Circle K Comics!!!

The closing of the South Tampa Coliseum of Comics after the hurricane(s) last fall left me without an immediately local shop (though I have other shops around town I visit several times a year), as well as access to Midtown Comics online, when I feel like placing an order (most recently post-FCBD this year, which was also when I made the rounds of the other shops), so when DC announces it has comics available at, say, Dollar Tree (never turned out to be widespread) or Circle K, I tend to get a little excited.  I went heavily in on the 100 Page Giants at Walmart when they were available, plus the packs from DC and Marvel, but those disappeared years ago and all remaining stock pulled.  After the Dollar Tree experiment, I assume DC opted for Circle K, which I only recently learned about, presumably an initiative tied into this summer's Superman film.  This morning I made the trek to the participating location, and happily dug through the display, and here's what I got:

Specifically:

• Batgirl: Year One #1 (previously published as Batgirl: Year One #1 in 2002) from Scott Beatty, Chuck Dixon, and Marcos Martin
• Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 (previously published as Batman: Sword of Azrael #1 in 1992) from Dennis O'Neil and Joe Quesada
• Batman: Europa #1 (previously published as Batman: Europa #1 in 2015) from Matteo Casali, Brian Azzarello, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Jim Lee
• Batman and Robin: Year One #1 (previously published as Batman and Robin: Year One #1 in 2024) from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
• Batman/Superman: World's Finest: Elementary #1 (previously published as Batman/Superman: World's Finest #13 in 2023) from Mark Waid and Dan Mora
• Batman/Superman: World's Finest: Heir to the Kingdom #1 (previously published as Batman/Superman: World's Finest #20 in 2023) from Mark Waid and Dan Mora
• Catwoman #1 (previously published as Catwoman #1 in 2018) from Joelle Jones
• Justice League Unlimited #1 (previously published as Justice League Unlimited #1 in 2024) from Mark Waid and Dan Mora
• Superman #1 (previously published as Superman #1 in 1986) by John Byrne
• Superman: Emperor Joker #1 (previously published as Superman #160 in 2000) by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness
• Superman '78 #1 (previously published as Superman '78 #1 in 2021) by Robert Venditti and Wilfredo Torres
• Adventures of Superman #1 (previously published as Adventures of Superman #1 in 2013) by various, including Jeff Lemire
• Teen Titans: Year One #1 (previously published as Teen Titans: Year One #1 in 2008) by Marv Wolfman and Karl Kerschl

There were plenty of other comics available, and near as I can tell, two of each provided (the clerk said there was more, so I have no idea what I didn't see), some of which I've read (and bought at Walmart in packs) from throughout the same span, including a host of child-friendly material, plus the Brian Michael Bendis and Tom King Batman (Bendis) and Superman (King) titles from the Giants, which I thought was a nice touch.  

Inside, there are also two pages in each issue of DC Essential Graphic Novel listings, and ads for Heroicdeals.com and DC Universe Infinite, and apparently these are from at least two separate printing dates, December last year and May 2025.

Surprisingly for me, I selected four titles from Waid, including two of relatively recent comics I hadn't gotten around to, and two from World's Finest, including the follow-up to the initial "Strange Visitor" arc (also represented in the selections, by the way) that dropped without prior announcement, sequels to his classic Kingdom Come.  I liked the sometimes deep cuts DC opted to include, so had to snatch up some of those (the Byrne Superman, for instance).  I haven't necessarily been such a fan of Waid since his Flash/Impulse days (including Kingdom Come), thinking he got a little carried away with the reputation he garnered along the way, though I always like to check in again, and Batman and Robin: Year One admittedly is something I wanted to check out, so that was certainly a very welcome surprise.  

Obviously this isn't geared toward the regular reader.  Though most of these are in fact first issues, some aren't, though they've been repackaged as such.  How does DC plan to keep it going?  Time will tell...!