DC Comics insert previews were 16-page comic book stories inserted into issues of existing DC Comics series to promote new series usually debuting the next month. Running from 1980 to 1985, they consisted of a front cover, 14 pages of story, and a back cover that depicted the cover of the actual first issue. The addition of the insert did not entail an increase in the price of the comic book, and the cover copy called the insert "a special free 16-page comic!"[1]
Publication history
The insert previews began with The New Teen Titans in DC Comics Presents #26 (Oct. 1980).This reboot of an existing property by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez introduced several new characters[2] and would become a sales success for DC.[3] Wolfman would additionally write previews for a reboot of the "Dial H for Hero" feature[4] and for Night Force[5]
Issues
Collected editions
The following insert preview stories have been reprinted in collected editions:
The New Teen Titans story from DC Comics Presents #26 (October 1980) in:
A Masters of the Universe preview featured in several comic books cover dated November 1982 led to a miniseries the following month.[17] The Atari Force preview in January 1983 served as a prequel to the ongoing series launched a year later.[18]
M.A.S.K. was an animated series and a Kenner Products toyline adapted into comic books in a September 1985 preview which led to a miniseries the following December.[19]
Captain Carrot and the Final Ark, 168 pages, April 2008, ISBN 978-1401216849
Showcase Presents: Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew, 672 pages, September 2014, ISBN 978-1401247560
The Night Force story from The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982) in:
Night Force by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan: The Complete Series, 396 pages, October 2017, ISBN 978-1401274290
The Masters of the Universe story from various DC Comics titles (November 1982) in:
DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras, 520 pages, December 2020, ISBN 978-1779500878
The Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld story from Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #298 (April 1983) in:
Showcase Presents: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld Vol. 1, 648 pages, October 2012, ISBN 978-1401236779
The Batman and the Outsiders story from The Brave and the Bold #200 (July 1983) in:
Showcase Presents: Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1, 552 pages, September 2007, ISBN 978-1401215460
Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1, 368 pages, February 2017, ISBN 978-1401268121
Manning p. 192 Legion of Super-Heroes #272: "Within a sixteen-page preview in Legion of Super-Heroes #272...was "Dial 'H' For Hero", a new feature that raised the bar on fan interaction in the creative process. The feature's story, written by Marv Wolfman, with art by Carmine Infantino, saw two high-school students find dials that turned them into super-heroes. Everything from the pair's civilian clothes to the heroes they became was created by fans writing in. This concept would continue in the feature's new regular spot within Adventure Comics".
5.Manning p. 197 The New Teen Titans #21: "[T]his issue...hid another dark secret: a sixteen-page preview comic featuring Marv Wolfman's newest team - Night Force. Chronicling the enterprise of the enigmatic Baron Winters and featuring the art of Gene Colan, Night Force spun out into an ongoing title of gothic mystery and horror the following month".^
10.Peter Sanderson. Thomas/Colan Premiere Wonder Woman's New Look Comics Feature, New Media Publishing, September–October 1981^
11.Manning p. 196: "The New Teen Titans #16 - In a sixteen-page bonus preview insert in the middle of The New Teen Titans...was the debut story of Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew".^
12.Manning p. 202 The Brave and the Bold #200: "Despite being the final issue of this particular series, the book wasn't closed on Batman's team-ups. Although Batman was through working with partners, it was time to think bigger, and in a special sixteen-page preview insert written by Barr and with art by Jim Aparo, the Outsiders debuted. A super-hero team of Batman's own creation, the Outsiders would soon star alongside Batman in the new monthly series Batman and the Outsiders".^
14.Manning p. 201 Legion of Super-Heroes #298: "The other-dimensional Gemworld found a new princess in the form of Amy Winston, an ordinary young girl from a distant reality, in the pages of a sixteen-page insert comic by writers Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, and artist Ernie Colón. Standing strong against the forces of the nefarious Dark Opal, Amethyst was gearing up for her own self-titled maxiseries in May".^
15.Manning p. 208 The Fury of Firestorm #24: "[A] sixteen-page preview story marked the debut of fledgling stuntman-turned-hero Blue Devil. An attempt to put the fun back into comics, writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin and penciller Paris Cullins had Blue Devil face the machinations of Flash villain the Trickster in this lead-in to his own ongoing series".^
16.Daniel DeAngelo. Circuits and Sorcery: The Honest-to-Goodness Story of Blue Devil Back Issue!, TwoMorrows Publishing, December 2014^
