DC Comics

What is DC Comics???

I INTRODUCTION

DC Comics, one of the largest publishers of comic books in the world. The company’s artists and writers created many of the comic book industry’s most popular and enduring superheroes, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern. These characters have been the subjects of radio and television series, animated cartoons, and feature films.

In addition to its mainstream lines of adventure comic books, DC publishes science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles intended for mature readers. The company also publishes MAD Magazine, a popular humor magazine founded in 1952. Based in New York City, DC Comics is a subsidiary of media giant AOL Time Warner.

II FOUNDING

DC Comics traces its origin to 1935, when Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published the first modern comic book, New Fun. In contrast to other comic books of the time, which reprinted newspaper comics, New Fun featured all-original material. For example, the first issue featured an illustrated adaptation of the novel Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Calling his company National Allied Publications, Wheeler-Nicholson published his second comic book title, New Comics, later in 1935. In 1937 the company published the first issue of Detective Comics, which devoted its pages to a single theme. Detective Comics was an immediate success. The company soon became popularly known as DC Comics, although it did not officially change its name to DC Comics until 1977.

III SUPERMAN AND BATMAN

Superman was first conceived in the mid-1930s by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two high school students in Cleveland, Ohio. Initially, they made Superman a bald-headed villain with incredible mental powers. But they soon refined the character into a muscular crime fighter with superhuman strength, the ability to fly, a distinctive red cape, and an “S” logo on his chest. Superman came to Earth from the planet Krypton as an infant, and as an adult he took the identity of Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper.

Siegel and Shuster sold the idea of Superman to DC Comics in 1937. In June 1938 DC introduced the new superhero in the first issue of Action Comics. Known as the “Man of Steel,” Superman proved phenomenally popular with readers, and within months other comic book publishers responded with imitations.

In 1939 DC scored another success with the introduction of Batman in Detective Comics #27, drawn by Bob Kane and written by Bill Finger. Batman—so named because his costume resembled a bat—had no superhuman powers; instead he relied on his superior physical training, agility, intelligence, and technological gadgets to fight crime. Like Superman, Batman possessed a secret civilian identity: Bruce Wayne, a playboy millionaire. Batman was joined by a crime-fighting partner, Robin, the Boy Wonder, in Detective Comics #38 (1940).

IV 1940S TO EARLY 1980S

In the early 1940s DC continued to innovate and to introduce new superheroes. These included the Flash (Flash Comics #1, 1940), who had superhuman speed; Green Lantern (All-American Comics #16, 1940), whose magic ring of green meteorite gave him the power to shape energy; and Wonder Woman (All-Star Comics #8, 1941), an Amazon possessing superhuman strength and speed as well as the ability to deflect projectiles. In addition, DC introduced the Justice Society (later called the Justice League of America), the first superhero team. In 1946 the company became National Comics Publications.

After World War II (1939-1945), sales of superhero comic books declined, and DC shifted its emphasis to Western, romance, and war titles. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the company returned its focus to superheroes, updating many of its characters with new looks and reviving others it had canceled, such as the Flash and Green Lantern. In 1961 the company changed its name to National Periodical Publications. In 1968 the company was acquired by Kinney National Services, which later became Warner Communications.

DC experienced a downturn in the late 1960s as the more complex characters and stories featured in rival Marvel Comics (see Marvel Entertainment Group) grew in popularity. DC was late in adapting to the changing tastes of comic book readers, who were largely young, well-educated males. The blockbuster movies Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) generated substantial licensing revenues for the company, but by the early 1980s its ability to capture new readers looked doubtful.

V RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

DC fought back in the 1980s with darker, more violent stories and new forms of comic books. In 1986 DC’s fortunes improved with the appearance of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a so-called graphic novel written and drawn by Frank Miller. Miller’s dark, brooding style and his redefinition of Batman as a troubled, vengeful character created a new style of comics directed at adult readers. Meanwhile, the movie Batman, released in 1989, became one of the biggest box-office successes in history.

DC followed with other new titles that won critical acclaim, such as Sandman and Watchmen. In 1993 the company killed off Superman—the issue was one of the best-selling comics in history—and then resurrected him less than a year later. In 1996 DC introduced an updated Superman with new powers and a redesigned blue-and-white costume—the first major alteration in Superman’s look since his debut in 1938.

Source by: Microsoft Encarta

[Back to Home]