From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
US comic book company (1946?1961)
National Periodical Publications Inc.
Formerly
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- National Comics Publications
(1946?1961)
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Company type
| Subsidiary
[1]
(1967?1977)
|
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Industry
| Publishing
|
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Predecessors
| |
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Founded
| September 30, 1946
; 77 years ago
(
September 30, 1946
)
|
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Founder
| |
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Defunct
| 1977
; 47 years ago
(
1977
)
|
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Fate
| Rebranded as
DC Comics
in 1977
|
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Successor
| DC Comics
|
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Headquarters
| New York City
, U.S.
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Products
| Comic books
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Parent
| |
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National Comics Publications
(
NCP
; later known as
National Periodical Publications Inc.
or simply
National
) was an American comic book publishing company. It was the direct predecessor of modern-day
DC Comics
.
History
[
edit
]
Cover art of the first comic book by National Comics Publications
The corporation was originally two companies:
National Allied Publications Inc.
(also known as
National Allied Newspaper Syndicate Inc.
[3]
) which was founded by
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
in 1935
[4]
[5]
[6]
to publish
New Fun
,
[note 1]
the first
American comic book
with all-original material rather than
comic strip
reprints, and
Detective Comics Inc.
,
[5]
which was founded on December 31, 1936
[7]
by Wheeler-Nicholson with
Harry Donenfeld
and
Jack Liebowitz
to publish
Detective Comics
.
[8]
Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied into bankruptcy and seized it.
[9]
[10]
: 20
National Allied and Detective Comics Inc. merged to become National Comics Publications Inc.
[11]
on September 30, 1946,
[12]
absorbing
Max Gaines
'
All-American Publications
as well.
[10]
: 50
[13]
National Comics was renamed "National Periodical Publications Inc." in 1961.
[10]
: 102
[14]
[15]
Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "
Superman-DC
" in the early 1940s.
[16]
In 1967, National Periodical Publications was purchased by
Kinney National Services
.
[17]
In 1977, the company changed its name to
DC Comics
.
[18]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
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
[
edit
]
- ^
Gelder, Lawrence Van (February 4, 1971).
"A Comics Magazine Defies Code Ban on Drug Stories"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
September 18,
2018
.
- ^
Jones, Gerard
(2004).
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
. New York: Basic Books.
ISBN
9780465036561
.
- ^
Booker, M. Keith (2014).
Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas
. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. p. 7.
ISBN
978-0313397509
.
- ^
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
- ^
a
b
Goulart, Ron
(1986).
Ron Goulart's Great History of Comics Books
. Contemporary Press. p. 55.
ISBN
0-8092-5045-4
.
- ^
Benton, Mike (1989).
The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History
. Dallas, Texas: Taylor Publishing. pp. 17?18.
ISBN
978-0-87833-659-3
.
- ^
Twitter.com
- ^
Wallace, Daniel; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "1930s".
DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle
. London, United Kingdom:
Dorling Kindersley
. p. 17.
ISBN
978-0-7566-6742-9
.
The launch of
Detective Comics
defined [Malcolm] Wheeler-Nicholson's young comics company and set it on an ascendant path within the industry...His smart business decision to partner with businessmen Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz on
Detective Comics
guaranteed that his company's third title would at least be solvent.
- ^
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...
- ^
a
b
c
Cowsill, Alan (2014).
DC Comics Year by Year: Updated Edition
. London:
Dorling Kindersley
.
ISBN
9780241015858
.
- ^
Bridwell, E. Nelson
(1972).
Batman: From the 30s to the 70s
. Feltham: Spring Books. p. 4.
ISBN
0600313034
.
- ^
"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.
- ^
Jones, Gerard
(2004).
Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book
. New York: Basic Books. p. 223.
ISBN
0465036562
.
- ^
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
.
- ^
Thompson, Maggie; Dean, Michael; Frankenhoff, Brent; Greenholdt, Joyce; Miller, John Jackson (1995).
Comics Buyer's Guide 1996 Annual
.
Krause Publications
. p. 81.
ISBN
0873414063
.
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...
- ^
Eury, Michael (December 2002).
Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure
. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 46.
ISBN
1893905179
. Retrieved
January 20,
2019
.
- ^
"DC Comics"
.
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
. November 17, 2011
. Retrieved
August 10,
2012
.
- ^
"DC Comics, Inc.: Private Company Information"
.
Bloomberg
. Retrieved
2016-08-06
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- 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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Key People
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Publications
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Universe
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Lines and imprints
| Current
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Defunct
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Reprints
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Predecessors
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General
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Adaptations
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Related
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