With DC's extended exclusive contract with Walmart coming to an end, the comics giant has chosen to take another step into bringing comics into the supermarket. As DC has recently cut ties with Diamond Comic Distribution for their own means, DC and their parent company Warner have decided to find another way to get recent comics into store shelves.

The run of anthologies put out by DC is now gone, which seems fitting as they ran out of recent post-Rebirth material to reprint in some cases. While we have expressed a desire to see more Silver and Bronze Age content reprinted, as DC has over 80 years' worth of archives to dive into, the 100 pages for $5.00 model seems to have come to a close.

In their place, DC has chosen to try and pull in new readers with recent comic bundles. Four issues of comics (and a mini-poster) for $9 and the front issue of the set will have an exclusive cover variant only available via this bundle. In theory, local comic shops will eventually have access to these bundles, but they are currently only found at Walmart.

For the purposes of this review, and because the reviewer is a sucker for the character, we are looking at the Superman bundle today.

The front issue is Superman 21, with a variant cover by Bryan Hitch and Alex Sinclair. Aside from the art, the cover is shockingly minimalist, with creators and logos all up in the top right corner instead of across the top. It makes for a striking and eye-catching cover in many respects.

The other three issues appeared to be the same as their original releases, including Action Comics 1022, Supergirl 40, and Justice League Dark 22. The inclusion of Justice League Dark is a strange one, as it does not feature Superman (though Wonder Woman is, who has a set of her own) However, it is a welcome addition nevertheless.

The mini-poster included with the Superman set is part 3 of 5 of a much larger overall poster illustrated by Ivan Reis. It is the centerpiece, showing Superman in his Rebirth-era costume. Which, amusingly, does not feature for this collection. The other pieces will feature Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash, and other Justice League members.

Upon opening these issues, there were some surprising changes. Any advertisements are in-house ads for other DC and Warner products, making for an overall different reading experience. It is, however, incredibly awkward seeing ads for WonderCon 2020 in the days of COVID-19 at the back of half of these books.

The paper quality was another massive change. According to the final page of each book proclaims, these books were printed from sustainably managed forests, and the style of printed paper is completely different. Instead of the glossy paper that has become the industry standard since the 2000s, we have a rougher matte paper like the kind DC and Marvel used to use at the turn of the century. It is a nostalgic feeling and works well with the crisp modern printing techniques DC currently has.

When it comes to comic selection, DC seems to just be using recent comics from a few months back, on a monthly basis to rope in new readers. On that front, the result is a mixed bag. While these are recent comics, the selection picks right up in the middle of many storylines. However, this does perfectly replicate the old-school feel, grabbing a comic off the newsstand and trying to figure out what the Devil has happened.

The other packs DC is offering feature Aquaman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League as their Major front-facing comics. Inside comics are mostly a DC hero offering, with Roosterteeth's RWBY being included with Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman 775 is also strangely duplicated entirely as an issue in the Batman pack for unknown reasons.

For the price of $9, this is a wonderful package. It gives readers a fair amount of bang for their buck in comics that have excellent print coverage and a more fitting level of advertisements compared to their retail counterparts. The duplication of Wonder Woman 775 is an odd choice, but the marketing guy in charge might have goofed on that one. However, for someone looking to check out Bendis' time on the Man of Steel or the current events for the rest of the DC Universe, this is an excellent chance to pick up those comics.