DC Special began as a quarterly title in 1968. It was published at the same price (25¢) as DC's Series "G" Giants, but the page count was reduced to 64 squarebound pages plus covers. Series "G" soon joined DC Special at the smaller size.

Unlike the Super-Hero centered Series G, DC Special featured a changing variety of subject matter. DC Special also featured its own numbering system, not tied to existing ongoing titles.

Young Love #69, an unnumbered giant, predates DC Special by just two months. It was DC's first 64-Page Giant and likely a prototype for DC Special.

The first 9 issues of DC Special were squarebound. #10 was the first saddle-stitched issue. A vertical stripe along the left edge of the cover was intended to be placed along the spine of a squarebound book.

In 1971 DC switched formats, increasing page counts on all standard comics from 32 to 48 and raising the price from 15¢ to 25¢. DC abandoned the 64-Page Giant format and created a new giant format, 100-Page Spectaculars. Therefore issues 14 and 15 of DC Special became standard sized DC books (48 pages for 25¢). DC Special was then cancelled, only to be revived in 1976.