Topic: DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher. It is the publishing unit of DC

Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences division of
Warner Bros., a subsidiary of AT&T's WarnerMedia. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest
American comic book companies. The majority of its publications take place within the fictional
DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters, such as Superman,
Batman and Wonder Woman. The universe also features well-known supervillains who oppose
the superheroes such as Lex Luthor and the Joker. The company has published non-DC
Universe-related material, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Fables and many titles under
their alternative imprint Vertigo.

The initials "DC" came from the company's popular series Detective Comics, which featured
Batman's debut and subsequently became part of the company's name. Originally in Manhattan
at 432 Fourth Avenue, the DC Comics offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington
Avenue; 909 Third Avenue; 75 Rockefeller Plaza; 666 Fifth Avenue; and 1325 Avenue of the
Americas. DC had its headquarters at 1700 Broadway, Midtown Manhattan, New York City,
however DC Entertainment relocated its headquarters from New York to Burbank, California in
April 2015.Penguin Random House Publisher Services distributes DC Comics' books to the
bookstore market, while Diamond Comic Distributors supplied the comics shop direct market
until June 2020, where Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, who already distributed
to the direct market due to Diamond's distribution interruption as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, replaced Diamond to distribute to that market. DC Comics and its longtime major
competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by The Walt Disney Company, WarnerMedia's
main competitor) together shared approximately 70% of the American comic book market in
2017, though this number may give a distorted view since graphic novels are excluded. With the
sales of all books included, DC is the second biggest publisher, after Viz Media, and Marvel is
third.

History
Golden Age
Entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications in Autumn
1934 intended as an American comic book publishing company. The first publishing of the
company debuted with the tabloid-sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a
comic series later called More Fun Comics) with a cover date of February 1935. An anthology
title essential for containing original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips unlike many
comic book series before. While superhero comics are what DC Comics is known for throughout
modern times, the genres in the anthology titles consisted of funnies, Western comics and
adventure-related stories starting out. The character Doctor Occult, created by Jerry Siegel and
Joe Shuster in December 1935 within the issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics, is considered as the
earliest recurring superhero created by DC that is still used. The company created a second
recurring title called New Comics No. 1 released in December 1935 which would be the start of
the long-running Adventure Comics series featuring many anthology titles as well.Wheeler-
Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics, advertised with a cover illustration dated
December 1936, eventually premiered three months late with a March 1937 cover date. The
themed anthology that revolved originally on fictional detective stories became in modern times
the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley
created in contribution by Malcom-Wheeler-Nicholson, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. In 1937, in
debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld — who also published
pulp magazines and operated as a principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News
— Wheeler-Nicholson had to take Donenfeld on as a partner to publish Detective Comics No. 1.
Detective Comics, Inc. (which would help inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with
Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfeld's accountant, listed as owners. Major
Wheeler-Nicholson remained for a year, but cash-flow problems continued, and he was forced
out. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied, also
known as Nicholson Publishing, at a bankruptcy auction.

Meanwhile Max Gaines, formed the sister company All-American Publications around 1938.
Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title, entitled Action Comics. Issue#1,
cover dated in June 1938, first featured characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster,
Zatara by Fred Guardineer and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily. It is considered
to be the first comic book to feature the new character archetype—soon known as
"superheroes" and was a sales hit bringing to life a new age of comic books with the credit
going to the first appearance of Superman both being featured on the cover and within the
issue. It is now one of the most expensive and valuable comic book issues of all time. The
issue's first featured tale which starred Superman was the first to feature an origin story of
superheroes with the reveal of an unnamed planet later known as Krypton that he is said to be
from. The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest
essential female character in comics with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic
interest. The Green Hornet inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber
was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). The character makes a distinction of
being the first masked vigilante published by DC. An unnamed "office boy" retconned as Jimmy
Olsen's first appearance was revealed in Action Comics #6's (November 1938) Superman story
by Siegel and Shuster.Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman would be the first comic
derived character to appear outside of comic magazines and later appear in newspaper strips
starring himself which first introduced Superman's biological parents, Jor-El and Lara. All-
American Publications' first comic series called All-American Comics was first published in April
1939. The series of Detective Comics would make successful history as first featuring Batman
by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in issue#27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles.
Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante depicted as wearing a suit known as the Batsuit
along with riding a car that would later be referred to as the Batmobile. Also within the Batman
story was the supporting character, James Gordon, Police commissioner of what later would be
Gotham City Police Department. Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced
the earliest female character who would later be a female superhero called Red Tornado
(though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-
American Comics No. 3 (June 1939). Another important Batman debut was the introduction of
the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June
1939). The series Adventure Comics would eventually follow in the Action Comics and Detective
Comics series footsteps with featuring a new recurring superhero. The superhero called
Sandman was first written in issue No. 40 (cover date: July 1939). Action Comics No. 13 (June
1939) introduced the first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite first
introduced by Siegel and Shuster, commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillain in comic
books. The character Superman had another breakthrough with progress when the character
had his own comic book starring him which was unheard of at the time. The first issue
introduced in June 1939 helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and
Martha Kent by Siegel and Shuster. Detective Comics #29 (July 1939) introduced the Batman's
utility belt by Gardner Fox. Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was
introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939. Fictional
cities would be a common theme of DC. The first revealed city was Superman's home city,
Metropolis, that was originally named in Action Comics No. 16 in September 1939. Detective
Comics No. 31 in September 1939 by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced
a romantic interest of Batman called Julie Madison, the weapon known as the Batarang that
Batman commonly uses along with the fictional aircraft called the Batplane. Batman's origin
would first be used in Detective Comics No. 33 (Nov. 1939) first depicting the death of Thomas
Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger. The origin story would remain crucial for the fictional
character since the inception.

The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman) was first named in a newspaper strip of
Superman around November 1939. The superhero Doll Man was the first superhero by Quality
that DC now owns. Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and would end up as DC's original
competitor company in the next decade.National Allied Publications soon merged with Detective
Comics, Inc., forming National Comics Publications on September 30, 1946. National Comics
Publications absorbed an affiliated concern, Max Gaines' and Liebowitz' All-American
Publications. In the same year Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, and kept only Picture Stories
from the Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics. At that point, "Liebowitz
promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics...
Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News,
and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications". National
Periodical Publications became publicly traded on the stock market in 1961.Despite the official
names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding
itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940, and the company became known colloquially as DC
Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.

The company began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations
from other companies, such as Fox Comics' Wonder Man, which (according to court testimony)
Fox started as a copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain
Marvel, at the time comics' top-selling character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v.
Fawcett Publications, Inc.). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost,
Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights
for Captain Marvel to DC—which in 1972 revived Captain Marvel in the new title Shazam!
featuring artwork by his creator, C. C. Beck. In the meantime, the abandoned trademark had
been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel, forbidding the
DC comic itself to be called that. While Captain Marvel did not recapture his old popularity, he
later appeared in a Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent place in
the mainstream continuity DC calls the DC Universe.

When the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, the company focused on such
genres as science fiction, Westerns, humor, and romance. DC also published crime and horror
titles, but relatively tame ones, and thus avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comics.
A handful of the most popular superhero-titles, including Action Comics and Detective Comics,
the medium's two longest-running titles, continued publication.