DC Comics, Inc. (

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The majority of its publications take place within the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters, such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman,

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 ...

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a ...

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, ...

, and

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

. It is widely known for some of the most famous and recognizable teams including the

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 ...

, the Justice Society of America, the

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

, and the Teen Titans. The universe also features a large number of well-known

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 ...

such as the Joker,

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

, the

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, the Reverse-Flash,

Black Manta Black Manta is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy, and first appeared in ''Aquaman'' #35 in September 1967. He has since endured as the archenemy of the s ...

, Sinestro, and Darkseid. The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including ''

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 ...

'', '' V for Vendetta'', '' Fables'' and many titles under their alternative imprint

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

and now DC Black Label. 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 75 Rockefeller Plaza is a skyscraper on the north side of 51st Street in New York City, originally built as a northern extension to Rockefeller Center. History In July 1944, the Rockefellers began planning a new 16-story tower to house the St ...

;

666 Fifth Avenue 660 Fifth Avenue (formerly 666 Fifth Avenue and the Tishman Building) is a 41-story office building on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 52nd and 53rd Streets in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The office tower was d ...

; and 1325 Avenue of the Americas. DC had its headquarters at 1700 Broadway, Midtown Manhattan, New York City, but DC Entertainment relocated its headquarters to Burbank, California in April 2015.DC Comics Inc.
Hoovers. Retrieved October 18, 2008. 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, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, who already dominated direct market distribution on account of the disruption to Diamond that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, replaced Diamond to distribute to that market. DC Comics and its longtime major competitor

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 ...

(acquired in 2009 by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

, Warner Bros. Discovery'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

National Comics Publications

Golden Age

Entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded

National Allied Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

in Autumn 1934 intended as an American comic book publishing company.Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson DC Founded" ''

Fifty Who Made DC Great ''Fifty Who Made DC Great'' is a one shot published by DC Comics to commemorate the company's 50th anniversary in 1985. It was published in comic book format but contained text articles with photographs and background caricatures. Publication h ...

'': 5 (1985), DC Comics 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 ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

'') 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.''New Fun'' #1 (Feb. 1935)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

. The entry notes that while the logo appears to be simply ''Fun'', the indicia reads, "New FUN is published monthly at 49 West 45th Street, New York, N.Y., by National Allied Publications, Inc.; Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, President ... Inquiries concerning advertising should be addressed to the Advertising Manager, New FUN,...." While superhero comics are what DC Comics is known for throughout modern times, the genres in the anthology titles consisted of funnies,

Western comics Western comics is a comics genre usually depicting the American Old West frontier (usually anywhere west of the Mississippi River) and typically set during the late nineteenth century. The term is generally associated with an American comic books ...

and adventure-related stories starting out. The character Doctor Occult, created by

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 ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

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 Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor

Harry Donenfeld Harry Donenfeld (; October 17, 1893 – February 1, 1965) was an American publisher who is known primarily for being the owner of National Allied Publications, which distributed ''Detective Comics'' and ''Action Comics'', the originator publicatio ...

— who also published pulp magazines and operated as a principal in the magazine distributorship

Independent News Independent News Co. was a magazine and comic book distribution business owned by National Periodical Publications, the parent company of DC Comics. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, suc ...

— 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 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 ...

formed the sister company All-American Publications around 1938. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title, entitled ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...

''. 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 Bernard Baily (April 5, 1916 – January 19, 1996)
at the

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

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,

' 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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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,

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' ''

'', 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 ''

'' 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

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 ''

'' 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: ''DC²'' and ''DC² Multiverse''. ''DC²'' layers dynamic artwork onto digital comic panels, adding a new level of dimension to digital storytelling, while ''DC² 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. ''DC²'' appeared in the digital-first title, ''Batman '66'', based on the Batman (TV series), 1960s television series and ''DC² 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

) * 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)

Notes

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* * *
Mike's Amazing World of Comics

DC 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