With some predictions mixed in…
2026 has been a banner year for DC’s Facsimile Edition program. We’ve gotten a whole bunch of comics that we’ve been asking for (and predicting) here at 13th Dimension, as well as many wonderful surprises.
Time to gear up for 2027, then. We already know what’s coming in January, and the February solicitations will arrive before you know it, which means the drumbeat begins… NOW!
You should clip and save this, because we have a really strong record with these annual columns. For the record, we’ve called for/predicted 18 Facsimiles that have come to fruition over the last few years. Not too shabby.
SIDE NOTE: I’m not going to waste selections on four comics that we most definitely should be getting: 1963’s The Flash #135; 1970’s Green Lantern #76; 1975’s Man-Bat #1; and 1979’s Batman #321. All four were cancelled by COVID and, for reasons still unexplained, never returned to the schedule. C’mon DC, let’s get with it: Green Lantern #76 — the landmark issue by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams that I cannot believe wasn’t released to promote Lanterns — is an especially egregious oversight.
OK, rant over.
Beyond those, here are 13 DC COMICS FACSIMILE EDITIONS WE’D LIKE TO SEE — 2027 EDITION.
In alphabetical order:
—
Action Comics #544, DC. DC is down to reproduce its extra-size anniversary issues now (see Detective Comics #500), so with Man of Tomorrow coming — featuring Brainiac and Luthor in his battle suit — I can definitely see this killer 1983 issue that debuted Ed Hannigan’s design for Brainiac and George Perez’s for Lex.
—
All-Star Comics #8. Here’s what I wrote in 2026: “Everybody thinks of Sensation Comics #1 and Wonder Woman #1, but don’t forget the Amazing Amazon premiered here in a back-up story.” 2026 was Wonder Woman’s 85th anniversary and the publisher has declared 2027 to be the Year of Wonder. This is a no-brainer. (By William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter, 1941.)
—
Black Lightning #1, DC. DC in January is releasing DC Power: Black Lightning 50th Anniversary Special, with a story co-written by creator Jenny Isabella, and a variant cover by BL’s designer Trevor Von Eeden. After the story broke, I wrote that I was “(ahem) shocked” that Black Lightning #1 wasn’t among the month’s Facsimile offerings. I also noted, however, “But there’s time: 2027 will still be the groundbreaking hero’s anniversary year.” I’d put money on this one.
—
Detective Comics #457, DC. Here’s one of those — by Denny O’Neil and Dick Giordano — that has to happen at some point: There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!
—
Detective Comics #476 and Justice League of America #22. I am really not a fan of “orphans” — Facsimile Editions that include only one part of a multipart story. We’ve gotten the first installment of The Laughing Fish from 1977’s Detective Comics #475 by Steve Englehart, Marshall Rogers, and Terry Austin (twice), and 1963’s Justice League of America #21, but in both cases, we haven’t gotten the conclusions. These are just two examples of this phenomenon. (Hell, Englehart’s run turns 50 this year, and I’d love a full set of Facsimiles. I don’t see it happening but I’d be very happy to be wrong.)
—
Famous First Edition #C-26: Action Comics #1, DC. The publisher cannot get enough of reprinting Action Comics #1 as a Facsimile Edition. The next logical step would be to reprint the first Famous First Edition treasury, from 1974 — especially with Man of Tomorrow coming out this year. DC also hasn’t reprinted any of its Bronze Age FFEs yet, and this is the perfect place to start.
—
Flash Comics #92. Next year will be Black Canary’s 80th anniversary. She debuted in a Johnny Thunder back-up feature in 1947’s Flash Comics #86. But I’d lay better odds that DC will go with this issue — featuring her first cover appearance and first solo story — that came out later in the year.
—
Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-31. The first Superman LCE came out in 1974 and I was pretty dang surprised that DC didn’t bring it back for James Gunn’s Superman two years ago. (We did get that groovy new treasury, though.) Anyway, with that famous H.J. Ward cover — which would look dynamite in foil — and Neal Adams’ four-page design for a Superman theme park, this is a natural to promote Man of Tomorrow.
—
The New Teen Titans #2. Here’s what I wrote in 2023: “The first appearance of Deathstroke the Terminator, who has become one of DC’s A-List villains. There was a Dollar Comics edition but that doesn’t count because it’s just a story reprint, not an issue reprint, with the ads, etc.”
—
Strange Adventures #207, DC. Deadman’s 60th anniversary is coming; his first appearance was in 1967’s Strange Adventures #205, by Arnold Drake, Carmine Infantino and George Roussos. DC could go for that, except the Facsimile program cannot get enough of Neal Adams, so I’d wager we’ll see the issue that boasts his first Deadman cover — one of his most famous ever — and his first complete interiors for the character. That cover in foil would be especially strong.
—
Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane #106, DC. There is no way DC will ever do this. Ever. But it would be balls to re-release this 1970 embarrassment — probably the most misguided comic book in the company’s history.
—
Superman #76. How has DC not done a Facsimile of Superman and Batman’s first meeting yet? This is from 1952 — 75 years ago in 2027, so…
—
MORE
— 13 DC COMICS FACSIMILE EDITIONS We’d Like to See — 2026 Edition. Click here.
— 13 More DC FACSIMILE EDITIONS We’d Like to See — RANKED. (2024) Click here.
— 13 FACSIMILE EDITIONS We’re Surprised DC COMICS Hasn’t Published Yet — RANKED. (2023) Click here.
— 13 DC FACSIMILE EDITIONS We’d Like to See. (2022) Click here.
