It’s time to map the DC Universe! In June, I’ll be joining with Near Mint Condition to launch the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 2nd Annual Poll! This post explains every Superman omnibus – all of which will appear as options on the 2025 poll.
Through the end of May I’ll be covering DC entire publishing history by mapping missing omnibus volumes to fill in every gap in your DC oversize shelf! That’s all leading to the kickoff of the Tigereyes Most Wanted DC Omnibus 2nd Annual Poll on Near Mint Condition the first week of June.
Superman has an interesting history in omnibus. Prior to 2020, DC was hyper-focused on collecting his Golden age run – and the only other omnibus was Death and Return of Superman! Then, in the 2020s, DC got slightly more adventurous – but not much. They hit a few major modern runs, but Superman still had barely any coverage in omnibus.
Finally, with a potential hit movie on the horizon, in the past two years DC has gotten series about collecting Superman! Not only have they finally cracked into the much-demanded Triangle Era, but they’re also getting more aggressive about his post-Flashpoint material.
Even with leaps and bounds of improvement in DC’s release schedule, the potential for future Superman omnibuses continues to be a wide-open field. Your votes could meaningfully point DC into the right direction for their 2026 and 2027 slates of books.
If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for a list of books vetted by a gang of the biggest mapping nerds on the internet with explanations from yours truly – keeper of the most-definitive guides to collected editions on the planet.
Or, if you don’t care about omnibuses, just use this post to learn about DC history and find some great comics to read!
This post covers the following speculated omnibus volumes:
- Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age Superman Omnibus Mapping
- Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol 8 (1950 & on) [includes Action Comics]
- Superman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol 2 (1960 & on) [includes Action Comics]
- Superman: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol 1 (1970 & on) [includes Action Comics]
- Superman Team-Up – The DC Comics Presents Omnibus Vol. 1 (1978 & on)
- Superman: The 1980s Omnibus (1980 & on) [includes Action Comics]
- Superman Omnibus Mapping – Post-Crisis to Triangle Era
- Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne Vol. 1 (of 2) (1987 – 1988) [collects the full line]
- Superman: Exile Aftermath AKA Eradication (1989 – 1990) [between Exile & Triangle Era Vol. 1]
- Superman: The Triangle Era Vol. 3 (1993 & on) [AKA Superman Returns]
- Superman: The Triangle Era – City of Tomorrrow (2000) [AKA Triangle Era Year 2000]
- Superman: The Triangle Era – President Lex (2000 – 2001) [fits before Our Worlds at War omni]
- Superman: Our Worlds at War Vol. 2 (2001) [AKA End of the Triangle Era]
- Superman Omnibus Mapping – Post-Triangle to Infinite Crisis
- Superman: Post-Triangle-Era Adventures of Superman by Casey & Rucka Vol. 1 (of 2) (2001 – 2006) [Adventures of Superman and only required crossovers]
- Superman: Post-Triangle-Era, Vol. 1 (of 4) (2002 & on) [line-wide omni; collects through Infinite Crisis]
- Superman: Action Comics, Post-Triangle Era Vol. 1 (2002 & on) [AKA by Joe Kelly]
- Superman Omnibus Mapping – Infinite Crisis to Flashpoint
- Superman: Superman by Johns & Busiek (Vol. 1?) (2006 & on) [AKA “One Year Later,” Action and Superman following Infinite Crisis]
- Superman: Superman Confidential (2007 – 2008) [could include other Pre-Flashpoint minis]
- Superman: The Complete New Krypton Saga by James Robinson (2008 – 2011)
- Superman: Superman by James Robinson & JMS (2008 – 2011) [collects around New Krypton]
- Superman: Action Comics – World Without Superman by Rucka & Cornell (2009 – 2011) [Nightwing & Flamebird, Black Ring, & Reign of Doomsday]
- Wonder Woman & Superman by J. Michael Straczynski (2010 – 2011) [AKA Simone Companion]
- Superman Omnibus Mapping – The New 52
- Superman: Superman, The New 52 Omnibus by Perez, Jurgens, Lobdell, Johns, & Yang (2011 – 2016)
- Superman: Action Comics by Greg Pak, The New 52 Omnibus (2013 – 2016) [follows Morrison; also includes Lobdell & Diggle]
- Superman / Wonder Woman, The New 52 Omnibus (2013 – 2016) [includes Doomed]
- Superman Omnibus Mapping – Rebirth to Present Day
- Superman: Action Comics by Dan Jurgens Vol. 2 (2017 – 2018)
- Superman: Superman by Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 1 (of 2) (2018 – 2021) [includes Action Comcis]
- Superman: Action Comics – Return from Warworld by Phillip K Johnson (2022 & on) [could add subsequent “Superstars” mini-arcs]
Remember: These titles and mappings are a suggestion of how DC could assemble these books. Your vote on the poll is a vote in favor of DC creating a book with that title or covering that period, NOT an endorsement of a specific map. Maps are presented as a proof of concept and to help you build your personal reading list.
Want to check out all of the other voting options for the 2025 Tigereyes Poll? Check out my 2025 Tigereyes poll options overview page that explains the poll, how to vote, and every title that will appear – including links to all of the posts in this series.
Intensely researched posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to DC Comics.
Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age Superman Omnibus Mapping
Superman has an active Golden and Silver Age omnibus line, currently exactly a decade apart in their coverage. I say, why not add a Bronze Age omnibus to the mix for the next decade just to keep things parallel! For the existing omnibuses and to see how issues are currently collected, see the Guide to Action Comics (Pre-Crisis, 1938-1986) and Guide to Superman (Pre-Crisis, (1939 – 1986).
Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol 8 (1950 & on) [includes Action Comics]
With the lineup of 2025 omnibuses already announced by DC, the wait for this next Golden Age volume is now the longest gap between books in this line, exceeding the 38-month wait between Volumes 6 and 7. Missing out on getting a Golden Age volume out to coincide with the fervor around the Superman movie seems like a real miss on DC’s part.
The Golden Age line still needs to collect nearly 100 issues of Action Comics (1938), 60 more issues of Superman (1939), plus more of Golden Age World’s Finest Comics.
This would continue to collect Superman stories in Action Comics (1938) #144-240, Superman (1939) #66-121, and World’s Finest Comics (1941) #48-70.
Superman: The Silver Age Omnibus Vol 2 (1960 & on) [includes Action Comics]
DC seems to be stuck when it comes to their Silver Age omnibus strategy for Batman and Superman. Wonder Woman has scored three volumes in three years while Bats & Supes are still stuck on their first volumes.
While I always enjoy Diana lapping her male counterparts when it comes to collected editions, it’s time to keep moving with this line. We have an entire decade of comics to cover!
This continue to collect Superman stories in Action Comics (1938) #266-392 and Superman (1939) #138-232.
Superman: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol 1 (1970 & on)
There’s a positive and negative for this potential omnibus.
The positive: we know exactly where it will start and many of the issues are already prepped for print!
The negative: we know that because DC is printing the majority of the material that would fit in this book in a DC Finest volume the day after the poll launches!
We treat Action Comics (1939) #393 as the first Bronze Age issue because it marks when the Legion of Super-Heroes departed the back-up feature of this title. We treat Superman (1939) #233 as the first Bronze Age issue because the issue featured a bold “1” on the cover treatment (referring to his sales, but also marking it as a jumping on point with the start of “Kryptonite Nevermore!”).
With this material hitting paperback in just a few weeks, it probably means we’re a long while away from DC recollecting it in hardcover. But, never say never! If sales on that DC Finest edition are strong and this material maintains its Top 60 placement on the poll, DC could be convinced to have this omnibus line follow the DC Finest line at only a 1-2 year delay.
This would begin to collect the Bronze Age of Superman with Action Comics (1938) #393-508 and Superman (1939) #233-345.
Superman Team-Up, The DC Comics Presents Omnibus Vol. 1 (1978 & on)
You might prefer to see this title collected as a part of the Bronze Age Omnibus line, and I’m not here to say you’re wrong! If that’s the case, just vote for the Bronze Age Omnibus – we need to get through eight years of material before we find out of this would be included.
This is another book that DC has just cracked into in the DC Finest line. However, this is distinct from the Bronze Age Superman material in that DC is ganging up the Finest line to include both Superman’s DC Comics Presents (1978) and Batman’s The Brave and the Bold (1955). That gives the paperback line distinct appeal from this all-inclusive volume, which could cover the entire series in just two books.
This would begin to collect DC Comics Presents (1978) #1-97, which was a Superman team-up title.
Superman: The 1980s Omnibus (1980 & on) [includes Action Comics]
This new voting options mirrors our options for the Batman and Justice League lines, and in this case it might make even more sense. Maybe DC wants to stick with collecting Bronze Age Superman in DC Finest paperback for now, but would leap ahead to begin to wrap up the 80s in omnibus.
This would begin to collect Action Comics (1938) #507-583 and Superman (1939) #346-423
Superman Omnibus Mapping – Post-Crisis to Triangle Era
See the Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) for the current collections of this material.
Superman: The Man of Steel by John Byrne Vol. 1 (of 2) (1987 – 1988) [collects the full line]
We need just two omnibuses to collect all of Superman’s initial Post-Crisis “Man of Steel” era plotted entirely by John Byrne. This would mirror the series of four “Man of Steel by John Byrne” standard hardcovers, but it would add three significant chunks of material not included in those books.
This first volume would collect the contents of the first two volumes of “Man of Steel” hardcovers, including The Man of Steel (1986) #1-6, Superman (1987) #1-11, Adventures of Superman (1987) #424-435, Action Comics (1938) #584-593, Legion of Super-Heroes #37-38, and material from Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12-13 & Who’s Who Update ’87 #1-5.
To that we would add World of Krypton (1987) #1-4, also by Byrne. This mini-series is a definitive Post-Crisis origin of Krypton, as told by Superman to Lois Lane during this run. Plus, Mindy Newell’s mini-series Lois Lane (1986) #1-2.
Then, a second volume could collect the contents of the final two volumes of “Man of Steel” hardcovers, including Superman (1987) #12-22 & Annual 1-2, Adventures of Superman (1987) #436-444 & Annual 1, Action Comics (1938) #594-600 & Annual 1, Superman: The Earth Stealers (1988) #1, Booster Gold #23, Doom Patrol #10, and material from Who’s Who Update ’87 #5 & Who’s Who Update ’88 #1-3.
That second volume would also add World of Metropolis (1988) #1-4, also by Byrne, which focused on the cast of the Daily Planet. And, to avoid a gap in omnibus coverage, it would include all of the Superman A-stories from Action Comics [Weekly] (1938) #601-641 + all of #642, since they have to be collected PRIOR to the Exile omnibus. Luckily, they’re just 160 pages of additional material, which easily fits into this book.
Superman: Exile and Other Stories fits here.
Superman: Exile Aftermath AKA Eradication (1989 – 1990) [between Exile & Triangle Era Vol. 1]
There is an obvious gap after the existing Exile omnibus and the start of the Triangle Era.
This would collect Action Comics (1938) #647-658, Superman (1987) #38-48, and Adventures of Superman (1987) #461-471 to perfectly fill the gap prior to the start of the Triangle Era omnibus line.
Superman Omnibus Mapping – The Triangle Era
Superman’s Triangle era is a complex beast that spans nearly a decade of comics. We can’t map all of it for the poll, because there are just too many questions about what fits where! But, we can map volumes adjacent to books that have already been announced. See the Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) for a complete reading order of this era.
Superman: The Triangle Era Vol. 1-2 fit here.
Superman: The Triangle Era Vol. 3 (1993 & on) [AKA Superman Returns]
The second Superman Triangle Era omnibus made the awkward move of pushing far enough to begin collecting into the run of issues included in the longstanding and often reprinted (and expanded) Death and Return of Superman Omnibus.
It’s really a hard-to-explain choice, since the omnibus would’ve been a decent size even if it hadn’t pushed an extra five issues into each series to reach that far.
As a result, the Triangle line is now committed to recollecting all of that material with different breaking points.
That second Triangle Era omnibus ends with Action Comics (1938) #686, Adventures of Superman (1987) #499, Superman (1987) #77, and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #21.
That means this next book would begin to collect the return of Superman through Zero Hour, although I suspect it would end a few issues prior to Zero Hour so that could kick off the next volume.
This would begin to collect (but not quite get through all of) Action Comics (1938) #687-705 & 0, Adventures of Superman (1987) #500-517, 0, & Annual 5, Superman (1987) #78-95, 0, & Annual 5, and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #22-39, 0, & Annual 2.
Superman: The Triangle Era – City of Tomorrow (2000) [AKA Triangle Era Year 2000]
This period is well-mapped in paperback and compendium and it is adjacent to runs with clear starting and stopping points, so we can map it for the poll!
This would collect Action Comics (1938) #760-768, Adventures of Superman (1987) #573-581, Superman (1987) #151-159 (and possibly Annual 12?), and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #95-103.
Superman: The Triangle Era – President Lex (2000 – 2001) [fits before Our Worlds at War omni]
Because the City of Tomorrow run has an obvious stopping point and DC has announced the contents of the first of two Superman: Our Worlds at War volumes, we know exactly what this book must contain.
The “President Lex” story doesn’t take up all of this book, but it’s the easiest title to apply both for marketing and for helping folks identify this run on the poll.
This would collect Action Comics (1938) #769-778, Adventures of Superman (1987) #582-591, Superman (1987) #160-169 & Annual 12 (likely abandoned by the prior volume), Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #104-113, Superman: Emperor Joker (2000) #1, Supermen of America (2000) #1-6, Superman: Lex 2000 (2001) #1, Detective Comics (1937) #756.
Superman: Our Worlds at War Omnibus Volume 1: Prelude to War! fits here.
Superman: Our Worlds at War Vol. 2 (2001) [AKA End of the Triangle Era]
This book is clearly already on DC’s future schedule, since the labeled the first book explicitly as a Volume 1. How soon it might arrive is another story entirely!
This would primarily collect Action Comics (1938) #781-782, Adventures of Superman (1987) #594-595, Impulse (1995) #77, JLA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Superboy (1994) #91, Supergirl (1996) #59, Superman (1987) #172-173, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #116-117, Wonder Woman (1987) #172-173, World’s Finest: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Young Justice (1998) #36, and Superman: Our Worlds At War Secret Files (2001) #1.
That’s just 21 issues! To that, I think it would add two sets of additional material.
First, it would collect the remaining eight “Our Worlds at War” one-shots, some of which are abandoned by their own omnibus lines: The Flash: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, JSA: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Nightwing: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1, Wonder Woman: Our Worlds at War (2001) #1
Then, I think I think it would extend to the end of the Triangle Era by adding another 13 issues: Adventures of Superman (1987) #596-598, Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #118-120, Action Comics (1938) #783-785, Superman (1987) #174-176.
Superman Omnibus Mapping – Post-Triangle to Infinite Crisis
Trying to map the post-Triangle era of Superman can be confusing. All four of his ongoing series continued for at least a year starting from January 2002 – that’s Action Comics (1938), Adventures of Superman (1987) #599-609, Superman (1987), Superman: The Man of Steel (1991). Some of their material stands well on its own, but they also crossed over heavily several times.
Unlike the Triangle Era, there’s no explicit single reading order to unique the four series. That means people want very different things from an omnibus mapping of this era – so, some of these options overlap with each other! To see how these issues are currently collected, see the Guide to Action Comics (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) and Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present).
Superman: Post-Triangle-Era, Vol. 1 (of 4) (2002 & on) [line-wide omni; collects through Infinite Crisis]
There are two strong arguments for continuing to collect the entire Superman line in a single omnibus line through Infinite Crisis.
First, in the era following the Triangle Era, one of his titles quickly sputters out – Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #121-134 by Mark Schultz (Dec 2001 – Oct 2002). Those 14 issues would be orphaned without a linewide omnibus, and they require 4 crossover issues from other series to read.
Second, there’s those pesky crossovers. Despite abandoning the Triangle Era’s concept of keeping every issue in a perfected monthly reading order, over the course of four years the Superman titles cross over multiple times – for “Return of Krypton,” “Ending Battle,” “Lost Hearts,” “Strange New Visitor,” “Godfall,” “The Journey,” “Sacrifice,” and “Superman, This Is Your Life”!
That’s more than 24 crossover issues that would have to be duplicated across multiple omnibuses if Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, and Superman were separated into their own omnibuses lines. However, the heart wants what the heart wants – especially with Greg Rucka’s name attached specifically to one of those single-title omnibuses.
If we went with this line-wide plan, this would begin by collecting (roughly) Action Comics (1938) #786-796, Adventures of Superman (1987) #599-609, Superman (1987) #177-187, and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #120-131.
In total, the line would need to run four volumes, collecting a total of 167 issues from Action Comics (1938) #786-836 (51 issues), Adventures of Superman (1987) #598-649 (52 issues), Superman (1987) #177-226 (50 issues), Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #121-134 (14 issues), and a handful of issues from other titles.
Superman: Action Comics, Post-Triangle Era Vol. 1 (2002 & on) [AKA by Joe Kelly]
This is the “Action Comics Only” option for the Post-Triangle Era. You can get more than two years deep into this title with only 14 addition issues to cover multi-title crossovers – 3 issues for Superman: Return to Krypton, 6 issues for Superman: Ending Battle, 3 issues for “Lost Hearts,” and 2 issues for “Strange New Visitor.”
I think that’s a solid justification for an “Action-Only” collection, since this book mostly featured its own plotlines.
This would primarily collect Action Comics (1938) #786-813.
It would add 14 crossover issues from Return to Krypton (Adventures of Superman (1987) #606, Superman (1987) #184, and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #128), Ending Battle (Adventures of Superman (1987) #608-609, Superman (1987) #186-187, and Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #130-131), Lost Hearts (Superman: The Man of Steel (1991) #133, Superman (1987) #189, Adventures of Superman (1987) #611), and “Strange New Visitor” (Adventures of Superman (1987) #624 and Superman (1987) #201).
Superman: Post-Triangle-Era Adventures of Superman by Casey & Rucka Vol. 1 (of 2) (2001 – 2006) [Adventures of Superman and only required crossovers]
Joe Casey also write Adventures of Superman (1987) from issues #598-624, which then passed on to Greg Rucka for issues 3625-649 before Infinite Crisis.
This would collect Adventures of Superman (1987) #598-649 (Nov 2001 – Mar 2006), which 52 issues – the ideal length of a big DC omnibus! However, both Casey and Rucka’s run included significant multi-title crossovers.
We’ve seen DC ignore all crossover issues in the past to simply archive a single title’s run, but that seems unlikely for Superman. If that’s the case, this would absolutely need to be two volumes.
Superman Omnibus Mapping – Infinite Crisis to Flashpoint
Superman from Infinite Crisis to Flashpoint has zero omnibus volumes! Not only that, but this period hasn’t even been recollected very often since the original collections. To see how these issues are currently collected, see the Guide to Action Comics (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) and Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present).
Superman: Superman by Johns & Busiek (Vol. 1?) (2006 & on) [AKA “One Year Later,” Action and Superman following Infinite Crisis]
After Infinite Crisis there were a pair of primary Superman titles: Action Comics and adjectiveless Superman. Both were steered by the same core group of writers, so it makes sense to collect them together.
This would begin to collect Action Comics (1938) #837-870 & Annual 10 and Superman (1939 / 2006) #650-676 & Annual 13.
Superman: Superman Confidential (2007 – 2008) [could include other Pre-Flashpoint minis]
The creator-centric Superman Confidential (2007) ran for just 14 issues, so this could also collect other creator-centric mini-series or potentially abandoned Superman issues from Pre-Flashpoint (which could include JMS’s Superman (2006) #700-714).
Superman: The Complete New Krypton Saga by James Robinson (2008 – 2011)
This would collect the entirety of the New Krypton saga that crossed 43 issues and several titles across multiple years.
This would collect Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special (2008) #1-2, Superman: New Krypton Special (2008) #1, Superman (1939) #681-683, 691, & 698-699, Adventure Comics Special Featuring The Guardian (2009) #1, Action Comics (1938) #871-874, 880, & Annual 10, Supergirl (2005) #44 & 51-52, Superman: World of New Krypton (2009) #1-12, Adventure Comics (2009) #8-11, Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton (2010) #1-3, and Superman: War of the Supermen (2010) #1-4 & FCBD [AKA #0].
Superman: Action Comics – World Without Superman by Rucka & Cornell (2009 – 2011) [Nightwing & Flamebird, Black Ring, & Reign of Doomsday]
This collection follows Infinite Crisis and the kickoff of the World of New Krypton to collect Action Comics through Flashpoint – much of which did not star Superman!
This collects Action Comics #875-904 & Annual 12-13 and 10 crossover issues for a total of 42 issues. However, that doesn’t fully explain the contents. Here’s a more exploded list of what it would contain:
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- Action Comics (1938) #875-879 (Nightwing & Flamebird; no back-up stories) & Annual 12, plus Superman: Secret Files 2009 (2009) #1
- Action Comics (1938) #880 (part of Codename Patrtiot, along with Superman: World of New Krypton (2009) #6, Supergirl (2005) #44, Superman (1939) #691, and an epilogue in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special (2008) #1)
- Action Comics (1938) #881-882 (Supergirl)
- Action Comics (1938) #883-889 (Nightwing & Flamebird, adding Adventure Comics (2009) #8-10 and Superman (1939) #696)
- Action Comics (1938) #890-900 & Annual 13 (Lex Luthor, also collecting Secret Six (2008) #29)
- Action Comics (1938) #900-904 (Reign of Doomsday)
Superman: Superman by James Robinson & JMS (2008 – 2011) [collects around New Krypton]
This would collect around the New Krypton saga to include all of the other issues of James Robinson’s run through issue #699 and then the J. Michael Straczynski “Grounded” run that followed.
Collects Superman (1939) #677-680, 684-697, Annual 14, & 700-714, Action Comics (1938) Annual 10, #874, & 880, Superman: Secret Files 2009 (2009) #1, Superman: World of New Krypton (2009) #6, Supergirl (2005) #44, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special (2008) #2, Adventure Comics (2009) #11.
Wonder Woman & Superman by J. Michael Straczynski (2010 – 2011) [AKA Simone Companion]
Alternately, some folks might prefer to see J. Michael Straczynski’s twin Pre-Flashpoint runs collected in a single volume!
After the conclusion of Gail Simone’s run on Wonder Woman, the title renumbered to legacy numbers for the year prior to Flashpoint and the New 52, all of which was written by J. Michael Straczynski.
Realistically, DC would likely issue this in a deluxe oversize hardcover, which is their practice for these shorter 10-18 issue creator runs (whereas Marvel never does that – every oversize book is an omnibus or a “Gallery Edition” with them). However, there is a way to map this material into an omnibus! The key is combining this brief Wonder Woman run with an equally brief Superman run by JMS, adding in some otherwise abandoned one-shots.
Would DC really do this? Eh, maybe not. But, it’s possible, especially if Wonder Woman omnis continue to generate votes and sales. Weirder things have happened as a result of these polls.
The would collect J. Michael Straczynski’s brief run of Wonder Woman (1942 / 2010) #600-614 and a mirrored run on Superman (2006) #700-714. It could also include Blackest Night: Wonder Woman (2009) #1-3, the non-reprint stories in DC Retroactive: Wonder Woman – The 70s, The 80s, The 90s, and Wonder Woman’s material from Wednesday Comics (2009) #1-12.
Superman Omnibus Mapping – The New 52
We have Grant Morrison’s Action Comics collected in omnibus, but that’s less than half of the two main Superman titles from 2011-2016. To see how these issues are currently collected, see the Guide to Action Comics (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) and Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present).
Superman by Grant Morrison fits here.
Superman: Superman, The New 52 Omnibus by Perez, Jurgens, Lobdell, Johns, & Yang (2011 – 2016)
This would collect the entirety of Superman (2011) #1-52, 0, 23.1-4, & Annuals 1-3, only adding some of the “Krypton Returns” crossover material from Action Comics (2011) Annual 2, Superboy (2011) #0 & 25, Supergirl (2011) #0 & 25
Superman: Action Comics by Greg Pak, The New 52 Omnibus (2013 – 2016) [follows Morrison; also includes Lobdell & Diggle]
This directly follows the Morrison omnibus to collect the remainder of Action Comics from New 52; it also includes material by Lobdell & Diggle.
This would primarily collect Action Comics (2011) #19-52, #23.1-4, & Annual 2-3, as well as Action Comics: Futures End (2014) #1, Convergence Superboy (2015) #2, and material from Young Romance: The New 52 Valentine’s Day Special (2013) #1 and Secret Origins (2014) #1.
That’s 41 issues – already a hefty omnibus! However, there were several major crossovers through the Superman books in this period. Since this omnibus is already 19 issues short since it doesn’t need to re-collect the Morrison material, and since DC has repeatedly shown an appetite to go really big on their New 52 omnibuses, I think we could stretch this one to include some or all of that crossover material.
I think the main two crossovers to include are Savage Dawn (Action Comics #48-50, Superman/Wonder Woman #25-27, and Superman #48-50 & Annual 3) and The Final Days of Superman (Collects Superman #51-52, Action Comics #51-52, Batman/Superman #31-32, and Superman/Wonder Woman #28-29).
That would add just 13 more issues, keeping this in the realm of possibility. I think Superman: Doomed could be pushed into a Superman/Wonder Woman omnibus, and we’d skip Krypton Returns, which only hits Annual 2 here and is more a crossover with Superman (2011) as seen above.
Superman / Wonder Woman, The New 52 Omnibus (2013 – 2016) [includes Doomed]
During New 52, Wonder Woman was romantically linked to Superman – in a plot that caused a riot with fans, but was originally teased by Perez and Byrne way back in the late 80s! That lead them to share their own ongoing team-up title for the first time in DC history. Originally, the final two issues of that title were only released in collected edition.
In total, collecting the contents of the trade paperbacks of this book accounts for 36 issues – a fine size for an omnibus.
However, this title also crossed over multiple times with the rest of the Superman line. While the trade paperbacks of this series did not include that crossover material, I do think in some cases it would need to be collected here for story continuity purposes. Specifically, the “Doomed” crossover was anchored by this title and I think it belongs here in full – adding 12 more issues.
Could this also collect all of “Savage Dawn” and “The Final Days of Superman”? It could easily fit both full story arcs at 13 additional issus, but I suspect they’d be primarily collected in a Superman New 52 omnibus rather than here.
This would collect Superman/Wonder Woman #1-31 & Annual 1-2, Wonder Woman: Futures End (2014) #1, and Superman/Wonder Woman: Futures End (2014) #1. Annual 1 continues directly to Action Comics (2011) Annual 3. Then, “Doomed” would add Action Comics (2011) #30-35 & Annual 3, Batman/Superman (2013) #11, Supergirl (2011) #34-35, Superman (2011) #30, & Superman: Doomed (2014) #1-2.
Optionally, “Savage Dawn” would add Action Comics (2011) #48-50, Superman (2011) #48-50. & Annual 3. That rolls directly into “The Final Days of Superman,” which would add Action Comics (2011) #51-52, Batman/Superman (2013) #31-32, and Superman (2011) #51-52.
Superman Omnibus Mapping – Rebirth to Present Day
We have only had a single post-Rebirth Superman omnibus so far – an incomplete collection of Superman (2016) that skips issues that aren’t created by Peter Tomasi and/or Patrick Gleason – always frustrating! What else is there to collect of Superman’s post-Rebirth material? Let’s take a look!
To see how these issues are currently collected, see the Guide to Action Comics (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present) and Guide to Superman (Post-Crisis, 1987 – Present).
Superman by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason and Superman: Action Comics by Dan Jurgens fit here.
Superman: Action Comics by Dan Jurgens Vol. 2 (2017 – 2018)
This would collect Action Comics (1938) #977-1000 and a story from Action Comics Special (2018) #1.
It would likely also collect back-up stories from Jurgens in Action Comics (1938) #1051-1057 (2nd stories).
Superman: Superman by Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 1 (of 2) (2018 – 2021) [includes Action Comcis]
I think it’s much more likely a pair of Bendis omnibuses would combine his runs reading order rather than selling them as two separate volumes, but your vote for this can be whatever should come first in your mind.
Together, they would include The Man of Steel (2018) #1-5, material from DC Nation (2018) #0 and Action Comics #1000, Action Comics (1938) #1001-1028, Superman: Leviathan Rising Special (2019) #1, Superman (2018) #1-28, Superman: Heroes #1, and Superman: Villains #1.
That’s about 65 issues – perfect for two omnibuses. One could argue that Bendis’s other Leviathan content should also fit here, and I wouldn’t argue against you – there’s room for it! But, let’s not lose focus – this is mostly about comprehensively collecting his run on Superman.
Superman by Phillip Kennedy Johnson fits here.
Superman: Action Comics – Return from Warworld by Phillip K Johnson (2022 & on) [could add subsequent “Superstars” mini-arcs]
DC was in a hurry to push out a Warworld omnibus this July, but at just 900 pages it could’ve easily wrapped up the run if DC was any good at mapping. Sure, the remaining 12 issues were all extra-long thanks to back-up stories – but even at 500 addition issues this omnibus would’ve been smaller than either of the Justice League Dark omnibuses!
This would collect Action Comics (1938) #1050-1060 (A-stories), 1057-1060 (back-ups), & Annual 2023, Superman: Kal-El Returns Special (2022) #1, Action Comics Presents: Doomsday Special (2023) #1, Knight Terrors: Action Comics (2023) #1-2, Beast World Tour: Metropolis (2024) #1, and #1054-1056 (back-ups) and their spinoff Steelworks (2023) #1-6.
That’s under 30 issues, even with those backups included. Note that some issues had multiple back-up stories. Issues #1051-1057 (back-ups) are likely to be in Jurgens Vol. 2, above, and #1051-1053 (Power Girl back-ups) could be in a future Power Girl omnibus.
A Zod back-up in #1060 leads to Kneel Before Zod (2024) #1-8, so that could fit here to fill this out, although then you might be tempted to included Sinister Sons (2024) #1-6.
But… there are also a number of disconnected “Superstars” arc that come after this run that could easily be appended to it: issues #1061-1063 (Jason Aaron), #1067-1069 (Gail Simone & Rainbow Rowell), #1082-1084 (John Ridley), and #1085-1086 (G. Willow Wilson). That’s just 11 more issues, though some of them were double-length. It could all fit here, and the Waid and Williamson runs they sandwich will almost certainly have their own omnibuses.
We can’t yet map Superman by Joshua Williamson since it’s still going strong. And, we can’t map Mark Waid’s outstanding weekly “Phantoms” arc of Action Acomics yet since Waid is now jumping back onto Action Comics next month.
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