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
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as 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 thei ...
.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied Publications, Inc. (also known as National Allied Newspaper Syndicate, Inc.) which was founded by Major
Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson (January 7, 1890 – September 21, 1965) was an American pulp magazine writer and entrepreneur who pioneered the American comic book, publishing the first such periodical consisting solely of original material r ...
in autumn 1934
[The company debuted in 1935 with the tabloid-sized '' New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' #1 with a ]cover date
The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
of February 1935
''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,...." to publish ''
New Fun
''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',[''N ...]
'', the first
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
with all-original material rather than
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
reprints, and Detective Comics, Inc.,
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.
National Allied and Detective Comics, Inc. merged to become National Comics Publications, Inc. on September 30, 1946, absorbing
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 ...
' and Liebowitz's
All-American Publications
All-American PublicationsThe name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form the ...
as well.
National Comics was renamed National Periodical Publications, Inc. in 1961.
Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as the 1950s, and it became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.
See also
* ''
''
Notes
References
Further reading
* Charles Wooley (1986). ''Wooley's History of the Comic Book, 1899-1936: The Origin of the Superhero''. Lake Buena Vista, Florida. 1986.
DC Comics
Comic book publishing companies of the United States
Defunct comics and manga publishing companies
Publishing companies disestablished in 1977
Publishing companies established in 1934
Publishing companies established in 1937
Publishing companies established in 1946
American companies established in 1934
American companies established in 1937
American companies established in 1946
American companies disestablished in 1977
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