As of early October 2026, the best DC comics of the year are first those of the Absolute line: Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, the market's top seller (nearly 500,000 copies a month according to its writer), which closes its cycle at #25 on October 28 before a December pause; Absolute Superman by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, which strings together three arcs in 2026 up to "Get Brainiac"; then Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Flash, both at the top of the late-September weekly report. In the main universe, the DC K.O. event, concluded on March 4, and Matt Fraction's Batman dominate. The Next Level relaunches of September 2 (Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes, The Doom Patrol) are too recent to judge. This review stops on October 3.
DC's 2026 comes down to one sentence: a publisher carried by a parallel line, which strives to make its main universe benefit from that success. The Absolute line, launched in fall 2024, has continued to dominate sales. The rest of the catalog has organized itself around it, either to capture its readers or to offer something else to the readers it does not hold.
This ranking judges series on what they had published as of October 3, 2026. It predicts nothing, prices nothing and does not rank what has not yet been read. For the collecting analysis of the three September relaunches, our piece on Next Level takes care of it; for Absolute Batman's December pause and what it says about the market, see our analysis of the pause. Here, the question is simple: what deserves to be read?
The method: what has been read, and only that
A series enters this ranking if it published at least one complete arc in 2026, if it kept its creative team and if it produced a standout moment. Series launched at the start of the fall season are mentioned, not ranked. Announcements are excluded: New York Comic Con, October 8 to 11, will undoubtedly bring some, and they will only have a place in the next review.
A last precision on figures. No monthly or annual market share has been published for 2026. The only public data are weekly point-of-sale reports from specialty stores and creator statements. We cite them as such, without drawing an annual ranking from them.
1. Absolute Batman: the title that carries the publisher
Absolute Batman
A Bruce Wayne without a fortune, from a modest background, a colossus built by will rather than inheritance. Two years after its launch, the series remains the best-selling single issue on the market, and its writer cites an order of magnitude close to 500,000 monthly copies.
The year ends for the series on a story boundary. #25 comes out on October 28. In November, a spin-off, Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark M #1, takes over on November 11, written by Snyder and Frank Tieri with art by Francesco Francavilla. December will see no issue of the series. A numbered special #26 devoted to Barbara Gordon is planned for January 2027, before the series resumes at #27 in February with Snyder and Dragotta, the launch team.
For a reader, this calendar has a practical consequence: #25 is the right place to stop, take stock and catch up in collected form on what you may have missed. The return of the original duo at #27 is, for its part, the best sign that the publisher does not intend to distort its success. The Batman page places the series among the great versions of the character.
2. Absolute Superman: the series that found its form
Launched on November 6, 2024 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval, Absolute Superman had its best year in 2026. The arcs followed one another without downtime: "The Neverending Begins" (#15 to #17), "Reign of the Supermen" (#18 to #21), then "Get Brainiac," ongoing since #22. #25, scheduled for November 4, is presented as a conclusion that opens a new era.
What sets the series apart is its way of rewriting the great moments of the myth without copying them. An arc that takes the title of a famous 1990s story does not make it a rereading: it shifts its meaning into a world where Kal-El grew up differently. On the collected edition side, volume 2 (#7 to #14) came out in March 2026, and a volume 3 is announced for November 3. Our Absolute Superman reading guide gives the order arc by arc.
3. Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Flash: the line beyond Batman
A line that rested on only one title would be fragile. The late-September weekly report shows this is not the case: Absolute Wonder Woman #24 ranked just behind Absolute Batman there, and Absolute Flash #19 was among the top places.
Absolute Wonder Woman, launched on October 23, 2024 by Kelly Thompson with Hayden Sherman on art, reinvents Diana as a heroine raised outside Themyscira, in a darker universe of sorcery and mythology. In 2026 it kept its singularity of tone, the most marked of the whole line. Its #25 comes out, like Absolute Batman's, the week of October 28. The Wonder Woman page places it among the great versions of the character.
Absolute Flash, by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles, is the most unexpected of the line's successes: a teenage Wally West, in a darker and stranger version than that of the main universe. The series holds a more modest place in sales, but its presence at the top of a late-September report, at its nineteenth issue, shows it has retained its readers.
4. DC K.O.: the event that closed the first act
DC K.O.
Central event of the All In initiative, launched in October 2024 under the direction of Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder. Five issues of main series, extended by many tie-in episodes in the regular series.
An event is judged on its consequences, and those of DC K.O. are clear: the publisher was able to reorganize its main universe around a new label devoted to second-tier characters. On the reading side, the event has the usual flaw of the genre, with tie-in episodes scattered across several series. The main series, for its part, reads on its own. Our DC All In reading guide places DC K.O. in the initiative's complete chronology.
5. Batman, by Matt Fraction: the main universe holds its rank
Faced with the Absolute line, the main universe Batman could have become a secondary series. Matt Fraction's, launched in fall 2025, avoided that pitfall by taking the opposite tack from its neighbor: where Absolute Batman reinvents everything, Fraction writes an established, well-surrounded Batman, anchored in a Gotham populated by its regulars. The arrival of the Joker in the series, in early 2026, was one of the most discussed moments of the year in the main universe.
The series does not beat Absolute Batman in sales and does not try to. It proves that both versions can coexist, which is exactly what the publisher needed to demonstrate.
Mentions: what mattered without entering the ranking
Justice League Unlimited, by Mark Waid and Dan Mora, launched on November 27, 2024, continued to offer the most classic and most readable Justice League in the catalog. Dan Mora will also sign, on October 28, his first script at DC with Justice League: Dark Realm Special #1, devoted to Cadejos. Our portrait of Dan Mora traces his career.
Batgirl, by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa, which gave Cassandra Cain a series in her name at the end of 2024, has continued on its way to a #25 expected on November 4. Our file on Cassandra Cain key issues explains why this issue counts.
To judge at year's end: the titles too recent
The three Next Level relaunches of September 2
Teen Titans (Kyle Higgins, Daniele Di Nicuolo), Legion of Super-Heroes (Joshua Williamson, Hayden Sherman) and The Doom Patrol (Darcy Van Poelgeest, Niko Henrichon). One or two issues out: too early for a verdict.
DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. The World #1 (October 28)
A 48-page issue written by Snyder and Williamson, drawn by Sanford Greene. The next step of the initiative, which links the two universes through Darkseid.
The Absolute line's number 25s
Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman on October 28, Absolute Superman on November 4. Cycle endings that will say whether the line can conclude as well as it can launch.
Gangs of Gotham #1 (November 4)
By Cantwell and Henderson, with Anarky at the heart of the story. See our file on Anarky key issues.
Read in collected form or in single issues?
The Absolute line lends itself particularly well to collected editions: each series is cut into clean arcs, and the volumes take up these arcs. For a reader who is discovering, it is the best entry point, especially since no prior reading is needed. DC's French editions are published by Urban Comics, with a delay of several months on the original version. Check the availability of each volume before buying.
For a collector, the single issue has a different interest, but one point is worth recalling: a series printed at several hundred thousand copies a month remains abundant. The December pause creates no scarcity for the issues already out. The first printing of the first issues keeps a particular status; the 2026 issues, for their part, are first of all reads. Our piece on the rise of the specialty market explains why order volumes say nothing, on their own, about future value.
What 2026 says about DC
The year confirms a two-tier model. At the top, a parallel line that reinvents the best-known characters and attracts new readers. Below, a main universe that tries to keep its faithful and to bring second-tier characters back to the fore. The bet holds as long as the Absolute line keeps its creative teams. The December pause, presented as a breather and followed by the return of the original duo, shows that the publisher has understood.
The risk, conversely, is expansion. The more series the Absolute line has, the harder it becomes to hold the average quality. The October and November number 25s will be, in this respect, the real test of the year.