DC Sampler #3

History

The DC Sampler series was conceived as an outreach vehicle: each issue offered two pages of original promotional art per major ongoing title, assembled into a full-length giveaway comic that put DC's creative talent in front of readers who might not yet be buying every series. Dick Giordano — then DC's Vice-President and Executive Editor — provided an introduction and oversaw the series, with editorial coordination credited to Robert Greenberger on this third installment. The wraparound cover was produced by humor cartoonist Fred Hembeck, who also contributed a framing sequence to earlier issues in the run. The series ran annually from 1983 through 1984, with DC Sampler #3 arriving on shelves on September 25, 1984, cover-dated November 1984, and representing the final entry in the line.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published September 25, 1984 (cover date November 1984) by DC Comics as a free giveaway promotional comic — no cover price.
• The issue contains a possible proto-appearance of John Constantine: an unnamed, silent figure resembling musician Sting appears in a Swamp Thing dream-sequence spread penciled by Steve Bissette and inked by John Totleben, predating Constantine's official debut in Swamp Thing vol. 2 #37 (cover date June 1985). The DC Database does not count this as an official first appearance, and scholarly debate over the cameo continues.
• Features an original Crisis on Infinite Earths preview spread by George Pérez — one of several pre-launch promotional appearances of the story that would reshape the entire DC Universe beginning in early 1985.
• The wraparound cover was drawn by Fred Hembeck; interior content includes new two-page promotional spreads by an exceptionally deep roster of 1984-era DC artists including Jim Aparo, Curt Swan, Dave Gibbons, Ron Randall, Tom Mandrake, Ric Estrada, Dan Jurgens, Ernie Colon, and Dick Giordano himself.
• Scripting contributions came from Alan Moore (the Swamp Thing segment), Mike Baron, and Mike W. Barr, with editing credited to Robert Greenberger and executive oversight from Dick Giordano.
• Titles spotlighted include Swamp Thing, Green Lantern, Batman and the Outsiders, Legion of Super-Heroes, The New Teen Titans, Blue Devil, Amethyst, Superman: The Secret Years, Jonni Thunder, Conqueror of the Barren Earth, Spanner's Galaxy, Robotech Defenders, and DC Challenge — giving a comprehensive cross-section of DC's 1984 publishing slate.
• DC Sampler #3 is the third and final issue of the DC Sampler series, which ran for one issue per year from 1983 to 1984 before DC moved on to other promotional formats.
• The enormous character roster indexed for this issue — spanning the Justice League, Green Lantern Corps, Legion of Super-Heroes, New Teen Titans, Outsiders, Swamp Thing supporting cast, and more — reflects the issue's function as a line-wide sampler rather than a single narrative, with characters appearing only in their respective two-page title previews.

Cast · 40 characters

Full credits

Key issues in DC Sampler