By 1983, DC was on a creative upswing. The arrival of new President and Publisher Jenette Kahn had coincided with efforts to expand DC’s efforts into the growing Direct Market of comic book specialty shops that had sprung up across the country. At this time, DC’s fortunes on the mainstream Newsstand weren’t looking all that wonderful–Marvel was outselling them four to one. But by focusing their efforts on the Direct Market and producing works that appealed to that dedicated fan audience, DC hoped to turn its fortunes around and establish itself as the most progressive publisher in the field. But it was tough in 1983 to get the “Marvel Zombies” who were die-hard Marvel supporters to try out DC books, even those being creatively produced by talent that had come up at Marvel. So to try to entice this readership into checking out what they were doing, teh DC SAMPLER was born,
As the name implies, the DC SAMPLER was an outreach project. Offered free to fans, it included two all-new pages for each major series or project that the company was then publishing, So it was all ads, but ads produced by the creative and editorial teams and putting their best foot forward in an attempt to expand their readership. DC produced three editions of the DC SAMPLER, one a year from 1983-1985, at which point they didn’t really need them any longer. But they are a well-remembered giveaway to those who were there at the time.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
I loved these samplers and of the ones featured in this issue I was buying them all except Arak, GI Combat, and Sgt Rock.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Picked this up at the very first con I went to on 09/10/83. It’s amazing how many of the titles featured in it really imprinted themselves on me, especially Firestorm! Sill waiting impatiently for a complete collection of his series, along with Arion. Surprised Marvel never tried the same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That Supergirl costume looks very like the one used in the first several seasons of the CW television show.
LikeLike
I think I have this item, but I haven’t looked at it in forty years. I had to look up the short-lived popularity of “The Dummy” in the Sgt Rock feature. That’s Robert Kanigher all over, isn’t it?
LikeLike
If this was meant to attract Marvel readers, then I have to say I never got a warm welcome from DC Comics not with all the Marvel bashing in their Letter Pages. All my years growing up on Marvel Comics I never say one letter bashing DC Comics nor did who ever was the voice of Marvel in the Letter Pages ever engage in DC bashing — NO they always referred to DC as their Distinguished Competition ( A name based on their Letter Pages they never earned ). I won’t use the F word but that is what all that Marvel bashing was telling me to do ( I ignored it then but not over at Image Comics and the works of Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen & Rob Liefeld many years later ).
LikeLike
( First I meant — never saw ( not say ) one letter bashing ). Now an example of Marvel class that has stuck in my head: As a teen I ordered back issues from the Sub-Mariner series ( 1968 – 1974 — mostly the Buscema brothers & first appearance of characters I liked, but because I had reprints not Tiger Shark’s first appearance or in the Avengers’ Arkon’s first appearance ) and in one of the issues letter pages someone wrote how DC Comics had just cancelled Aquaman’s series and whoever answered the Letter Page responded with — how the oceans would be lonelier without him or something similar to that.
LikeLike
As a 13 y/o, I was loving this free of charge sampler. Marvel had me with Marvel Age at 25¢, so this felt like the gauntlet was thrown by DC.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember these pretty fondly. This looks to me like a pretty competitive lineup with the folks across town at the time. I was reading a few of these books regularly (all the Batman’s, Titan, Omega Men, Legion and Firestorm).
LikeLike
DC would also sometimes change their minds between the Sampler and the comic, hence the third one advertising DC UNIVERSE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Nice logo, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t start reading comics regularly until mid- to late-1984, so I missed this when it was originally released. But I bought it as a back issue in 1985 or ’86. I think I paid a dollar for it. I pored over and studied that Teen Titans double-page spread by George Perez for literally hours.
LikeLiked by 1 person