new age of comic books with the credit going to the
first appearance
In American comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status.
Reader interes ...
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
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...
and one of the earliest essential female characters in comics with
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
as
Superman's first depicted romantic interest.
The
Green Hornet-inspired character known as the
Crimson Avenger
The Crimson Avenger is the name of three separate fictional characters, superheroes and supervillains who exist in the DC Comics Universe. The character debuted in 1938 and is notable as the first masked hero in DC Comics.
The first Crimson ...
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"
retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
ned 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
Jor-El, originally known as Jor-L, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 with Superma ...
and
Lara
Lara may refer to:
Places
* Lara (state), a state in Venezuela
*Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia
* Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey
* Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia
* Lara de los In ...
. 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
Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...
and
Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...
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
The Batsuit (or Bat-Suit) is the costume of DC Comics' fictional superhero Batman, who appears in their American comic books. The suit has been depicted in various ways, and the stories themselves have described Batman as modifying the details o ...
along with riding a car that would later be referred to as the
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the fictional car driven by the superhero Batman. Housed in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is both a heavily armored tactical assault vehicle and a personalized custom-built pursuit and ...
. Also within the Batman story was the supporting character,
James Gordon,
Police commissioner of what later would be
Gotham City Police Department
Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his allies and foes. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, the ...
.
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
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
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
supervillains
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are often u ...
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
Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent, often referred to as "Pa" and "Ma" Kent (respectively), are fictional characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. They are the adoptive parents of Superman. They live in the rural town of Smallville, ...
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
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...
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
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...
, 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
The Batplane, Batwing, Batjet or Batgyro is the fictional aircraft for the DC Comics superhero Batman. The vehicle was introduced in "Batman Versus The Vampire, I", published in ''Detective Comics'' #31 in 1939, a story which saw Batman travel to ...
.
Batman's origin would first be used in ''Detective Comics'' No. 33 (Nov. 1939) first depicting the death of
Thomas Wayne and
Martha Wayne
Martha Wayne ( Kane) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. She is the mother of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and wife of Dr. Thomas Wayne as well as the pate ...
by
a mugger. The origin story would remain crucial for the fictional character since the inception.
The ''
Daily Planet
The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
'' (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
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...
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
Maxwell Charles Gaines (born Max Ginzberg September 21, 1894 – August 20, 1947) was a pioneering figure in the creation of the modern comic book.
In 1933, Gaines devised the first four-color, saddle-stitched newsprint pamphlet, a precursor t ...
' 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,
he self-distributorshipIndependent 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.
[Maggie Thompson, Michael Dean, Brent Frankenhoff, Joyce Greenholdt, John Jackson Miller (editors), ''Comics Buyer's Guide 1996 Annual'', Krause Publications, 1995, p. 81: "Beginning as National Allied Publications in 1935 and becoming National Allied Newspaper Syndicate the next year, it changed to National Comic Publications in 1946 and National Periodical Publications 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
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
, which (according to court testimony) Fox started as a copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing
Fawcett Comics
Fawcett Comics, a division of Fawcett Publications, was one of several successful comic book publishers during the Golden Age of Comic Books in the 1940s. Its most popular character was Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, the alter ego of ...
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
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
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
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
,
humor, and
romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
. 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.
Silver Age
In the mid-1950s, editorial director
Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor
Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a
one-shot Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
story in the try-out title ''
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
''. Instead of reviving the old character, Schwartz had writers
Robert Kanigher
Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...
and
John Broome,
penciler Carmine Infantino, and
inker Joe Kubert
Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...
create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in ''Showcase'' No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of the
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
character, the introduction of the modern all-star team
Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the
Silver Age of Comic Books.
National did not reimagine its continuing characters (primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman), but radically overhauled them. The Superman family of titles, under editor
Mort Weisinger
Mortimer Weisinger (; April 25, 1915 – May 7, 1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' ''Superman'' during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features a ...
, introduced such enduring characters as
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
,
Bizarro
Bizarro () is a supervillain/anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman, and first appeared in ''Superboy'' #68 (1958 ...
, and
Brainiac. The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff, introduced the successful
Batwoman,
Bat-Girl,
Ace the Bat-Hound, and
Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz, together with artist Infantino, then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-Earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in a mythological context.
Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters inhabited a shared
continuity that, decades later, was dubbed the "
DC Universe" by fans. With the story "
Flash of Two Worlds", in ''Flash'' No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...
and artists Infantino and
Joe Giella) introduced a concept that allowed slotting the 1930s and 1940s
Golden Age heroes into this continuity via the explanation that they lived on an other-dimensional "Earth 2", as opposed to the modern heroes' "Earth 1"—in the process creating the foundation for what was later called the
DC Multiverse
In DC Comics, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC take place in. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the h ...
.
National Periodical Publications
DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by other comics companies. In 1961, with DC's JLA as the specific spur,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
writer-editor
Stan Lee and a robust creator
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of ''
The Fantastic Four''. Reportedly, DC ignored the initial success of Marvel with this editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales, albeit also benefiting Independent News' business as their distributor as well, made that impossible. That commercial situation especially applied with Marvel's superior
sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, which meant DC's publications were barely making a profit in comparison after returns from the distributors were calculated while Marvel was making an excellent profit by comparison.
However, the senior DC staff were reportedly at a loss at this time to understand how this small publishing house was achieving this increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, Marvel's emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently ignored for self-deluding guesses at the brand's popularity which included superficial reasons like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate the competition.
However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, from which there were some attempts to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the ''
Doom Patrol'' series by
Arnold Drake
Arnold Drake (March 1, 1924 – March 12, 2007) was an American comic book writer and screenwriter best known for co-creating the DC Comics characters Deadman and the Doom Patrol, and the Marvel Comics characters the Guardians of the Galaxy, amo ...
, a writer who previously warned the management of the new rival's strength; a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers, which Drake later speculated was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create ''
The X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
''. There was also the young
Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after much study of both companies' styles, such as for the ''
Legion of Super-Heroes'' feature.
[Irving, Christopher (July 20, 2012)]
"Jim Shooter's Secret Origin, in his Own Words – Part One"
. Graphic NYC.
A
1966 Batman TV show on the
ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales, and a brief fad for superheroes in
Saturday morning animation (
Filmation created most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the
tone of many DC comics—particularly ''
Batman'' and ''
Detective Comics''—to better complement the "camp" tone of the TV series. This tone coincided with the famous "Go-Go Checks"
checkerboard cover-dress which featured a black-and-white checkerboard strip (all DC books cover dated February 1966 until August 1967) at the top of each comic, a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks". In particular, DC artist,
Carmine Infantino, complained that the visual cover distinctiveness made DC's titles easier for readers to see and then avoid in favor of Marvel's titles.
In 1967, Batman artist Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters
Batgirl and the
Phantom Stranger) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he attempted to infuse the company with more focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities towards an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans that grew out of Marvel's efforts to market their superhero
line to college-aged adults. He also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and
Spider-Man co-creator
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
and promising newcomers
Neal Adams and
Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
and replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including
Joe Kubert
Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Polish-born American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman. He is also kno ...
and
Dick Giordano, to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye.
Kinney National/Warner Communications (1967–1990)
In 1967, National Periodical Publications was purchased by
Kinney National Company
Kinney National Service, Inc. (later known as Kinney Services, Inc.) was an American conglomerate company from 1966 to 1972. Its successors were National Kinney Corporation and Warner Communications, Time Warner, AOL Time Warner, and WarnerMedia ...
, which purchased
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as
National Kinney Corporation) and changed its name to
Warner Communications Inc.
In 1970,
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the
Silver Age of Comics, in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role. Given ''carte blanche'' to write and illustrate his own stories, he created a handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively
"The Fourth World". In the existing series ''
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen
''Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from September–October 1954 until March 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues. Featuring the adventures of Superman supporting character Jimmy Olsen, it co ...
'' and in his own, newly-launched series ''
New Gods'', ''
Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.
Publication history
Mister Miracle debuted in ...
'', and
''The Forever People'', Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain
Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm
Apokolips. Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in a publishing format that was later called the
trade paperback, which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of the DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company,
Kenner Products, judged them ideal for their
action-figure adaptation of the
DC Universe, the
Super Powers Collection. Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including ''Kamandi'', Etrigan the Demon, ''The Demon'', and OMAC (Buddy Blank), ''OMAC'', before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976.
Bronze Age
Following the science-fiction innovations of the Silver Age of Comic Books, Silver Age, the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more Naturalism (literature), naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority, explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story "Green Goblin Reborn!" in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered a drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist
Neal Adams' ''
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
'', beginning with the story "Snowbirds Don't Fly" in the retitled ''Green Lantern / Green Arrow'' No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Roy Harper (comics), Speedy, the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow, as having become a heroin addict.
Jenette Kahn, a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired, was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties. With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as ''Firestorm (comics), Firestorm'' and ''Shade, the Changing Man'', as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre-Fredric Wertham, Wertham days of post-War comicdom.
DC Comics
In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics. It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years.
In June 1978, five months before the release of the Superman (1978 film), first Superman movie, Kahn expanded the
line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion". The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion". In September 1978, the
line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents. By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books.
Seeking new ways to boost market share, the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz, and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following the example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics—DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work for hire, work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief,
Jim Shooter, was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas, Gene Colan, Marv Wolfman, and George Perez.
In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of the comic book Limited series (comics), limited series. This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was ''World of Krypton'' in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like ''Camelot 3000'' for the direct market in 1982.
These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series ''Teen Titans, The New Teen Titans'', by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez, two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series ''X-Men'', but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales in part due to the stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, ''Tales of the New Teen Titans'', to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title.
Modern Age
This successful revitalization of the Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors to seek the same for the wider
DC Universe. The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled ''The History of the DC Universe'', set out the revised history of the major DC characters. ''Crisis'' featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis".
Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series ''Swamp Thing, The Saga of the Swamp Thing'', and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison, began freelancing for the company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority.
Two DC limited series, ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' by Frank Miller and ''
Watchmen
''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'' by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of the antihero. These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks.
The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics, including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included ''Sgt. Rock (comics), Sgt. Rock'', ''G.I. Combat'', ''The Unknown Soldier (comics), The Unknown Soldier'', and ''Weird War Tales''.
Time Warner/AOL Time Warner (1990–2018)
In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc., making DC Comics a subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the Batman (1989 film), first Tim Burton-directed Batman movie was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions, collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories unseen by many modern fans. Restoration for many of the Archive Editions was handled by Rick Keene with colour restoration by DC's long-time resident colourist, Bob LeRose. These collections attempted to retroactively credit many of the writers and artists who had worked without much recognition for DC during the early period of comics when individual credits were few and far between.
The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing (mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with intent to resell at a higher value as the rising value of older issues, was thought to imply that ''all'' comics would rise dramatically in price) and several storylines which gained attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which The Death of Superman, Superman was killed, Batman: Knightfall, Batman was crippled and superhero Emerald Twilight, ''Green Lantern'' turned into the supervillain Parallax resulted in dramatically increased sales, but the increases were as temporary as the hero's replacements. Sales dropped off as the industry went into a major slump, while manufactured "collectables" numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves.
DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers
line Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo, and Helix (comics), Helix, a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased the use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including Trade paperback (comics), trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels.
One of the other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped. The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe.
["JMS Circles the DC Universe in Red"]
. Comic Book Resources. March 26, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2021
DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after a few years, it yielded the popular animated series ''Static Shock''. DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format ''Big Book of...'' series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel ''Road to Perdition (comics), Road to Perdition''. In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as a wholly separate imprint – and fictional universe – with its own style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (DC), America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore, including ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', ''Tom Strong'', and ''Promethea''. Moore strongly contested this situation, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC.
In March 2003 DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to the long-running fantasy series ''Elfquest'', previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004 DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD and Les Humanoïdes Associés, Humanoids. It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with the mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX (comics), CMX imprint to reprint translated manga. In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics publication of the webcomic ''Megatokyo'' in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner, such as his ''The Spirit'' series and his graphic novels.
In 2004, DC began laying the groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 ''Zero Hour (comics), Zero Hour'' event which similarly tried to Comics vocabulary#Retcon, ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded ''Batman Begins'' film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalated conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in the ''Infinite Crisis'' limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped One Year Later, forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, ''52 (comics), 52'', to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of
Jerry Siegel
Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...
used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership.
In 2005, DC launched its "All Star DC Comics, All-Star" line (evoking the title of the All Star Comics, 1940s publication), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with ''All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder'' and ''All-Star Superman'', with ''All-Star Wonder Woman'' and ''All-Star Batgirl'' announced in 2006 but neither being released nor scheduled as of the end of 2009.
DC licensed characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics by 2007. They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shot (comics), one-shots followed by a miniseries that lead into two ongoing titles, each lasting 10 issues.
DC Entertainment
In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters.
DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and the Spirit (comics), Spirit which it then used, along with some DC heroes, as part of the First Wave (comics), First Wave comics line launched in 2010 and lasting through fall 2011.
In May 2011, DC announced it would begin releasing digital versions of their comics on the same day as paper versions.
On June 1, 2011, DC announced that it would end all ongoing series set in the DC Universe in August and The New 52, relaunch its comic line with 52 issue #1s, starting with ''
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
'' on August 31 (written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee), with the rest to follow later on in September.
On June 4, 2013, DC unveiled two new digital comic innovations to enhance interactivity: ''DC
2'' and ''DC
2 Multiverse''. ''DC
2'' layers dynamic artwork onto digital comic panels, adding a new level of dimension to digital storytelling, while ''DC
2 Multiverse'' allows readers to determine a specific story outcome by selecting individual characters, storylines and plot developments while reading the comic, meaning one digital comic has multiple outcomes. ''DC
2'' appeared in the digital-first title, ''Batman '66'', based on the Batman (TV series), 1960s television series and ''DC
2 Multiverse'' appeared in ''Batman: Arkham#Arkham Origins comic, Batman: Arkham Origins'', a digital-first title based on the Batman: Arkham Origins, video game of the same name.
In 2014, DC announced an eight-issue miniseries titled Convergence (comics), ''Convergence'' which began in April 2015.
In 2016, DC announced a line-wide relaunch titled DC Rebirth. The new line would launch with an 80-page one-shot titled DC Universe: Rebirth, written by Geoff Johns, with art from Gary Frank, Ethan Van Sciver, and more. After that, many new series would launch with a twice-monthly release schedule and new creative teams for nearly every title. The relaunch was meant to bring back the legacy and heart many felt had been missing from DC characters since the launch of the New 52. Rebirth brought huge success, both financially and critically.
WarnerMedia/Warner Bros. Discovery unit (2018–present)
On February 21, 2020, the Co-Publisher of DC Comics, Dan DiDio stepped down after 10 years at that position. The company did not give a reason for the move, nor did it indicate whether it was his decision or the company's. The leadership change was the latest event in the company restructuring which began the previous month, as several top executives were laid off from the company. However, Bleeding Cool reported that he was fired.
In June 2020, Warner Bros. announced a separate DC-themed online-only convention. Known as DC FanDome, the free "immersive virtual fan experience" was a 24-hour-long event held on August 22, 2020. The main presentation, entitled "DC FanDome: Hall of Heroes", was held as scheduled on August 22. The remaining programming was provided through a one-day video on demand experience, "DC FanDome: Explore the Multiverse", on September 12.
As Warner Bros. and DC's response to San Diego Comic-Con's cancellation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the convention featured information about DC-based content including the DC Extended Universe film franchise, the Arrowverse television franchise, comic books, and video games. The convention also returned for the virtual premiere of ''Wonder Woman 1984'' and returned once again on October 16, 2021.
In August 2020, roughly one-third of DC's editorial ranks were laid off, including the editor-in-chief, senior story editor, executive editor, and several senior VPs.
In March 2021, DC relaunched their entire line once again under the banner of Infinite Frontier. After the events of the Dark Nights: Death Metal storyline, the DC Multiverse was expanded into a larger "Omniverse" where everything is canon, effectively reversing the changes The New 52 introduced a decade prior.
Furthermore, AT&T spun off WarnerMedia to Discovery, forming
Warner Bros. Discovery. This merger was completed on April 8, 2022.
In January 2023, DC is set to relaunch their line under the banner of "Dawn of DC" following the conclusion of Dark Crisis, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths and Lazarus Planet.
Logo
* DC's first logo appeared on the April 1940 issues of its titles. The small logo, with no background, read simply, "A DC Publication".
* The November 1941 DC titles introduced an updated logo. This version was almost twice the size of the previous one and was the first version with a white background. The name "Superman" was added to "A DC Publication", effectively acknowledging both Superman and Batman. This logo was the first to occupy the top-left corner of the cover, where the logo has usually resided since. The company now referred to itself in its advertising as "Superman-DC".
* In November 1949, the logo was modified to incorporate the company's formal name, National Comics Publications. This logo also served as the round body of Johnny DC, DC's mascot in the 1960s.
* In October 1970, DC briefly retired the circular logo in favour of a simple "DC" in a rectangle with the name of the title, or the star of the book; the logo on many issues of ''Action Comics'', for example, read "DC Superman". An image of the lead character either appeared above or below the rectangle. For books that did not have a single star, such as Anthology, anthologies like ''House of Mystery'' or team series such as ''Justice League of America'', the title and "DC" appeared in a stylized logo, such as a bat for "House of Mystery". This use of characters as logos helped to establish the likenesses as trademarks, and was similar to Marvel's contemporaneous use of characters as part of its cover branding.
* DC's "100 Page Super-Spectacular" titles and later 100-page and "Giant" issues published from 1972 to 1974 featured a logo exclusive to these editions: the letters "DC" in a simple sans-serif typeface within a circle. A variant had the letters in a square.
* The July 1972 DC titles featured a new circular logo. The letters "DC" were rendered in a block-like typeface that remained through later logo revisions until 2005. The title of the book usually appeared inside the circle, either above or below the letters.
* In December 1973, this logo was modified with the addition of the words "The Line of DC Super-Stars" and the star motif that continued in later logos. This logo was placed in the top center of the cover from August 1975 to October 1976.
* When Jenette Kahn became DC's publisher in late 1976, she commissioned graphic designer Milton Glaser to design a new logo. Popularly referred to as the "DC bullet", this logo premiered on the February 1977 titles. Although it varied in size and colour and was at times cropped by the edges of the cover, or briefly rotated 4 degrees, it remained essentially unchanged for nearly three decades. Despite logo changes since 2005, the old "DC bullet" continues to be used only on the DC Archive Editions series.
* On May 8, 2005, a new logo (dubbed the "DC spin") was unveiled, debuting on DC titles in June 2005 with ''DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy'' No. 1 and the rest of the titles the following week. In addition to comics, it was designed for DC properties in other media, which was used for movies since ''Batman Begins'', with ''Superman Returns'' showing the logo's normal variant, and the TV series ''Smallville'', the animated series ''Justice League Unlimited'' and others, as well as for collectibles and other merchandise. The logo was designed by Josh Beatman of Brainchild Studios and DC Management, executive Richard Bruning.
* In March 2012, DC unveiled a new logo consisting of the letter "D" flipping back to reveal the letter "C" and "DC ENTERTAINMENT". The first film to use the logo was ''The Dark Knight Rises'', while the first TV series to feature the logo was ''Arrow (TV series), Arrow''.
* DC Entertainment announced a new identity and logo for another iconic DC Comics universe brand on May 17, 2016. The new logo was first used on May 25, 2016, in conjunction with the release of ''DC Universe: Rebirth Special #1'' by Geoff Johns.
Gallery
DC Bullet (SVG).svg, 1977–2005 logo, aka the "DC Bullet"
DC Comics logo 2005–2012.svg, 2005–2012 logo, aka the "DC Spin"
DC comics logo 2012.png, 2012–2016 logo
DC Comics logo.svg, upright=0.55, DC Comics' current logo, introduced with the DC Rebirth relaunch in 2016
Imprints
Active
* DC Universe, DC (1937–present)
** Young Animal (DC Comics), Young Animal (2016–present)
** WildStorm (1999–2010, 2017–present)
** Milestone Media, Earth-M (1993–1997, 2018–present)
**
DC Black Label (2018–present)
*** The Sandman Universe, Sandman Universe (2018–present)
*** Hill House Comics (2019–present)
** Wonder Comics (DC Comics), Wonder Comics (2019–present)
** DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults (2020–present)
** DC Graphic Novels for Kids (2020–present)
* Mad (magazine), Mad (1953–present)
Defunct
* DC Archive Editions (1989–2014; replaced by DC Omnibus)
* Elseworlds (1989–2004)
* Piranha Press (1989–1993; renamed Paradox Press)
* Impact Comics (1991–1993; licensed from Archie Comics)
* Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo (1993–2019)
* Amalgam Comics (1996–1997; jointly with
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
)
* Helix (comics), Helix (1996–1998; merged with Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo)
* Tangent Comics (1997–1998)
* Paradox Press (1998–2003)
* WildStorm Productions (1999–2010)
** America's Best Comics (1999–2005)
** Homage Comics (1999–2004; merged to form List of Wildstorm titles#List of Comic Titles by Imprint, WildStorm Signature)
** Cliffhanger (comics), Cliffhanger (1999–2004; merged to form List of Wildstorm titles#List of Comic Titles by Imprint, WildStorm Signature)
** List of Wildstorm titles#List of Comic Titles by Imprint, WildStorm Signature (2004–2006; merged with main WildStorm line)
** CMX (comics), CMX Manga (2004–2010)
* DC Focus (2004–2005; merged with main DC Universe, DC line)
* Johnny DC (2004–2012)
* All Star DC Comics, All Star (2005–2008)
* Minx (comics), Minx (2007–2008)
* Zuda Comics (2007–2010)
* First Wave (comics), First Wave (2010–2011; licensed from Condé Nast Publications and Will Eisner Library)
* DC Ink (2019–2019; replaced by DC Graphic Novels for Young Adults)
* DC Zoom (2019–2019; replaced by DC Graphic Novels for Kids)
See also
* Batman Day (September 17)
* DC Collectibles
* DC Cosmic Cards
* DC Extended Universe
* DC Films
* List of comics characters which originated in other media
* List of current DC Comics publications
* List of DC Comics characters
* List of films based on DC Comics publications
* List of television series based on DC Comics publications
* List of unproduced DC Comics projects
* List of video games based on DC Comics
* Publication history of DC Comics crossover events
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
*
Mike's Amazing World of ComicsDC Database , Fandom
{{Authority control
DC Comics,
Book publishing companies based in California
Companies based in Burbank, California
Publishing companies established in 1934
DC Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery brands
Comic book publishing companies of the United States
American companies established in 1934
American culture
1934 establishments in New York City
Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiaries