DC Comics; $14.99 

Originally published in 1975, Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-39: Facsimile Edition (2026) is the latest in a series of beautifully produced rereleases DC Comics has published in the 10” x 14” Treasury format. 

This one, subtitled Secret Origins: Super-Villains, is a treasure trove of vintage origin stories and key appearances of such villains as Lex Luthor, the Joker, Captain Cold, and Dr. Sivana, among others. For longtime DC fans, this is a welcome trip down memory lane. For those of us who in our youth skewed more toward Marvel, it’s a change to the characters in their best Golden Age and Silver Age incarnations. 

For those with the slightest appreciate of comics history – and who are open to the wonderful format – this is a thoroughly enjoyable read. The battle between The Flash and Captain Cold alone is worth the price of admission. 

I hope DC will continue with this reprint program. It’s been a blast thus far. 

A word here about the numbering in this series: DC’s Limited Collectors’ Edition shared a numbering sequence with two other titles, Famous First Edition and All-New Collectors’ Edition, something that can be a bit confusing at first, particularly when you consider that the series began with #C-20 Limited Collectors’ Edition – Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer. 

In the 1970s, Limited Collectors’ Edition featured collected reprint stories, All-New Collectors’ Edition featured new, original material (and might well be considered graphic novels) such as #C-58 Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes by Paul Levitz, Mike Grell, and Vince Colletta, and Famous First Editions were tabloid-size facsimile reprints of key issues such as Action Comics #1. The Famous First Editions title was revived more recently for a facsimile edition of New Fun Comics #1.  

– J.C. Vaughn