Every Friday, we at DC.com like to act as your travel guide to a luxurious DC reading destination in a feature we call “Weekend Escape.” Usually, we highlight a graphic novel, or sometimes a collected storyline or an entire limited comic run. But we’re also big believers in reading comics every day. The “one shot” story, once a staple of comics before serialized storytelling became the norm, is often considered something of a lost art. But if you’re looking for something you can get through entirely on your commute, your lunch break, or between classes, there’s really nothing like a done-in-one for a sense of completion.

So, on this lovely Monday, we’re going to share five of our favorite one shots you can find on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE. And hey, if it turns out you like your treats a little more bite-sized, we might just do this again. Here, in miniature, is your “Weekday Escape.”
 

MAD LOVE MONDAY

It’s a story we’ve seen adapted in animation, in film, prose and even other comics, but if you’ve never read it before, there’s no beating the original. Initially published as a special issue of Batman: The Animated Series tie-in comic The Batman Adventures, The Batman Adventures: Mad Love is the book by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini that first gave their runaway hit Harley Quinn a past as Harleen Quinzel, cementing her as DC’s most sensational character find in more than thirty years.
 

TWO-FACE TUESDAY

Traditionally speaking, most of the Two-Face stories we tend to talk about are, appropriately, two-parters. Tradition, and all that. But I think we can get away with highlighting a one shot as long as Harvey gets to be featured on our second day of the week. The 2008 Joker’s Asylum collection featured one shot stories that each focused on one of Batman’s most notorious villains, and Joker’s Asylum: Two-Face is among the most notable. Fully embracing the unflinching, indifferent ethos of the coin, this story is one, like most others in the collection, where Batman’s role is minimal and another Gotham citizen is subjected to Dent’s madness. Does the similarly scarred volunteer firefighter Holman Hunt survive the encounter whole? Well, he’s got 50-50 odds.
 

WONDER WEDNESDAY

Here’s the truth about Wonder Woman not many will tell you: nearly all of Diana’s definitive stories are multi-year epics that have unspooled in her ongoing series, which can make her an intimidating character to figure out. One of the best places to start, though, is a relatively unassuming issue right in the middle of Phil Jimenez’s own run spanning the early 2000s: Wonder Woman #170, “She’s a Wonder!” Through the eyes of reporter Lois Lane as she shadows the Amazon Princess for a typical day in her life, readers are treated to a rare, holistic view of Wonder Woman—not embroiled in a drama, not as part of a team, but who Diana really is between the panels. This otherwise unassuming issue is one of the most crucial keys to unlocking the modern Wonder Woman, while also giving us some great Lois material outside of Superman’s shadow.
 

THUNDER THURSDAY

Today, we call down the magic lightning and summon the Power of Shazam. Staying for now in the early 2000s, let’s turn to another great entry in an anthology collection of one shot stories: the World’s Greatest Superheroes collaborations between the DC Animated Universe’s Paul Dini and Kingdom Come’s Alex Ross. With each one shot, Dini and Ross attempt to put a definitive word on a particular hero. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman all get worthy installments, but perhaps the most beloved of them is Shazam!: Power of Hope—a story that really showcases what’s important to Billy Batson and his alter ego when it comes to acting like a hero and embodying the champion of the earnest wishes of children he was created to represent.
 

FLASH FRIDAY

Sprinting into the weekend, we close out with the Fastest Man Alive. Whether you’re talking Barry Allen or Wally West, the Flash is another character with few self-contained storylines. If you want a quick Flash read that’ll give you something a little different than your typical superhero comic and really showcase what being the Scarlet Speedster is all about, we recommend a fan-favorite issue from William Messner-Loebs’ run on Wally West, 1991’s The Flash #54, “Nobody Dies.” Memorably taking place almost entirely in freefall from a passenger jet, the Flash is forced to think on his flailing feet to save not just his own life, but the flight attendant clinging to him for dear life. It’s a thrilling issue which gets right into the kind of inventive heroism you love to see in a cape comic, and one that might just make you see exactly what it is Wally fans have seen in Barry’s successor all this time.
 

That brings us, of course, to Saturday, which means it’s time to read something a bit more substantial! Be sure to return on DC.com on Friday to check out the Weekend Escape we have planned to guide you through your time off. (Here’s a tease: This week’s is not set in the DCU.) But as you come back to work or school once it’s all over, remember one thing: weekdays are also a great time to read some comics.
 

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.