Several years ago, DC Comics embarked on an intriguing concept.

At a time when comic books were exploring new markets via Webcomics and digital comic books on the Internet, DC launched a weekly newspaper-style comics section called Wednesday Comics.

The weekly publication was a throwback to the one-time weekly comics sections once a regular part of large-city newspapers.

Not the Sunday funnies but large, full-page comic strips that were the medium for characters such as The Spirit, as well as numerous other characters.

DC eventually released a beautiful, hard-cover edition collecting all 12 weeks of Wednesday Comics’ 2009 run.

The format kept the initial pages’ 28-inch by 20-inch publication printed on high-quality newsprint.

Like a broadsheet newspaper, each page contained an installment of an ongoing story. But with the hard-cover collection, readers could enjoy each smartly illustrated page and the full stories in one sitting.

The stories featured Adam Strange, Metamorpho, the Demon and Catwoman, Deadman, Kamandi, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Supergirl, Hawkman, Sgt. Rock, The Flash, Metal Men.

The format allowed the artists and the writers to do familiar things in a unique format, making well-known characters strangely new.

Artists worked with different panel designs. Writers had to plot within the confines of one large page per week.

Too bad DC hasn’t tried Wednesday Comics again but this edition is worth finding and makes any day a lot of fun.