National Comics Publications

National Comics Publications
Subsidiary[1]
Industry Publishing
Fate Re-branded as DC Comics in 1977
Predecessor
Successor DC Comics
Founded September 30, 1946
Defunct 1977
Headquarters New York City, U.S.
Key people
 Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Products Comic books
Parent Kinney National Company (1967–1972)
Warner Communications (1972–1977)

National Comics Publications, Inc.[2] was the comic book company that would become DC Comics.

History

The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied Publications, Inc. (also known as National Allied Newspaper Syndicate, Inc.)[3] which was founded by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in autumn 1934[4][5][6][note 1] to publish New Fun, the first American comic book with all-original material rather than comic strip reprints, and Detective Comics, Inc.,[5] formed in 1937 with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz listed as owners. Wheeler-Nicholson remained for a year before being forced out in 1938, and Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied Publications.[7][8]:20

National Allied and Detective Comics, Inc. merged to become National Comics Publications, Inc. on September 30, 1946,[9] absorbing Max Gaines' and Liebowitz's All-American Publications as well.[8]:50[10] National Comics was renamed National Periodical Publications, Inc. in 1961.[8]:102[11][12]

Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as the 1950s,[13] and it became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The company debuted in 1935 with the tabloid-sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 with a cover date of February 1935; New Fun #1 (Feb. 1935) at the Grand Comics Database. 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,...."

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence Van Gelder. "A Comics Magazine Defies Code Ban on Drug Stories". New York Times, 4 Feb. 1971.
  2. ↑ Bridwell, E. Nelson (1972). Batman: From the 30s to the 70s. Feltham: Spring Books. p. 4. ISBN 0600313034.
  3. ↑ Booker, M. Keith (2014). Comics through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. p. 7. ISBN 0313397503.
  4. ↑ Benton, Mike (1989). The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9780878336593.
  5. 1 2 Goulart, Ron (1986). Ron Goulart's Great History of Comics Books (Paperback ed.). Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 55. ISBN 0809250454.
  6. ↑ 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: 5 (1985), DC Comics
  7. ↑ Thomas, Roy (2000). All-Star Companion: An Historical and Speculative Overview of the Justice Society of America. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 13. ISBN 1893905055. By 1938 Major had faded into history...
  8. 1 2 3 Cowsill, Alan (2014). DC Comics Year by Year: Updated Edition. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9780241015858.
  9. ↑ "Young April 12, 1948 Findings of Facts". Scribd. Retrieved 11 December 2016. DETECTIVE COMICS, INC. was a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, and was one of the constituent corporations consolidated on September 30, 1946 into defendant NATIONAL COMICS PUBLICATIONS, INC.
  10. ↑ Jones, Gerard (2004). Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book. New York: Basic Books. p. 223. ISBN 0465036562.
  11. ↑ Bart, Peter (September 23, 1962). "Advertising: Superman Faces New Hurdles; Publishers of Comic Books Showing a Decline Television Termed Chief Reason for Revenue Drop". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Maggie; Dean, Michael; Frankenhoff, Brent; Greenholdt, Joyce; Miller, John Jackson (1995). "Comics Buyer's Guide 1996 Annual". Krause Publications. p. 81. Beginning as National Allied Publications in 1935 [sic] and becoming National Allied Newspaper Syndicate the next year, it changed to National Comic [sic] Publications in 1946 and National Periodical Publications in 1961... Missing or empty |url= (help)
  13. ↑ Michael Eury, Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure, TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002, p. 46.
  14. ↑ "DC Comics, Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-08-06.

Further reading

  • Charles Wooley (1986). Wooley's History of the Comic Book, 1899-1936: The Origin of the Superhero. Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 1986.


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