Best of DC 44

The Best of DC #44 Preboot » Pre-Crisis Reprint Cover by Gil Kane Story title Various Previous story Adventure Comics #503 (previous chronological reprints) Next story The Best of DC #57 (next chronological reprints) Publication date October 6, 1983 Cover date January 1984 Creators Writer(s) n/a Penciller(s) n/a Inker(s) n/a Letterer(s) n/a Colourist(s) n/a Editor(s) Nicola Cuti Cover artist(s) Gil Kane

Background

Although the Adventure Comics series had been discontinued in mid-1983, the Legion's own series was gaining in popularity at that time, and there still remained a demand for the chronological Legion reprints that had been the highlight of Adventure during its last year of publication. The Best of DC series, also reprints in digest format, picked up the Legion tales where Adventure had left off. Rather than just two Legion stories, entire digest issues were devoted to the Legion every few months or so.

Reprinted material

Original publication source is noted for each.

• "The Legion's Suicide Squad!" – Adventure Comics #319 (March, 1964)
• "Revenge of the Knave From Krypton!" – Adventure Comics #320 (March, 1964)
• "The Code of the Legion!" – Adventure Comics #321 (March, 1964)
• "Lois Lane's Luckiest Day!" – Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #50 (April, 1964)
• "The Super-Tests of the Super-Pets!" – Adventure Comics #322 (March, 1964)
• "The Eight Impossible Missions!" – Adventure Comics #323 (March, 1964)

The Story Behind the Stories

Also continued from the Adventure reprints of the classic Legion stories was its companion commentary by Paul Levitz, who was the writer of the Legion's current series while these digests were being produced. Years later, these commentaries are the primary point of interest (other than the reprinted stories themselves), so the full text is provided below:

– Paul Levitz