What are some of the most unique, unexpected, or out-there DC Comics of all time

[caj]

Examples might be Morrison's Doom Patrol or Giffen/DeMatteis' JLI (I mean, who expected Justice League to be funny back in 1986?)

[hawkeyefan]

Outside of Vertigo books like Preacher and the like, I’d say Hitman was pretty bonkers.

There was also a comic in the late 90s called Major Bummer that was pretty out there. I really liked that book; it had Nazi dinosaurs from an alternate Earth as one of the villains. Nazi dinosaurs....you know it has to be good.

[My Two Cents]

The all time winner is probably Action Comics #1 (1937)

[ed2962]

A couple of those covers to Plop were kinda out there.

[LifeIsILL]

90% of any pre-crisis Brave and the Bold, Flash, or Superman story.

But I have to say Enemy Ace, who's a nazi pilot struggling to serve his country. Such a great series.

Also Weird War Stories, where the WWII soldiers fight dinosaurs and robots and whatnot.

[BatmanJones]

Silver Age Superman, Batman, and World's Finest.

Golden Age Wonder Woman.

[Jackalope89]

Most of Lobo's stories/crossovers. Like going after evil Santa, duking it out with The Mask, etc.

[numberthirty]

Dial H(New52)

[byrd156]

ASBAR and not in any positive way.

[Raijin]

ASBAR and not in any positive way.

I never talk about books i don't like. But jesus ASBAR was one of the worst things I've ever read by the publisher.

[Carabas]

Outside of Vertigo/Wildstorm stuff?

[caj]

Outside of Vertigo/Wildstorm stuff?

Definitely include them if you like.

Another I thought of was Keith Giffen's Legion of Super Heroes 5 Year Gap. Every month when it was delivered, I would get knots in my stomach before reading it wondering 'which Legionnaire was going to be mutilated this month?'

[Jim Kelly]

Loved PLOP! The first several issues had no ads, so you got 36 pages of cover to cover humour for the price of a regular comic (which usually had 22 pages). And the Basil Wolverton (later Wally Wood) wrap around covers (with Sergio Aragones addtional art) were something you would never see in any other comic.

Anything from Steve Ditko was going to be weird. SHADE THE CHANGING MAN was probably the freakiest. 'MAZING MAN was unusual in combining humour and social drama in the same comic book. Black Orchid was a novel approach to a super-hero. She was in ADVENTURE COMICS which was quite weird at the time--the artwork by Alex Nino for Captain Fear was like nothing I'd ever seen before.

Among all the DC war titles, BLITZKRIEG was quite unique in that it told the story from the other side of enemy lines. Strange Sports Stories was an unusual genre of comics. DC SPECIAL SERIES (not be confused with DC SPECIAL) was unusual for being an all purpose title for whatever odd thing DC wanted to do at the time, regardless of format or content.

PREZ was unexpected. I've never read BROTHER POWER, THE GEEK--which was probably weirder--but I never expected PREZ from Joe Simon. He also did some odd stuff for 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL. PAT BOONE with art and story by Bob Oksner is one of the most unique DC titles as it was laid out, coloured and lettered in a different way from any other DC books.

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER was novel for being the first annual publication from DC (other than one-shots). And when Rudy was revived in the 1970s, he was featured in his LIMITED COLLECTORS' EDITION tabloids. Later digests. Digests became common in the 1980s, but the TARZAN DIGEST in 1972 was an unusual format for DC--it reprinted Russ Manning Sundays.

[astro@work]

Gaiman's Sandman

Dial H (brilliant and ended way too soon)

[Zero Hunter]

Definitely include them if you like.

Another I thought of was Keith Giffen's Legion of Super Heroes 5 Year Gap. Every month when it was delivered, I would get knots in my stomach before reading it wondering 'which Legionnaire was going to be mutilated this month?'

I was just going to say this. This was really a Vertigo book before Vertigo was a thing. If this book would have come out a few years latter it probably would have been a Vertigo title right along side Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing. Those 38 issues done by Giffen and the Bierbaums are fantastic.