[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wednesdaycomics.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:Kicking it old school. ''[[{{Homage}} Really]]'' old school.]]

''The World's Greatest Heroes''\\
''The World's Greatest Comics''

''Wednesday Comics'' is a weekly anthology comic published by Creator/DCComics in 2009. Following other weekly series such as ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'', and ''Trinity'', DC decided to take a new approach to a weekly series. Or, rather, an ''[[NewspaperComics old]]'' approach.

This series is a deliberate {{homage}} to old style [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] stories done in a 14-by-20-inch broadsheet format, like Sunday newspaper comics. Each page is different, with a continuing story, some showing the superheroes as their classic selves, others completely reimagining them.

The stories were:
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso
* ''ComicBook/{{Kamandi}}: The Last Boy on Earth'' by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook
* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' by Creator/KyleBaker
* ''ComicBook/{{Deadman}}'' by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' by John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo
* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' by Creator/KurtBusiek and Joe Quiñones
* ''[[ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} Metamorpho The Element Man]]'' by Creator/NeilGaiman and Creator/MikeAllred
* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' by Eddie Berganza and Sean Galloway
* ''[[ComicBook/AdamStrange Strange Adventures]]'' by Paul Pope
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl|Wednesday Comics}}'' by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, starring [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the eponymous heroine]]
* ''ComicBook/MetalMen'' by Creator/DanDiDio, José Luis García-López and Kevin Nowlan
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' by Ben Caldwell
* ''ComicBook/SgtRock'' by Adam Kubert and Creator/JoeKubert
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' by Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher
* ''[[ComicBook/{{Etrigan}} The Demon]] and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' by Walt Simonson and Brian Stelfreeze
* ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'' by Evan Dorkin and Stephen [=DeStefano=].

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!!Tropes include:

* AlienInvasion: Several of the strips revolve around this.
* AnachronismStew: Not within any of the strips, but in overall effect: most of the strips are homages to UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, and some are explicitly set in past decades (''Green Lantern'', 1950s; ''Metamorpho'', 1960s), but we also have Pa Kent considering the potential of biodiesel and Selina Kyle telling how she "Googled" Jason Blood.
* AnthologyComic
* ArtShift: When reality fractures during the Flash storyline, the art style keeps switching to that of other newspaper comics -- ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'', ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'', and ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' -- before returning to its own style as reality settles down.
* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: One of the ''Metamorpho'' strips is a two-page spread where he and Element Woman go through a periodic table-patterned puzzle, but they go through the actinids series when landing on the lanthanids squares and vice-versa. Also, the dialogue does some clever highlighting of each element's symbol, but there are two errors in it: when Metamorpho goes through neon, he says "'''No'''t me, babe" (No being the symbol for nobelium; neon is Ne) and Simon Stagg says "'''Ut'''most importance" over the block that is supposed to be thulium (whose symbol is Tm, so Neil Gaiman highlighted the wrong part of the word) - even though, as mentioned, the lanthanids' row is switched with the actinids'.
* BadassInDistress: In ''Kamandi'', Tuftan, the tiger prince who fights alongside Kamandi, is captured by the apes and must be rescued by the heroes.
* BatmanColdOpen: Batman's strip is actually the first one, but the trope is used for Metamorpho.
* BigBad: Most, if not all of the stories have their own main antagonist:
** [[spoiler:Luna Glass]] in ''Batman'', who masterminded the plot to kill Franklin Glass.
** The unnamed alien leader in ''Green Lantern'' who leads his army in an attempt to invade Earth.
** Grushenko in ''Plastic Man'', who kills his colleague and steals an ancient life serum in an attempt to start his own empire.
** Dr. Pretorious in ''Metal Men'', who attempts to destroy the city in the name of getting revenge on Dr. Magnus.
** Baaku, leader of the evil ape army in ''Kamandi''.
** Gorilla Grodd, who takes advantage of ''The Flash'''s powers for his own ends.
** The unnamed alien race in ''Supergirl'', which is causing radioactive solar flares that are affecting Krypto and Streaky. [[spoiler:It turns out that the aliens were simply dumping their radioactive waste into the Sun because they didn't realize it would affect anyone]].
* BittersweetEnding:
** The ''Kamandi'' story ends with Kamandi and his allies successfully defeating the ape army and rescuing Tuftan and Caesar. However, [[spoiler:Orora, the human girl who Kamandi had recently met and fallen in love with, was killed in battle, once again leaving Kamandi as the last human on Earth, to his knowledge]].
** The ''Metal Men'' strip ends with [[spoiler:all the Metal Men except Mercury being killed in the explosion of Chemo, sacrificing themselves to prevent the blast from killing anyone else]].
* DastardlyWhiplash: Grushenko, the villain of the ''Plastic Man'' comic. He's a little different visually - he's an [[FatBastard overweight]] EvilRedhead MadScientist with a [[BeardOfEvil bushy beard]] in addition to the long mustache. But personality-wise, he's as cartoonishly villainous as they come. He says "Drat!" unironically, [[CardCarryingVillain claims the devil is smiling on him]], and [[EvilIsHammy really hams it up]] as he plots to start his own evil dynasty. This is fitting because the ''Plastic Man'' comic is more wacky and cartoonish than the others.
* DenserAndWackier: The ''Plastic Man'' strip has a much more comedic and wacky tone than the rest, complete with the most {{cartoonish supervillain|y}} in the series, and an art style reminiscent of 90's cartoons.
* DudeInDistress: In ''Kamandi'', Caesar, king of the tigers, has been captured by the apes, who are planning to publicly execute him. Tuftan, Caesar's son, recruits Kamandi for a rescue mission, but Tuftan himself is eventually captured and planned for execution as well. However, the heroes save Tuftan and Caesar before they can be executed.
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Luna]] in the ''Batman'' story plays up the image of a tragic victim of circumstance following Franklin Glass' death. In reality, [[spoiler:she's the one behind the whole plot]].
* FemmeFatale: Luna Glass in the ''Batman'' story. She's a very attractive woman who gets close to Bruce Wayne after the death of her husband, the rich [[MayDecemberRomance old man]] Franklin Glass, but is keeping secrets from him. [[spoiler:She turns out to be the real mastermind behind Franklin's murder]].
* TheHecateSisters: They make an appearance in the ''Wonder Woman'' strip.
* IBelieveICanFly: [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Diana]] can't fly like a bird, but can swim through the air.
* GenreThrowback: Several of the strips (''Green Lantern'' and ''Metamorpho'' especially) hearken back to UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. ''Kamandi'' plays off of adventure strips like ''ComicStrip/PrinceValiant''. ''Strange Adventures'' is a throwback to pulp sci-fi like ''ComicStrip/BuckRogers'' and ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars''.
* InTheStyleOf: As mentioned above, ''Kamandi'' is in the style of ''Prince Valiant''. ''The Flash'' is (before things start getting ''really'' meta) divided into two strips, with ''Iris West'' presented as a career-woman romance strip like ''ComicStrip/Apartment3G''.
* IntelligentGerbil: In the ''Supergirl'' story, the aliens wear body-obscuring space suits. Two of them take off their helmets at the end, revealing that they are [[spoiler:an anthropomorphic dog and cat]]. Humorously, they consider humans primitive creatures who are pets to animals, rather than the other way around.
* JetPack: ComicBook/AdamStrange always has one on hand.
* KillerGorilla:
** Gorilla Grodd is the BigBad of the ''Flash'' story. He uses the Flash's powers to transport himself to an alternate dimension inhabited by other gorillas so he can be their supreme leader.
** The antagonists of the ''Kamandi'' story are a race of gorillas, though referred to as "apes."
* LighterAndSofter: The ''Supergirl'' story is more humorous, heartwarming, and less intense than the others. The story follows Supergirl as she tries to figure out why Krypto and Streaky are going berserk. The Super Pets' antics cause a lot of destruction, but it's played for laughs, and nobody gets seriously hurt or killed. Also, as it turns out, [[spoiler:the story's "villains" have totally benign intentions, and Supergirl is ultimately able to communicate with them and resolve the conflict peacefully]].
* LuckilyMyPowersWillProtectMe: A distinct lack of, considering all the homages to UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, but Gaiman still manages to sneak in exposition about Metamorpho's power.
* MythologyGag: The ''Strange Adventures'' strip includes a scene where ComicBook/AdamStrange has a conversation with ComicBook/DoctorFate about his psychological block on finding the Zeta Beam. Dr Fate tries to help but points out that, like Strange, he's a [[NotThatKindOfDoctor doctor of archeology]], and psychology isn't his forte. In Franchise/TheDCU, the [[LegacyCharacter then-current Doctor Fate]], grand-nephew of the archeologist, was a psychoanalyst.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: In ''Supergirl'', Dr. Mid-Nite discovers that a race of aliens are causing radioactive solar flares. Supergirl tries to communicate with the aliens, but fails and accidentally starts a fight with them. However, Krypto and Streaky are able to communicate with the aliens, who then figure out how to communicate with Supergirl and explain themselves. It turns out that [[spoiler:the aliens had just peacefully ended a war between themselves, and they were dumping their weapons into the sun as a symbol of peace. However, they didn't realize that the sun was near an inhabited planet. Once they realize their mistake, they agree to dump their waste at another star far away from any inhabited planets]].
* OrWasItADream: The ''Wonder Woman'' reimagining starts like this.
* PlanetaryRomance: ''Strange Adventures'' reinvents Rann as a Planetary Romance setting.
* RivalTurnedEvil: The astronaut in ''Green Lantern.'' Not entirely his fault, and he was a '''lot''' nicer than Hal back in the day.
* RoguesGallery: Averted. Surprisingly, even though the series features a lot of iconic DC heroes, almost none of their iconic villains are present. Most stories have original, one-shot villains. One notable exception is Gorilla Grodd as the villain of ''The Flash''.
* SirCameosALot: ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} shows up in one scene of both the ''Hawkman'' and ''Supergirl'' stories to assist the titular heroes, and is mentioned by Batman in the ''Superman'' story, but he does not get his own story in this collection.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: We don't get to see [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Diana's]] lasso or bracelets (until later in the story), but we do see her lesser-known ability to talk to animals (pigeons, in this case).
* SundayStrip: Basically, a Sunday Strip [[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: [[In Space FOR COMIC BOOKS! ]]
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* WallOfText: The ''Wonder Woman'' strips are ''very'' verbose, perhaps too much for the format.
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