Each Friday, we'll be letting a different DC.com writer share what they'll be reading over the weekend and why you might want to check it out. Here's this week's suggestion for a perfect Weekend Escape!
 

This weekend, we’re taking a little detour from our usual fare. In celebration of the DC Finest line of archival collections coming to DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, we’d like to recognize one that offers material you won’t find in print anywhere else. It’s time to boldly read some comics you’ve never read before—ones imagining the fantastical future of a 21st century we now have the advantage of knowing firsthand. DC Finest: Science Fiction - The Gorilla World is a collection of stories from a time when superheroes gave way to the fancies of a fantastic future only comics could capture in four-color vision. Crack a spine or hop onto DCUI, and give yourself over to the tomorrows of yesterday.
 

THE PREMISE:

Despite the title, Science Fiction - The Gorilla World is not a collection of stories about gorillas. In fact, gorillas only feature in two of about ninety-eight different stories found in this collection. Rather, it refers to a time of wild imagination within comic book storytelling, where focus drifted from capes, tights and morality plays of good and evil towards the endless possibilities of a world just discovering space travel and unlocking the secrets of the atom. In a time of world-changing scientific breakthroughs where anything seemed possible, this futurism was well reflected in DC’s stories. The Gorilla World is a snapshot of highlights from DC’s science fiction anthology titles from 1953-1954, and represents what the world of comics looked like as the stars of the Golden Age faded, inspiring a new sci-fi powered Silver Age to come.
 

LET’S TALK TALENT:

Due to the spotty record-keeping in this early period of comics, not all the credits of every story featured in this collection are known. But among the names we do know are some of those who would go on to define the Silver Age of comics. Writers like John Broome, who would redefine the Flash and Green Lantern; Gardner Fox, who would bring us the Justice League of America and Zatanna Zatara; and Edmond Hamilton, who would help shape the Legion of Super-Heroes.

You’ll also get to know the work of writers like Sid Gerson, who never wrote superhero comics, but worked exclusively in science fiction, lending this era a voice you won’t find anywhere else in DC’s library.

From an art perspective, you’ll find work here from Murphy Anderson, who would redesign the Flash, Green Lantern, Batman and Hawkman; Gil Kane, who would help launch both Hal Jordan and Ray Palmer as solo heroes; and the legendary Carmine Infantino, co-creator of Barry Allen, Barbara Gordon, Black Canary, Elongated Man and one of the central architects of this entire era.
 

A FEW REASONS TO READ:

  • FORGOTTEN STARS: While you won’t find the more familiar likes of Superman or Green Lantern among this collection, this snapshot of time will introduce you to the stars of its age who continue to play their part in the legacy of the DC Universe—heroes like Captain Comet, Tommy Tomorrow and even the very first story to feature obscure fan favorite Space Cabbie.
     
  • FUTURE HISTORY: There are few better ways to take stock of a period in history than to investigate the paths they thought the future might take us. What would it be like to unlock the possibility of space travel? To move freely through time? To understand animals? In a world before any man had set foot on the moon, The Gorilla World provides a look forwards from a vantage point in our rearview.
  • EARLY DRAFTS: Scholars of Silver Age superhero stories will recognize some of the story beats in many of the tales here used again in the pages of Justice League of America, Green Lantern and many more titles of the 1960s. These anthology titles were a place for writers to work out their ideas before refining them in more detail, giving us a rare look at the reiterative creative process at the time.
     
  • VIVID RESTORED COLORS: Even if you read these stories in their original print run back in the 1950s, you’ve never seen them restored to the quality you’ll find in this DC Finest collection. For existing fans of this era, you’ll see the comics here come to life like they never have before.
     

WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME:

There are over 30,000 issues in the DC UNIVERSE INFINITE library, making it the best way to experience the 91-year history of the most storied publisher in western comics. But here’s something you may not know: the total library of DC comics in full up to this date is somewhere over 50,000. That’s nearly half of the publisher’s comic history that has been lost to time…but DC Finest collections like these do much to help fill in the gaps. In The Gorilla World, you may not encounter the heroes and villains you already know, but you can experience a lost artifact of a time when the human spirit might have dreamed a little bigger.
 

DC Finest: Science Fiction – The Gorilla World is available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and digital retailers as a softcover graphic novel. It can also be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Alex Jaffe is the author of our monthly "Ask the Question" column and writes about TV, movies, comics and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on Bluesky at @AlexJaffe and find him in the DC Official Discord server as HubCityQuestion.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Alex Jaffe and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.