Presenting a project that I’ve been working on for the past several months: a guide to all of the comics that DC has digitized that are unavailable on DC Universe Infinite, or, in the case of reprints, available in alternate issues and locations on DCUI. Many, many more issues (including entire series), one-shots, annuals and graphic novels have been digitized than have been made available on DCUI. Up until now, references to these digitized comics have only been anecdotal, based solely upon personal knowledge. Therefore, this project was born out of necessity: we needed one central place to contain this information, in as complete and accurate a format as possible.
My ultimate goal here is to create a directory of what DC has digitized but hasn’t made available on DCUI, and where it can be found; these lists have specifically been created to direct people to the places where they can supplement their DCUI reading. In particular, many of these titles are available for free (yes, free!) through hoopla, a service which many public libraries subscribe to.
Additionally, I’ve seen a lot of people making requests in the Print-to-Digital Request thread for comics that have already been digitized. My hope is that people will check these lists first before making requests in that thread to see if what they’re requesting has already been digitized or not. Simply put, if it’s not on DCUI, and it’s not on these lists, then DC hasn’t digitized it yet (with certain exceptions; see below).
Notes:
- There are a number of titles that DC has digitized that have since been pulled from sale and distribution for one reason or another. These titles are not, and will not, be included on the lists. If it’s not publicly available, then it’s not available, period. If, in the future, titles that are currently on the lists are pulled, then they will also be removed from the lists.
- Some titles that were initially published by DC are now considered Vertigo titles, while some titles that were initially published under the Vertigo imprint are now being republished as DC Black Label titles. The lists below reflect the categories on Comixology that the titles are currently listed under, regardless of the original publisher or imprint. So, if you’re looking for a Vertigo title and can’t find it, it may be on the other list, and vice versa.
- Many, many thanks to Mike’s Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database, two of the Internet’s most valuable resources, without which I would not have been able to compile these lists.
- I am intending on updating these lists weekly as new collected editions, graphic novels and issues are released, assuming that those released on any given week contain relevant content. I have not yet decided on which day or time I will be updating. It will largely depend on when collected editions and graphic novels are added to hoopla, which can be days or even weeks after their release on Comixology.
- DC Black Label titles that we’re not getting here on DCUI will be added to the list once they are released in a collected edition. Similarly, if we end up getting a Black Label title here after a delay (such as we currently are with Batman: Curse of the White Knight), it will be removed from the list once all of the issues are available on DCUI.
- I have endeavored to be as thorough, complete and accurate as possible with these lists. However, it is inevitable, perhaps even likely, that some mistakes have slipped through. Corrections are always appreciated. Please do not hesitate to submit them in this thread.
If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave them in a reply to this thread, and I will do my best to address them.
The lists:
Digitized Comics Unavailable on DCUI - DC/WildStorm
This is the main list of the project: all of the DC and WildStorm titles that have been digitized, but which have only been released in collected editions, or which are graphic novels, prestige one-shots, etc. Luckily, most of these (roughly 75%) are available for reading, for free, right now on hoopla. This list also contains intercompany crossovers featuring DC characters that are currently published by other companies.
Digitized Comics Unavailable on DCUI - Vertigo
These are all of the digitized Vertigo titles that we don’t have on here, which, sadly, is most of them. Unfortunately, far fewer of these are available on hoopla. That said, some of the most popular Vertigo series (100 Bullets, American Vampire, Fables, Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man) are completely available there. Since fewer of these are on hoopla, I have included a Comixology Unlimited column on this list for those of you who subscribe to that service to let you know what’s available there.
Digitized Comics Unavailable on DCUI - eBooks
These are a handful of titles released exclusively on eBook platforms, such as Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble NOOK, between 2011-2013. These titles are currently unavailable on Comixology or hoopla. Of the titles on this list, the most significant (IMO) is Day of Judgment.
Digitized Comics Available in Reprints on DCUI
These are all of the issues (including many from the Golden and Silver Ages) that are currently on DCUI, but in alternate, unexpected locations that make them hard to find. Many of these are merely excerpted stories, but of particular note is the DC Comics Presents series, which reprinted many issues, entire series and even some graphic novels which are not otherwise available on here under their regular titles.
DC Preview Inserts (AKA Prevue Pull-outs) Available on DCUI (1980-1983)
These are 16-page minicomics previewing new DC series that were included with issues of (usually) unrelated titles in the early 1980s. These are all original content, and in many cases are essential reading to be able to fully understand what is going on in issue #1 of the previewed series. Since these stories are not included with the series that they are previewing, and since the descriptions of the issues that they are included with do not mention their presence in the issue, they can be difficult to find on DCUI unless you happen to know where they are, so I have created this list for them.
DC Sneak Peeks (aka Divergence Previews) (2015)
This is a collection of 44 free minicomics that were released in May 2015 to promote DC’s then-upcoming and on-going series. These are all original content, previewing both new series and future storylines, and are unavailable in the actual series themselves. We currently only have one of these on DCUI, but they are all available for free on dccomics.com. This list contains a reading order column to let you know where in each series these preview issues should be read.
Creator-Owned/Third-Party IP Titles Originally Published by DC
Finally, these are creator-owned and third-party IP series and graphic novels that were originally published by DC, but which are now being published by other companies. Titles from all DC imprints will be included on this list.
