DC Comics is having a lot of success right now, but it’s not the first time that the publisher has ruled the superhero comics sales roost. In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman in Action Comics #1, birthing the superhero genre as we know it. In 1939, Detective Comics #27 introduced Batman, and the publisher was off to the races, showing the Man of Steel was no fluke. Since then, DC has been telling superhero stories, with solo and team books having run for multiple decades. The publisher has given readers some of the best series of all time in books that have been to weather the tumults of the comic industry, giving readers some of the longest running comics in American history.
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Nowadays, comics are all about the reboot, with long-running series often cancelled to get a number one sales boost. However, if you add up the various volumes of these some DC books, they add up to some rather impressive numbers. These are DC’s ten longest running comics, book that have helped define superheroes.
10) Legion of Superheroes – 371 Issues
The Legion of Superheroes is DC’s most complicated team, and that extends to their publishing history. The team debuted in Adventures Comics, then became a part of the re-christened Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. Eventually, the team would get its own book. It ran through eight volumes for 371 issues. However, if you add in books like Legionnaires and Legion Lost, we get up to 543 issues. Regardless of how you count them, it’s one of DC’s longest-running series.
9) World’s Finest – 373 Issues
World’s Finest teamed up Superman, Batman, and Robin for adventures together in the Golden Age of comics. The book started in 1941 and ended in 1986, and there have been two more volumes, adding up to 373 issues. The current volume of the book, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, has become one of the best pure superhero books on the stands, with DC mastermind Mark Waid re-telling the Silver Age in the modern day. It picked up the torch of a legendary series and ran with it.
8) Adventures Comics – 529 Issues
Adventure Comics first began back in 1938, an anthology book that published numerous types of stories. Eventually, it became the home of characters like the Golden Age Sandman, Hourman, Starman, Manhunter, Superboy, Green Arrow, Johnny Quick, Aquaman, and more, and eventually introduced the Legion of Superheroes. There have been two volumes of the book, running 529 issues. The first volume ran from 1938 to 1983, for 503 issues, and then came back for 26 issues between 2009 and 2011.
7) Green Lantern – 584
Green Lantern is DC’s sci-fi superstar. There have been seven volumes of Green Lantern since 1941, when the mantle was introduced by hero Alan Scott. Much like anyone not named Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, Scott went the way of the dodo in the ’50s. After the success of 1956’s Showcase #4’s reboot of the Flash, Hal Jordan was introduced as the new Green Lantern in Showcase #22. Soon, he got his own series, and since then we’ve gotten Green Lantern series starring Hal, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Sinestro, with seven volumes running for 584 issues. Readers have gotten some fantastic runs from these series, especially those of Geoff Johns and Ron Marz.
6) The Flash – 831 Issues
The Flash and Green Lantern’s various solo series have a similar story. The first volume of Flash Comics started in 1940 and ran for nine years and a 104 issues, starring Jay Garrick. Jay faded away and in 1956, Showcase #4 introduced Barry Allen, and The Flash took the Flash Comics‘ numbering in 1959. All together there have been seven volumes of The Flash, starring Barry Allen and Wally West, that have run for 831 issues. Wally is the main Flash again and another volume of his adventures are coming down the pike.
5) Wonder Woman – 831 Issues
Wonder Woman is comics’ most published woman. In fact, no solo superheroine book has run as long as hers. She first appeared in All-Star Comics #8 in 1942, making a smash with readers before moving to Sensation Comics. A year later, she got her own solo series and since then, there have been six volumes of her book, running for 831 issues, with the sixth volume of the book still running. There have been some amazing runs on her books, including the legendary George Perez post-Crisis reboot, and it remains a favorite of fans 83 years after she first began her headlining adventures.
4) Batman – 949 Issues
Batman was starring in Detective Comics starting with issue #27, and would get the first book with his name on cover in 1940. That volume lasted for 71 years, going for 715 issues, and since then there have been several more volumes of the Caped Crusader, with four volumes running altogether for 949 issues. It’s often been the bestselling books in superhero comics, and has boasted some of the greatest creators of all time. It’s one of the measuring sticks for superhero comics (along with The Amazing Spider-Man), as every book is compared to its sales.
3) Action Comics – 1096 Issues
Action Comics introduced readers to the superhero, with Superman appearing in its first issue in 1938. Since then, the book has ran for two volumes, with the first running until 2011 and the beginning of the New 52. It returned to legacy numbering during DC Rebirth in 2016, and has since then been going strong. For the last year, it’s been a book where Mark Waid has started telling Superboy stories, modernizing the history of Clark Kent. It’s definitely lived up to its name, giving readers 88 years of action.
2) Detective Comics – 1106 Issues
Detective Comics started in 1937, telling readers crime stories starring numerous characters. Batman was introduced to the book in 1939 and soon became the star of the show. This the longest running mainstream American superhero comics, at least if you go by the year it started. It’s had two volumes and ran for 1106 issues, with its first volume running until 2011 and the New 52, and went back to legacy numbers at the same time as Action. Since then, it’s been the secondary Batman book, with some of the best creators around giving readers some of the best stories starring the Dark Knight, his allies, and his enemies.
1) Superman – 1112 Issues
Superman is DC’s greatest hero, and honestly the greatest hero in comics. The Man of Steel debuted in Action Comics, but wouldn’t stay in one book for long. In 1939, he got his second book Superman, as Action was an anthology with him as the headliner. This volume of the book ran until 1986, when a new volume came along, which run from 1986 to 2006 for 226 issues. Its numbering shifted to Adventures of Superman with issue 424, which ended with #650, and resumed its original title. There have been six volumes of the book, running for a total of 1112 issues. The current volume of the book is back to being one of the most important books in DC, cementing the hero’s place in comics in the longest running book in the industry.
What’s you favorite long-running DC series? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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