The comics that crossed over Marvel and DC characters are being reprinted for the first time in decades

In comics they're known as the Big Two. The House of Ideas and its Distinguished Competition. But now DC and Marvel are joining forces to publish two massive omnibus editions of classic crossovers where characters from both publishers meet, interact, and do battle.

The DC Versus Marvel Omnibus brings together some of the most mind-blowing crossovers in comics, ranging from 1976's fight between Superman and Spider-Man to 1995's grapple between Darkseid and Galactus, and 2000's bout between Batman and Captain America. 

The stories come from a stellar line up of all-time-great creators too, with the likes of Dennis O’Neil, George Pérez, Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, John Romita Jr., and more all featuring.

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus, meanwhile, flashes back to 1996 and the forging of the Amalgam Universe - a new reality that was the home of characters who melded aspects of both publishers. This was the world of Logan Wayne - AKA Dark Claw; Clark Kent Super-Soldier; Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Iron Lantern, who merged Iron Man with Green Lantern. The adventures of these amalgamated characters were told in a series of one-shot comics and the DC Versus Marvel limited series and its sequels.

The in-universe premise of Amalgam was that two nameless Brothers, who embodied Marvel and DC, became aware of each other for the first time in eons. They then set characters from their realities against each other, with several of the in-universe battles being determined by reader votes in the real world. When the overall war between the Brothers inevitably arrived at a stalemate situation, the Amalgam universe was born, and lasted for two series between 1996 and 1997.

Together, these two new books offer a fascinating and rare glimpse at a period where the two biggest comics publishers in the world were actively collaborating with each other. Here's what's inside each of the volumes...

Both of the new books will be available from DC and Marvel on August 6, with