DC Comics
DC Comics is a leading comic book publisher known for its significant contributions to the comic book genre and the creation of iconic superhero characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Founded in 1934 by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the company evolved through various phases, including the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age, each marked by distinct creative shifts and evolving public interests. Notably, the publication of "Action Comics" in 1938 marked the beginning of the superhero craze, establishing a new cultural phenomenon.
Over the decades, DC Comics has expanded beyond comic books into a vast media empire, producing successful films, television series, and video games. The DC Extended Universe (DCEU), launched in 2013, includes popular films like "Wonder Woman" and "Aquaman." Despite facing challenges such as market competition and internal restructuring, DC has remained a dominant force in the industry. The company has also made strides in promoting diversity and inclusion within its narratives, reflecting a commitment to representing a broad spectrum of perspectives and experiences.
DC Comics
DC Comics is one of the largest and most successful comic book publishers in history. As the first company of its kind, DC Comics was instrumental in the creation of the comic book genre and introduced many of the most recognizable and beloved superhero characters ever created, including Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Since its inception, DC Comics has grown into a media empire that has seamlessly transcended its roots and used its popular characters and properties to produce a seemingly unending parade of successful motion pictures, television series, video games, and more.
Origins
DC Comics began with cavalry veteran, pulp writer, and entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who founded National Allied Publications in 1934. Soon after, Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun, the first totally original comic book ever produced. Though his efforts met with enough success to facilitate the publication of a second title, New Comics, Wheeler-Nicholson realized he would need additional support to continue his line. To that end, he merged National Allied Publications with Detective Comics Inc., a separate company he co-owned with fellow publishers Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, and All-American Comics, which was owned by Liebowitz and Max C. Gaines. The publishing arm of the resulting conglomeration was formally called National Periodical Publications (NPP), but it quickly became known among readers as DC because of the large "DC" trademark printed on the cover of its publications. In its first few years, DC published several different comic book series that ran the creative gamut from overt humor to suspenseful action, but ultimately met with limited success. In 1967, National Allied Publications was acquired by Kinney National Company, a forerunner of WarnerMedia. In 1977, National Allied Publications formally changed its name to DC Comics.
Golden Age
The pivotal turning point for DC came in 1938 with the publication of the first installment of the Action Comics series, which featured the debut of an alien superhero known as Superman and kicked off what has since come to be called the golden age of comics. The Superman series was an immediate hit, with sales reaching $500,000 per issue by the end of just its first year in print. DC then asked comic book artist Bob Kane to come up with another superhero character in the same vein as Superman—a request that led to the creation of Batman. In short order, the combined popularity of Superman and Batman effectively opened the floodgates and set the stage for a deluge of various superhero characters created and marketed by DC and its competitors. The superhero craze remained strong until the early 1950s, when growing criticism of comic books' frequent depictions of violence and crime forced publishers to tone things down and take a more family-friendly approach to their stories and characters. This, in turn, led to a brief decline in interest that brought an end to the golden age of comics.
Silver Age
The so-called silver age of comics got underway when DC editor Julius Schwartz revived and updated a popular golden age superhero called the Flash in 1956's Showcase #4. This return to form reignited interest in superheroes and eventually led DC to bring a number of its top characters together to form a supergroup called the Justice League of America. As the silver age continued, DC's success was bolstered both by an influx of new creative talent and the debut of Superman and Batman television shows. The widespread popularity of the 1966 BatmanTV series, in particular, encouraged DC to adopt a lighter, more humorous approach so as to bring its comic series in line with the show's over-the-top campiness.
Bronze Age
In 1970, a number of key events—including legendary Marvel Comics creator Jack Kirby's defection to DC, the beginning of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, and the retirement of longtime Superman editor Mort Weisinger—led to the dawning of the bronze age of comics. For DC, which officially became DC Comics in 1977, the bronze age proved to be an especially difficult period, in part because readers grew more interested in Marvel Comics' flawed and intrinsically human superheroes than DC's seemingly incorruptible crusaders. As a result, DC's sales slumped and its once dominant market share began to shrink. This decline, often referred to as the DC Implosion, kept the company struggling for years.
Iron Age
DC Comics returned to form when the iron (or modern) age of comics began with the launch of the Crisis on Infinite Earths series in 1985 and the publication of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns the following year. After the success of these landmark works, DC's comic books took a decidedly dark turn, with death becoming a regular occurrence and formerly steadfast heroes evolving into brooding vigilantes who were willing to go so far as to kill their enemies when necessary. Though these changes eventually engendered a critical backlash that sent the comic book industry into a brief decline, DC Comics remained resilient and remained one of the world's top comic book publishers into the twenty-first century.
Twenty-First Century
Following a period of decline, DC Comics underwent a series of changes in an effort to regain the momentum it once had. In 2004, DC underwent a full brand relaunch with the Infinite Crisis series of comic books, which brought drastic changes to the DC Universe (DCU). In 2009, DC Entertainment was created as a holding company of DC Comics (DC Entertainment is itself a subsidiary of Warner Bros.) DC then released the Flashpoint story arc in 2011, which served as another reboot for the comics and redesigned many of the iconic DC superheroes. DC also began releasing digital versions of its comics in 2011. DC again rebooted its comics with the release of DC Rebirth in 2016. DC Comics announced a corporate restructuring in February 2020, and laid off multiple executives, including longtime comic copublisher Dan DiDio. DC later laid off an estimated one-third of its editorial staff in August 2020. The company underwent another round of layoffs and restructuring in 2023.
DC Films
Warner Bros. Entertainment began creating films based on DC Comics superheroes in 2005 with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. The film was a critical and commercial success and was expanded into a trilogy with the release of The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The success of the Batman films led to the creation of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in 2013. The DCEU is a shared universe made up of fifteen films, including Man of Steel (2013), Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), and Aquaman (2018). Warner Bros. Entertainment created the studio DC Films in 2018 to consolidate and refocus the DCEU after mixed reviews of the initial DCEU releases. Particularly successful DCEU films include Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), and The Suicide Squad (2021). DC Films branched into television releases with the well-reviewed HBO series Peacemaker (2022). The DCEU released its final film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, in 2023.
Other important DC Comics films released in the 2020s include Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023; the sequel to Shazam! [2019]), The Flash (2023), Blue Beetle (2023), and Black Adam (2022).
Impact
Since it came into existence, DC Comics has been an unparalleled driving force in the comic book industry. Over the years, it was responsible for numerous important firsts, including the publication of the first original content comic books, the first superhero comic books, the first superhero team, and the introduction of sidekicks and parallel universes. More broadly, DC's extensive efforts to market its properties elevated superheroes to iconic status in American popular culture and led characters such as Superman and Batman to become household names. Films based on DC Comics superheroes contributed to the pop culture superhero craze of the twenty-first century, specifically Christopher Nolan's iconic The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–12).
DC Comics received praise for its efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in its work. In a 2015 press release, DC Comics announced a new direction for the DC Universe committed to inclusivity in future comics and films. In the subsequent decade, the company continued expanding these efforts through successful LGBTQ characters, including Superman’s son, and plot lines that emphasized social justice and personal identity. The Milestone Initiative aimed to include marginalized voices in the comic book industry. However, some viewers criticized the company for canceling its nearly finished Batgirl film in 2022.
Bibliography
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