Hey all, Brian here! I was going through some of my older comics earlier and I came across some of the DC Annuals that were printed in the 90’s. These were some amazing books, especially since most of the annuals in the 1990’s had a running theme through them. My favorite was 1994’s “Elseworlds” themed books (Green Lantern in particular was a great favorite!) Other themes included 1998’s “Pulp Heroes”, 1993’s “Bloodlines” and 2000’s “Planet DC” (I think it was 2000? If it wasn’t, can someone correct the date!). But since then, the Annuals really have had no rhyme or reason to them and I’ve been wondering why DC still puts them out. Take this year’s Flash Annual. It ends the “Blink of an Eye” storyline. But why did they need an Annual for that? Makes no sense. The Action Comics Annual takes us to the future for more adventures of the House of El. Why not turn that into a mini-series? I believe DC should go back to the themed Annuals that seemed so popular in the 1990’s and actually gave Annuals a purposeful reason for being around. I’m open to differing points of view
To me it makes sense because Annuals are more pages than normal issues, right? So they wanted that extra-sized issue to finish the arc off.
But I do get what you are saying. Some Annuals aren’t standalone anymore and that makes it rough to try and read through them. I do enjoy the standalone Annuals that still happen but I don’t mind the writers wanting more pages in a single issue to finish off an arc.
I don’t what to buy an Annual to finish off a story which started in the main book. Its like putting out an Alpha issue to set up an event, its just a cash grab.
I usually get the trades, and the Annuals are put in order with the storyline when that happens. So that doesn’t really bother me.
But I do see how that can get annoying to figure out what issues you need. But are you saying that you don’t usually buy the Annuals anyway? They are still part of the main book, just different numbering, right?
Anthologies? There are a lot of horror anthologies like House of Mystery or House of Secrets. Then there is always Wonder Woman 750, Action Comics 1000, Detective Comics 1027. These are off the top of my head. Anthology style annuals, I am sadly drawing a blank but I know I have read them in the past and enjoyed them.
Point taken But they could’ve gotten to Flash 775 for the anniversary issue to finish the story. Still, having an Annual handy can free up the anniversary issue for a big surprise. Thanks for your input
I like the self contained theme version but also liked when they were more like an event series bookended by specials. Armageddon 2001 and Eclipso spring to mind. I would love to see those collected on here for a smooth reading experience instead of searching them out, and some aren’t even on here anyway.
Before the COIE, most DC annuals were stand-alone offerings like, “For The Man Who Has Everything” This Superman annual and others were always “special” issues that promised a big story in one shot. It was always a much-anticipated book that was accessible to all readers. I could be wrong, but that seems like a good marketing strategy to grow your business.
I enjoy these as well. They give different writers and artists a chance to shine. And sometimes it feels like a nice filler issue in between whatever craziness is happening in the main book.
I guess I like Annuals either way. Tied into the main book or not. I’m just happy to have a good story to read, I guess.
It’s not uncommon for Annuals to wrap up storylines. Titans used to do that. If issues were episodes of a television series, then the annual was the big two-hour season finale.
I grew up with the themed annuals of the nineties. Armageddon 2001 and Eclipso: The Darkness within were personal favorites of mine. Pulp Heroes and Ghosts were pretty good, too. Elseworlds was fantastic, depending on the story.
I will say one thing I love about DCUI is that all of the annuals and specials are tucked inside the series where they belong in order of reading. Makes it very convenient to keep reading a series without trying to figure out where things fit.
I loved the themed annuals back in the day. Not every theme was a homerun, but I appreciate a variety of different writers and artists tackling a similar challenge altogether.
I prefer the ones that aren’t necessarily linked to each other storywise. I don’t need a grand, sweeping story; we get too many of those as it is.
I personally like the themed Annuals. It acts as a loose crossover and lets us explore the different books through a common lens. I’m okay with the current practice of using the annual to tell a bigger / more important than average installment in the ongoing story, but I miss the old way. Also, if there is an annual theme or even crossover, it makes me more inclined to pick up s title I am not currently reading.
I used to love getting the Summer Annual events (from both DC & Marvel). Every summer I’d get excited to see what was coming. Eclipso was my favorite but I really enjoyed Armageddon 2001 too. I don’t know how well it could be pulled off today though because of the price increases.
I’m just happy to have a good story to read, I guess.