Direct Currents
Direct Currents is the name of several promotional features by DC Comics, including a long-running newsletter.
History
Direct Currents was first used as the name of a text feature appearing in DC's comics beginning in 1966.[1] In the 1970s, the feature appeared in DC's fan magazine The Amazing World of DC Comics.[1] From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the name was also used for one of the features in DC's Daily Planet house ads.
From November 1976 to July 1977, DC had its own toll-free phone number called the Direct Currents Hot-Line, where fans could hear pre-recorded messages from DC staff about upcoming titles. The phone number was so popular (it was receiving an average of 100,000 calls a week toward its end) that it had to be shut down.[2]
Beginning in 1978 and lasting a little more than a year,[3] Direct Currents was the name for a one-page newsletter.[1] The newsletter, which was available by subscription, featured a 13" by 18" poster cover.[4]
In 1988, Direct Currents became the title of a free monthly newsletter distributed by comic book stores, containing articles about DC Comics titles being released that month as well as a checklist of the month's new releases. It was a replacement for DC's previous newsletter, DC Releases.[1] Unlike DC Releases, which was printed in black and white and magazine-sized, Direct Currents was printed in color and was the size of a regular comic book. Eventually, Direct Currents contained a flipbook format, with one side containing features about DC Universe titles, and the other containing features about titles from DC's Vertigo and Paradox Press imprints.[5] The newsletter ran for a total of 92 issues, ending in 1995, and also produced two specials.
List of Direct Currents issues
| Issue Number | Date[a] | Cover Story | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 9-March 8, 1988 | Flash Gordon maxi-series | |
| 2 | March 15-April 5, 1988 | Action Comics Weekly ongoing series; Superman vol. 2 ongoing series becomes twice-monthly | |
| 3 | April 12-May 10, 1988 | Power of the Atom ongoing series | |
| 4 | May 17-31, 1988 | V for Vendetta maxi-series | |
| 5 | June 7-28, 1988 | Hawk and Dove vol. 2 mini-series | |
| 6 | July 5-26, 1988 | Cosmic Odyssey mini-series | |
| 7 | August 2-30, 1988 | The Prisoner mini-series | |
| 8 | September 6-27, 1988 | Plastic Man vol. 2 mini-series | |
| 9 | October 4-25, 1988 | Invasion! mini-series | |
| 10 | November 1-29, 1988 | Black Orchid vol. 1 mini-series | |
| 11 | December 6-20, 1988 | The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told hardcover | |
| 12 | January 3-31, 1989 | The Huntress vol. 1 ongoing series | |
| 13 | February, 1989 | Justice League Europe ongoing series | |
| 14 | March, 1989 | "The Janus Directive" crossover | |
| 15 | April, 1989 | Skreemer mini-series | |
| 16 | May, 1989 | Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography one-shot | |
| 17 | June, 1989 | The Batman Movie Adaptation one-shot | |
| 18 | July, 1989 | Justice, Inc. vol. 2 mini-series | |
| 19 | August, 1989 | The Shadow Strikes! ongoing series | |
| 20 | September, 1989 | The Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 4 ongoing series; The Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga trade paperback | |
| 21 | October, 1989 | Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth graphic novel | |
| 22 | November, 1989 | Deadman: Love after Death mini-series | |
| 23 | December, 1989 | The Greatest Golden Age Stories Ever Told hardcover | |
| 24 | January, 1990 | Adam Strange vol. 1 mini-series | |
| 25 | February, 1990 | Batman: Digital Justice graphic novel | |
| 26 | March, 1990 | The Butcher mini-series | |
| 27 | April, 1990 | Hawkworld vol. 2 ongoing series | |
| 28 | May, 1990 | The Demon vol. 3 ongoing series | |
| 29 | June, 1990 | World's Finest vol. 1 mini-series | |
| 30 | July, 1990 | Enemy Ace: War Idyll graphic novel | |
| 31 | August, 1990 | The Doom Patrol vol. 2 #37 (Rhea Jones awakes from her coma) | |
| 32 | September, 1990 | Twilight mini-series | |
| 33 | October, 1990 | Batman 3D graphic novel | |
| 34 | November, 1990 | The Books of Magic vol. 1 mini-series | Flip book |
| Robin vol. 1 mini-series | |||
| 35 | December, 1990 | The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told hardcover | |
| 36 | January, 1991 | Angel and the Ape vol. 2 mini-series | |
| 37 | February, 1991 | Kid Eternity vol. 1 mini-series | |
| 38 | March, 1991 | Armageddon 2001 mini-series and crossover | |
| 39 | April, 1991 | Star Trek's 25th anniversary (Star Trek: The Mirror Universe Saga trade paperback) | |
| 40 | May, 1991 | Impact Comics line debuts (The Legend of the Shield ongoing series) | Includes 16-page Impact Comics preview |
| 41 | June, 1991 | Impact Comics line continues (The Comet and The Jaguar ongoing series) | |
| 42/43 | July, 1991 | War of the Gods mini-series and crossover | Double issue flip book |
| August, 1991 | The Psycho mini-series | ||
| 44 | September, 1991 | Sandman-related releases | |
| 45 | October, 1991 | Robin II: The Joker's Wild mini-series | |
| 46 | November, 1991 | The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special one-shot | |
| 47 | December, 1991 | Batman versus Predator mini-series, Batman: Master of the Future one-shot, Batman: Blind Justice trade paperback, and DC Comics hologram buttons | |
| 48 | January, 1992 | Batman: Gotham Nights mini-series | |
| 49 | February, 1992 | New creative teams on Justice League America and Justice League Europe, Justice League Spectacular one-shot, and other Justice League-related releases | |
| 50 | May, 1992 | Lobo's Back mini-series | |
| 51 | June, 1992 | Green Lantern vol. 3 #25 (Hal Jordan versus Guy Gardner), Green Lantern Corps Quarterly and Green Lantern: Mosaic ongoing series, and other Green Lantern-related releases | |
| 52 | July, 1992 | Batman: Shadow of the Bat ongoing series and other Batman-related releases | |
| 53 | August, 1992 | Batman Returns Movie Adaptation one-shot | |
| 54 | September, 1992 | Team Titans ongoing series | |
| 55 | October, 1992 | Batman: Sword of Azrael mini-series | |
| 56 | November, 1992 | Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale one-shot | |
| 57 | December, 1992 | Robin III: Cry of the Huntress mini-series | |
| 58 | January, 1993 | Superman vol. 2 #75 ("The Death of Superman") | |
| 59 | February, 1993 | Batman: Seduction of the Gun one-shot | |
| 60 | March, 1993 | The Legacy of Superman one-shot | First DC/Vertigo flip book |
| Vertigo imprint launches | |||
| 61 | April, 1993 | Milestone Media debuts (Hardware and Blood Syndicate ongoing series) | |
| Sandman Mystery Theatre ongoing series | |||
| 62 | May, 1993 | The Atom Special one-shot | |
| Kid Eternity vol. 2 ongoing series | |||
| 63 | June, 1993 | Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #500 (Superman returns from the dead) and the "Reign of the Supermen!" storyline | |
| The Sandman vol. 2 #50 (anniversary issue) | |||
| 64 | July, 1993 | "Bloodlines" crossover | |
| Skin Graft: The Adventures of a Tattooed Man mini-series | |||
| 65 | August, 1993 | Catwoman vol. 2 ongoing series | |
| Jonah Hex: Two-Gun Mojo mini-series | |||
| 66 | September, 1993 | Hawkman vol. 3 ongoing series | |
| Vertigo's "Second Wave" (Vertigo-related releases and improvements to existing titles) | |||
| 67 | October, 1993 | Batman vol. 1 #500 (conclusion of the "Knightfall" storyline) | |
| Hellblazer Special one-shot | |||
| 68 | November, 1993 | Robin vol. 2 ongoing series, plus the Robin: Tragedy and Triumph trade paperback | |
| The Sandman: Fables & Reflections hardcover | |||
| 69 | December, 1993 | Lobo vol. 2 ongoing series, plus the Lobo standup and Lobo: Smokin'! poster | |
| "The Children's Crusade" crossover | |||
| 70 | January, 1994 | "Shadow War" crossover | |
| Death: The High Cost of Living hardcover, Death Gallery one-shot, Death T-shirt, and Death watch | |||
| 71 | February, 1994 | Superboy vol. 3 and Steel ongoing series, Supergirl vol. 3 and Legends of the World's Finest mini-series, and other Superman-related releases | |
| The Sandman vol. 2 #57 (beginning of "The Kindly Ones" storyline) and The Sandman: Fables & Reflections trade paperback | |||
| 72 | March, 1994 | The Power of Shazam! graphic novel | |
| Swamp Thing vol. 2 #140 (writing team of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar begins) | |||
| 73 | April, 1994 | Green Lantern vol. 3 #51 (Kyle Rayner becomes Green Lantern) | |
| The Mystery Play graphic novel | |||
| 74 | May, 1994 | Batman/Spawn: War Devil one-shot | |
| The Books of Magic vol. 2 ongoing series | |||
| 75 | June, 1994 | Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey mini-series | |
| Witchcraft mini-series | |||
| 76 | July, 1994 | "Worlds Collide" crossover | |
| The Heart of the Beast graphic novel | |||
| 77 | August, 1994 | "KnightsEnd" storyline | |
| Vamps mini-series | |||
| 78 | September, 1994 | Zero Hour: Crisis in Time mini-series and crossover | |
| The Invisibles vol. 1 ongoing series | |||
| 79 | October, 1994 | Zero Month (every DC title gets a #0 issue) | |
| The Sandman: A Gallery of Dreams one-shot | |||
| 80 | November, 1994 | Starman vol. 2 ongoing series | |
| Shadows Fall mini-series | |||
| 81 | December, 1994 | Batman versus Predator II: Bloodmatch mini-series | |
| The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch graphic novel | |||
| 82 | January, 1995 | Batman: Bloodstorm graphic novel | |
| Paradox Press imprint launches | |||
| 83 | February, 1995 | Azrael vol. 1 ongoing series | |
| Tainted one-shot | |||
| 84 | March, 1995 | The Power of Shazam! ongoing series | |
| Jonah Hex: Riders of the Worm and Such mini-series | |||
| 85 | April, 1995 | Flash vol. 2 #100 (anniversary issue) | |
| Preacher ongoing series | |||
| 86 | May, 1995 | Superman vol. 2 #100 ("The Death of Clark Kent" storyline) | |
| Tank Girl Movie Adaptation one-shot | |||
| 87 | June, 1995 | Justice League America #100 (anniversary issue) | |
| Tank Girl: The Odyssey mini-series | |||
| 88 | July, 1995 | Sovereign Seven ongoing series | |
| Chiaroscuro: The Private Lives of Leonardo da Vinci maxi-series | |||
| 89 | August, 1995 | Batman Forever Movie Adaptation one-shot and other Batman-related releases | |
| The Sandman vol. 2 #70 ("The Wake" storyline) | |||
| 90 | September, 1995 | Wonder Woman vol. 2 #101 (John Byrne takes over as writer/artist) | |
| Sandman Midnight Theatre one-shot | |||
| 91 | October, 1995 | Batman: Man-Bat mini-series | |
| Stuck Rubber Baby graphic novel | |||
| 92 | November, 1995 | Underworld Unleashed mini-series and crossover | |
| The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch softcover | |||
| Special 1 | 1995 | ||
| 1997 Special | 1997 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Date refers to the books' shipping dates from issues 1-49, and the books' cover dates from issue 50 on.
References
- ^ a b c d Direct Currents #1, p. 3
- ^ Levitz, Paul (2015). The Bronze Age of DC Comics. Taschen. p. 281. ISBN 978-3-8365-3579-3.
- ^ "BOOKSTEVE'S LIBRARY: Direct Currents". Steven Thompson.
- ^ "Super Tuesday: Direct Currents | Longbox Graveyard". Paul O’Connor.
- ^ "Obscurities: DC Coming Attractions". Paul Kupperberg.