The Old 51 - DC Comics for August 1992

It's the fifth and final week of our journey into DC's past. Previously I looked at DC's offerings for August 1982, August 1972, August 1962, and August 1952. This week I'm heading over to the DC Database Wiki to look at August 1992:

• Action Comics #680 (super-hero)
• Adventures of Superman #493 (super-hero)
• Animal Man #50 (super-hero)
• Aquaman #9 (super-hero)
• Arion the Immortal #2 (sword & sorcery)
• Batman #483 (super-hero)
• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #35 (super-hero)
• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #36 (super-hero)
• Batman: Knight Cries (OGN) (super-hero)
• Batman: Run, Riddler, Run #3 (super-hero)
• Batman: Shadow of the Bat #3 (super-hero)
• Black Condor #3 (super-hero)
• The Black Hood #9 (super-hero)
• The Comet #14 (super-hero)
• The Crusaders #4 (super-hero)
• Deathstroke the Terminator #13 (super-hero)
• The Demon #26 (horror/mystery)
• Detective Comics #647 (super-hero)
• Detective Comics #648 (super-hero)
• Doom Patrol #58 (super-hero)
• Flash #67 (super-hero)
• Green Arrow #65 (super-hero)
• Green Lantern #27 (super-hero)
• Green Lantern: Mosaic #3 (super-hero)
• Guy Gardner Reborn #2 (super-hero)
• The Hacker Files #1 (adventure)
• Hawkworld #25 (super-hero)
• Hellblazer #56 (horror/mystery)
• Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution (OGN) (sci-fi)
• The Jaguar #13 (super-hero)
• Justice League America #65 (super-hero)
• Justice League Europe #41 (super-hero)
• Justice Society of America #1 (super-hero)
• L.E.G.I.O.N. '92 #43 (super-hero)
• L.E.G.I.O.N. '92 #44 (super-hero)
• The Legend of The Shield #14 (super-hero)
• Legion of Super-Heroes #32 (super-hero)
• Martian Manhunter: American Secrets #1 (super-hero)
• The New Titans #89 (super-hero)
• Sandman #40 (fantasy)
• Shade, the Changing Man #26 (super-hero)
• Skull and Bones #3 (adventure)
• Star Trek #34 (sci-fi)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation #35 (sci-fi)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation #36 (sci-fi)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (sci-fi)
• Superman #70 (super-hero)
• Superman: The Man of Steel #14 (super-hero)
• Swamp Thing #122 (horror/mystery)
• The Web #12 (super-hero)
• Wonder Woman #56 (super-hero)

That's 32 super-hero comics, 5 sci-fi, 3 horror/mystery, 2 adventure, 1 sword & sorcery , and 1 dark fantasy; for a total of 51 comics published by DC that month.

The majority of the sci-fi titles are from DC having the Star Trek license; this was also the period when they were publishing the !mpact imprint, featuring super-hero titles licensed from Archie. It is also the time of proto-Vertigo titles such as Hellblazer, Sandman, Animal Man and Shade (Vertigo would launch in 1993).

Regular titles were $1.25—$2.12 in 2014 dollars—for 22 pages of comics. Upscale books (e.g. Sandman) were $1.50—$2.54 in 2014 dollars—for 24 pages of comics. Prestige format books (Batman: Run, Riddler, Run & Martian Manhunter: American Secrets) were $4.95—$8.40 in 2014 dollars—for 46-47 pages of comics. (Inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.)

In August 2014, DC published a whopping 76 different titles! 60 super-hero titles, 8 horror/mystery, 5 fantasy, 1 sci-fi, 1 war, and 1 western. Many are $2.99 for 20 pages of comics; some are $3.99 for 22 pages of comics, a few are $4.99 for 35-38 pages of comics.


We can see that by 1992 the publishing landscape at DC was starting to resemble that of the modern day; more so than in 1982, and certainly much more so than in 1952!


That concludes our journey through the decades with DC. We hope that you enjoyed the trip!