And now for something completely different…
DC Comics in April will be publishing six Facsimile Editions, some of which deserve their own headlines, like the ones below. Click here and here for more on the others.
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Well, this is fun! Of DC’s six Facsimile Editions coming in April, three are from the Silver and Bronze Ages and each one of them is an off-the-wall choice: 1975’s Action Comics #454, 1970’s World’s Finest Comics #195, and 1968’s Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #115.
Dig the solicitation info, which will be formally released later Friday:
ACTION COMICS #454 FACSIMILE EDITION
Written by CARY BATES and MARTIN PASKO
Art by CURT SWAN and JOSE DELBO
Cover by BOB OKSNER
Foil variant cover by BOB OKSNER ($6.99 US)
Blank sketch cover ($4.99 US)
When a mysterious force drains Superman of his energy, he must resort to eating enough food to feed a small army just to keep going! Has the troublesome Toyman somehow discovered a way to keep the mighty Man of Steel too tired to stop a certain whimsical wave of criminal capers?
$3.99 US | 32 pages
ON SALE 4/8/26
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WORLD’S FINEST COMICS #195 FACSIMILE EDITION
Written by BOB HANEY and JACK MILLER
Art by ROSS ANDRU and HOWARD SHERMAN
Cover by CURT SWAN
Foil variant cover by CURT SWAN ($6.99 US)
Blank sketch cover ($4.99 US)
When Superman helps Batman take the place of a mafia kingpin to get the dirt on a vast criminal enterprise, a bizarre series of events leads to Batman losing his identity—and believing himself to really be the criminal capo! With Superman forced to play along as the Bat-boss’s right-hand man, can he get the goods before Batman carries out his first order of business: the murders of Robin and Jimmy Olsen?
$3.99 US | 32 pages
ON SALE 4/15/26
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SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #115 FACSIMILE EDITION
Written by LEO DORFMAN and DAVE WOOD
Art by PETE COSTANZA
Cover by NEAL ADAMS
Foil variant cover by NEAL ADAMS ($6.99 US)
Blank sketch cover ($4.99 US)
Everyone knows Jimmy Olsen as Superman’s pal, but now they’ll also know him as… Aquaman’s successor? When Jimmy is mysteriously gifted with the same abilities as Aquaman, a grim contest is arranged to determine who shall be the true King of the Sea—but could pitting two of his friends in a deadly trial against one another really be Superman’s plan?
$3.99 US | 32 pages
ON SALE 4/8/26
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I LOVE that DC is producing these. My only question is… why? You can usually figure out why a publisher picked the Facsimiles they did. These three just seem random — except that they all share a decidedly bonkers vibe. (Yay!)
Maybe they hook into storylines that are not readily apparent. Maybe DC is deciding to lean into the goofy parts of its past. Maybe it’s because DC on April 1 — April Fools’ Day — is publishing MAD About DC. (DC does like its holiday-themed Facsimiles.) Maybe it’s because they’d be good books to have on hand for this year’s Free Comic Book Day, or Superman Day, or Supergirl Day, or We Love Fun Comics Day.
As the King said, “Don’t ask. Just buy it.”
Main cover, by Dan Panosian
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Several thoughts:
— Don’t forget — these are only three of six DC Facsimiles coming in April. Links below!
— Obligatory Price Comparison #1. An unslabbed FN/VF original Action Comics #454 recently sold on eBay for about $10.
— Obligatory Price Comparison #2. An unslabbed original World’s Finest #195 in nice shape went for $13.
— Obligatory Price Comparison #3. An unslabbed original FN- Jimmy Olsen #115 went for $10.
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MORE
— John Byrne’s MAN OF STEEL #1 to Get Facsimile Edition Release. Click here.
— BATMAN: DC Sets Dates for April DARK KNIGHT and YEAR TWO Facsimiles. Click here.
January 23, 2026
I’ll go with “April Fool’s issues” even if they’re spaced a few weeks after 1 April. Not a bad choice, and if DC keeps the facsimile line up, it would be nice to see Superd*ckery issues every April.
This might have been a good month to run the April Fool’s issue of Batman: The Long Halloween…although even better would have been if they’d done a full facsimile run of that title starting last October and not just stopping with #1.
January 23, 2026
I would rather see Mxylp…(?) and Bat-Mite than these. I think I might World’s Finest 195, though, via a trade with someone.
January 23, 2026
Wacky for April, almost certainly, but I also can’t help wondering if these three facsimiles are foreshadowing upcoming Finests? Or in the case of the World’s Finest facsimile, maybe even a third omnibus?
January 23, 2026
In for all of these
January 23, 2026
Oh, waitaminnit, World’s Finest 195 will be in the upcoming Robin Finest. And the cover story from Jimmy Olsen 115 could also be in a new Aquaman Finest.
January 23, 2026
I’m on board for any gold/silver/bronze facsimiles. While I don’t mind getting a few wacky issues, I would prefer to get more key issues that have not yet been reprinted. I know they take work, in many cases, for restorations, etc., so I can be patient. I wonder how profitable these lesser known issues end up being?
January 23, 2026
Worlds Finest 195 may be the very first comic I ever saw. If I’m not mistaken, there’s a scene in it where Robin appeals to an amnesiac Batman on the basis of their common experience as orphans. I knew the Dynamic Duo from TV, but this was the first I had heard of their classic origins, and it left quite an impression on my very young mind.
I’m amazed its slated for reprinting, and I hope it lives up to my recollection.
January 23, 2026
Dan, I am with you, why? I’ll go with April 1st, it would be interesting to see order numbers on these “humor” issues. While I buy a lot of these facsimiles to give out at Halloween this month will be a pass.
There have been so many Superman related issues over the past 12 months, I think I’ll have enough Superman titles to choose from this coming Halloween, especially since DC finally decided to offer more child related ( think the DC animated books from the 90s as well as the more recent Batman-Scooby Doo) Dollar Tree books.
So here’s hoping the rest of the year will feature more Schwartz edited books like Atom #7 co-starring Hawkman.
Thee aborted Dollar Comics of Flash 135 that was the victim of Covid, Mystery in Space 90 featuring Adam Strange and Hawkman, Justice League 22, and any issue of the early Green Lantern book by Kane and Giella, for that matter any of the Showcase issues featuring Hourman and Doctor Fate, or the Brave and the Bold issues featuring Starman and Black Canary.
Moving away from Schwartz any of the Schiff edited early 60s Batman books would have been perfect for a so called “Humor” month. Or on a more serious note the classic Batman #156 Robin Dies at Dawn is still memorable to me decades later. Heck you can buy a poster of that issue at Walmart, someone thinks that issue is marketable.
Plus let me once again say with Memorial Day coming up it is the perfect time to publish a facsimile copy of Brave and the Bold #53 featuring three of DC’s World War II heroes. For that matter, Marvel Comics, May is the prefect time to feature one of your greatest Silver Age comics Sgt. Fury #13 starring Captain America..
January 23, 2026
Yeah, far too many Batman and Superman. I like Batman, but I would like more diversification.
February 11, 2026
Batman #227 is the one that we are all waiting for.
January 23, 2026
When identifying these issues if there are back up stories, would it be possible for you to identify the back-up stories also?
January 23, 2026
Man, I love facsimile editions, even to the point of buying them for friends to show, “This is why I like (insert character here, although it is usually Batman). That Action 454 gives me bad flashbacks though. I put myself through college working at a shall-we-say similarly designed McFastFood place where I made many McBurgers and spent many miserable McHours. Honestly, my least liked (ok, most hated) Superman cover ever. I only bought the back issue to keep my consecutive issue run complete.
Superman 258 instead, please.
January 23, 2026
Next to Perez and Williamson, Oksner is my favorite inker for Swan. I thkink he’s criminally underrated as inker and illustrator.
January 24, 2026
>> My only question is… why?
>
If you ask me it’s because DC doesn’t listen to the fans. I can easily think of a dozen better comics that deserve facsimile treatment. But then again I’m considered a curmudgeon.
January 24, 2026
Yeah, I disagree, Buck. They do listen to fans who vote with their dollars, like any business. The whole Facsimile line is a wonderful thing.
My “why” was not a negative. I genuinely am curious. I don’t believe this signifies anything other than being a cool one-off. I just don’t know what prompted it.
January 25, 2026
True. Fair enough.
Maybe it wasn’t fair to spring off your original “why”. It was just my hook into my post that I absolutely was hoping came across as hyperbole. I certainly was using my “curmudgeon” label to convey that.
To clarify my original comment, I’ll most likely get all of these. Will I get multiple copies? Unsure at this time. 1 copy in the rack for grandsons to read might be enough. For iconic covered issues, those I’m more likely to buy 5 copies each.
January 24, 2026
Always happy to see any Bronze Age facsimiles over anything newer and especially any serial facsimiles. I would dearly love to see more Golden Age facsimiles from anybody.
January 24, 2026
Definitely agree with you there, Tim.
January 26, 2026
Even as April Fool’s themed releases I think these choices are pretty lame. I’ll buy them, but c’mon there are so many key issues not yetdone (like so many Adams issues)… This is DC, they have a habit of abandoning reprint lines, so I have a reasonable concern they will stop before the best choices are completed.
January 26, 2026
I recently picked up SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #115 for a $1. Then discovered the middle pages were missing.