1965), Justice League of America (1960) #91-92 (1971), Superman #301 & 676, DC Comics Presents #8 (1979), Infinity, Inc. #3, 36, 39, 46, 51, & 53, Swamp Thing #67 (1987), Batman: Shadow of the Bat #39 (1995), Starman #10, 15, 32-34, & 49,, Green Arrow #17-18 (2002), Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy #1 (2009), Solomon Grundy #1-7 (2009), Superman/Batman #66-67 (2010), Earth 2 #15.2: Solomon Grundy (2013), and material from Wonder Woman #271-273, Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #4, Batman: The Long Halloween #2, JSA Secret Files #2, and Batman: Hidden Treasures #1.

The Spectre Omnibus Mapping

The Spectre has been around since the Golden Age and has been through many incarnations – including a run as Hal Jordan! We have one Bronze Age omnibus of the character, but there are still more we can include!

Spectre, Golden Age Omnibus (1940 & on)

DC only ever released once hardcover of Golden Age Spectre Archives starring the original Spectre, Jim Corrigan.

That hardcover collected his material from More Fun Comics (1936) #52-70. However, the character continued appearing through More Fun Comics (1936) #71-101, which would make a perfectly-sized Golden Age omnibus.

Spectre by Doug Moench (1987 – 1989)

This series directly follows up on The Spectre’s status quo in the wake of his involvement in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

This would collect The Spectre (1987) #1-31 & Annual 1 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Spectre by John Ostrander Vol. 1 (of 2) (1992 – 1995) 
Spectre by John Ostrander Vol. 1 (of 2) (1995 – 1998)

This pair of volumes would each include half of The Spectre (1992) #1-62 & Annual 1 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Spectre, Hal Jordan by J.M. DeMatteis (1996 – 2003)

This would begin with Parallax: Emerald Night (1996) #1 & material from Final Night (1996) #4. Then, Day of Judgment #1 -5, Day of Judgment Secret Files #1, JLA #35, Legends of the DC Universe #33-36.

Then, it would primarily collect The Spectre (2001) #1-27 and JLA / The Spectre: Soul War (2003) #1-2.

Stargirl Omnibus Mapping

Stargirl (1999 & on)

This would collect the complete story of Stargirl from Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. (1999) #0-14, JSA: All-Stars (2003) #4, JSA Classified #14-16, Stargirl Spring Break Special #1, Stargirl: The Lost Children (2022) #1-6, and material from DC Heroes Secret Files (1999) and DC Villains Secret Files (1999)

Starman Omnibus Mapping

Starman, Golden Age Omnibus (1941 & on)

Starman was originally a Golden Age DC superhero. His adventures were collected in a pair of DC Archives, which included Adventure Comics (1938) #61-102.

Issue #102 was the final appearance of Starman during the Golden Age. He next appears during the Silver Age in Justice League of America (1960) #29 as part of Crisis on Infinite Earths stories.

Starman by Roger Stern & Len Strazewski (1988 – 1992)

Though James Robinson’s 1990s deconstructionist Starman series is the more well-known comic, Roger Stern and Len Strazewski also had a lengthy run on Will Payton as Starman just after Crisis.

This would collect Starman (1988) #1-45 and any crossovers and significant guest appearances from that period.

Starman by James Robinson Vol. 1 (of 2) (1994 – 1998)

This would collect the first half of James Robinson’s classic Starman series. It would include Starman (1994) #0-42 & Annual 1-2, Starman 80-Page Giant (1999) #1, Starman Secret Files (1998) #1, The Power of SHAZAM! (1995) #35-36, The Shade (1997) #1-4, and stories from Showcase ’95 (1995) #12 and Showcase 96 (1996) #4-5.

Starman by James Robinson Vol. 2 (of 2) (1998 – 2001)

This would collect the remainder of James Robinson’s Starman (1994) #43-80 as well as GirlFrenzy! Starman: The Mist (1998) #1 and the later addition of The Shade (2011) #1-12.

Superman – Villains Omnibus Mapping

Superman has many iconic villains, but a specific trio of them stick out as having enough critical material to make for a readable omnibus of material.

Superman – Villains: Brainiac Omnibus (1958 & on)

Brainiac first appeared in Action Comics #242 in July 1958. He has had several key stories (extending through this month!) and a “vs. Superman” trade, so there is plenty of material from which we can pull.

Superman – Villains: Doomsday Omnibus (1992 & on)

Doomsday is an eternally-popular Superman foe thanks to his role in the Death of Superman. He has been used sparingly in the 30 years since then, which means we could likely assemble a lean, mean omnibus of his material.

A previous paperback “omnibus” collected Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey (1994) #1-3 (a premium-format, OGN-style mini-series), Doomsday Annual (1995) #1 (a Year One annual), Superman: The Doomsday Wars (1998) #1-3, Adventures of Superman (1987) #594 (2001), and Superman (1987) #175 (2001).

That’s already 344 pages, so even 2-3 additional arcs would fill this out to full size – and there’s always all of the New 52 “Doomed” crossover to include, if we need to fill space!

Superman – Villains: Lex Luthor Classic Omnibus (1940 & on)

Lex Luthor first appeared in Action Comics #23 in April 1940. He has enough key Pre-Crisis appearances for a full book, rather than just the anniversary deluxe editions DC has given him the past few years. However, when it comes to Post-Crisis material, he may be too integrated into long-running Superman stories for a coherent collection.

The Spirit Omnibus Mapping

The Spirit by Cooke, Evanier, Ploog et al (2006 – 2009)

This would collect The Spirit (2006) #1-32 and The Spirit (2010) #1-17.

Tom Strong Omnibus Mapping

Tom Strong was created by Alan Moore under the WildStorm imprint “America’s Best Comics (ABC).” The rights to the character were included in Jim Lee’s sale of WildStorm to DC, though Tom Strong was never technically a WildStorm character or a part of their continuity. DC integrated him into their universe in the DC Rebirth era in The Terrifics.

Tom Strong, Volume 1 (1999 – 2006)

This would collect the core of Tom Strong’s material by Alan Moore, including Tom Strong (1999) #1-36; and material from America’s Best Comics Special (2001) #1 and Tomorrow Stories Special (2005) #2, and ABC A to Z: Tom Strong and Jack B Quick (2005) #1

Tom Strong, Volume 2 (2002 – 2011)

This is both a sequel and a companion volume, collecting some series that ran alongside the original Tom Strong run as well as later series not by Moore.

It would collect Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales (2002) #1-12 – an anthology series that ran alongside the main title, Terra Obscura (2003) #1-6, Terra Obscura (2004) #1-6, Many Worlds of Tesla Strong (2003) #1, Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom (2011) #1-6, Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril (2013) #1-6, and material from ABC A to Z: Terra Obscura and Splash Brannigan (2006) #1.

Valor Omnibus Mapping

Legion of Super-Heroes: Valor by Fleming, Waid, Busiek, et al (1992 – 1994)

This would collect Valor (1992) #1-23, which spun out of the end of the Eclipso: The Darkness Within event.

Vigilante Omnibus Mapping

Vigilante (1983 & on) [Vol 1 of 2?]

This would collect the full run of Vigilante (1983) #1-50 and Annual 1-2, plus significant guest appearances and crossovers, and perhaps Adrian Chase’s first appearance in The New Teen Titans Annual 2.

There is a possibility that would require two volumes to cover, in which case it could add Vigilante (2005) #1-6 by Bruce Jones and Vigilante (2008) #1-12 by his creator Marv Wolfman.

Warlord Omnibus Mapping

Warlord, Vol. 1 (1975 & on) [by Mike Grell]

This would get a start on collecting 1st Issue Special (1975) #8 and The Warlord (1976) #1-133 & Annual 1-6, The Warlord (1992) #1-6, The Warlord (2006) #1-10, and The Warlord (2009) #1-16, almost entirely written by Mike Grell.

Zatanna Omnibus Mapping

Zatanna, The Early Years (1964 – 1986)

This isn’t a firm mapping – more like a “proof of concept” that this book has enough issues to work!

It would include all of Zatanna’s earliest stories: “The Girl Who Split in Two” (from Hawkman (1964) #4, October-November 1964), “Batman’s Bewitched Nightmare” (from Detective Comics #336, February 1965), “World of the Magic Atom” (from The Atom #19, June-July 1965), “The Other Side of the World” (from Green Lantern #42, January 1966), and “The Tantalizing Trouble of the Tripod Thieves” (from Detective Comics #355, September 1966).

It could also include Zatanna’s other Bronze and Silver Age appearances, including Supergirl #7 (1973), Justice League of America #51 (1967), #161-168 (1978), #191, 194 (1981), #206 (1982), DC Comics Presents #18 (1980), Brave and the Bold #169 (1980), Blue Devil #4-5 (1984), material from The Flash #198 (1970), Adventure Comics #413-415, 419, & 421, Supergirl #1-4 (1973), Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #132 (1973), Action Comics #434 (1974), World’s Finest Comics #274-278, and DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5 (1980) (“The Secret Spell”).

Zatanna, The Modern Omnibus Vol. 1 (1987 & on)

This Post-Crisis Zatanna omnibus would primarily be anchored by her famous 2010 Paul Dini series and a number of one-shots, but would also include all of her significant appearances in the period.

A possible mapping is Hawkman #4 (1986), Zatanna Special #1 (1987), Spectre #7-8 (1987), Zatanna #1-4 (1993), Books of Magic #39-41 (1997), Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003), Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1-4 (2005), Detective Comics #833-834, 843-844, Zatanna #1-16 (2010), Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell (2014) OGN, and material from Secret Origins #27 (1988), Day of Judgment Secret Files #1 (1999), and DC Infinite Halloween Special #1 (2007) and DC Universe Rebirth Holiday Special #1.