comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
National Periodical Publications
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.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...
, the parent company of
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 ...
. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, such as
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
from 1957 to 1969, in addition to
pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
and popular magazines. The company was founded in 1932 and operated until c. 1970.
History
Origins
In 1929, as a favor to an old client, pulp magazine publisher
Harry Donenfeld
Harry Donenfeld (; October 17, 1893 – February 1, 1965) was an American publisher who is known primarily for being the owner of National Allied Publications, which distributed ''Detective Comics'' and ''Action Comics'', the originator publicatio ...
gave work to the client's son,
Jack Liebowitz
Jacob S. Liebowitz (; born Yacov Lebovitz October 10, 1900 – December 11, 2000)Jones, p. 89. Whereas Donenfeld would promise the world to clients without understanding the economic realities, Liebowitz was bookish and ensured bills were paid on time and helped create respectability in the firm. Soon the two men were spoken of as a partnership.
When Liebowitz first worked for Donenfeld, the latter's empire was little more than a publishing house for "sex pulp" and art nudie magazines distributed by
Eastern News
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
* Eastern Air ...
, a company run by Charles Dreyfus and
Paul Sampliner
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
. In 1931, Eastern News faced bankruptcy and could no longer pay its publishers; the company owed Donenfeld alone $30,000. A compromise was called for, and Donenfeld, not wanting to find himself hamstrung by a distributor again, approached Sampliner with the idea of creating the Independent News Company, a publishing house with its own distribution system.Jones, pg 88–89.
With Sampliner running the distribution end, Donenfeld as salesman, Harry's youngest brother Irving (not to be mistaken for Harry's son:
Irwin Donenfeld
Irwin Donenfeld (March 1, 1926 – November 29, 2004) was an American comic book publishing executive for DC Comics. Donenfeld co-owned the firm from 1948 to 1967,
) as head printer, and Liebowitz running the finances, they launched Independent News in 1932.Jones, pp. 89–92. The Donenfeld brothers had begun as printers, and they continued printing the company's magazine and comic book covers even after branching into distribution.
Now Donenfeld was a distributor as well as a publisher, and was now no longer reliant on others to run his business. As a publisher, Donenfeld had managed to dodge creditors and break deals, but as a distributor, he came to rely more on Liebowitz to ensure that the company ran smoothly. Liebowitz ensured bills were paid on time and began to build a trust with clients that Donenfeld's enterprises had never experienced.Jones, pg 92.
Expansion
In 1935, writer/entrepreneur
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 ...
approached Independent News in a bid to relaunch his comic book ''
New Fun
''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...
'', having lost his previous backers due to poor sales and debts. Donenfeld accepted to distribute the comic but with heavy loss of rights to Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson produced two more titles to be handled by Independent News, ''New Comics'' and '' Detective Comics'' (which would later see the first appearance of Batman), now under the banner of Detective Comics Incorporated, in which Wheeler-Nicholson was forced to take Donenfeld and Liebowitz as partners. In 1938, Donenfeld sued Wheeler-Nicholson for nonpayment and Detective Comics Inc. went into bankruptcy. Not too surprisingly Donenfeld bought up the company and Wheeler-Nicholson's
National Allied Publications
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.
History
The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...
in their entirety as part of the action.
The fourth publication under National Allied Publications would be ''
Action Comics
''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...
'' (1938). Issue #1 introduced the superhero, Superman, created by artist
Joe Shuster
Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...
and writer
Jerry Siegel
Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...
, and the character's popularity created incredible profits; not only in comic book sales, but also in merchandising such as toys, costumes and even a radio show. At the end of 1941 Donenfeld's comic businesses took in $2.6 million.Jones, p. 142.
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 ...
, future founder of
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
, formed
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 t ...
in 1938 after successfully seeking funding from Harry Donenfeld., As
Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...
writes of Donenfeld's investment:
In 1946, Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, keeping only ''Picture Stories from the Bible'' as the foundation of his own new company,
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950 ...
. "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics.... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications".
Consolidation
The biggest magazine distribution company of this era was American News Company, which had a virtual
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
on all comics except DC's. From 1952 to 1957 Atlas Comics publisher Martin Goodman distributed his company's comics to newsstands through his self-owned distributor, Atlas. He then switched to American News — which shortly afterward lost a Justice Departmentlawsuit and discontinued its business. Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn to its biggest rival, National (DC) Comics which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview:
American Comics Group
American Comics Group (ACG) was an American comic book publisher started in 1939 and existing under the ACG name from 1943 to 1967. It published the medium's first ongoing horror-comics title, ''Adventures into the Unknown''. ACG's best-known cha ...
, another comic book publisher from the era (also with ties to Harry Donenfeld), was distributed by Independent News, as were such popular magazines as ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' and ''
Family Circle
''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of sev ...
''.Cooke, Jon B. "Donenfeld's Comics: A Talk with Irwin Donenfeld, 1960s DC Editorial Director," Comic Book Artist Collection, vol. 2. (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002), p. 67.
Jack Liebowitz
Jacob S. Liebowitz (; born Yacov Lebovitz October 10, 1900 – December 11, 2000)Irwin Donenfeld
Irwin Donenfeld (March 1, 1926 – November 29, 2004) was an American comic book publishing executive for DC Comics. Donenfeld co-owned the firm from 1948 to 1967,
, who was DC's editorial director in the 1960s, was also a vice president of Independent News.
In 1966, Independent News expanded its operations to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
by acquiring the bankrupt British publisher/distributor
Thorpe & Porter
Thorpe & Porter (widely known as T & P) was a British publisher, importer, and distributor of magazines and comic books. At first, the company was known for repackaging American comics and pulp magazines for the UK market. Later on, it became a pu ...
.Chibnall, Steve. "The Sign of the Tee Pee: The Story of Thorpe & Porter," ''Paperback, Pulp and Comic Collector'' Vol. 1: "SF Crime Horror Westerns & Comics" (Wilts, UK: Zeon Publishing / Zardoz Books, 1993), pp. 16–29 Archived at
Box.com
}
Box, Inc. (formerly Box.net) is a public company based in Redwood City, California. It develops and markets cloud-based content management, collaboration, and file sharing tools for businesses. Box was founded in 2005 by Aaron Levie and Dylan Sm ...
. Retrieved Dec. 28, 2020. With this purchase, Independent News became the sole distributor of American comics in the U.K., handling not only DC's output but also those of a few rival publishers, such as Marvel (until 1969), in addition to pulp and popular magazines.
Sale and demise
In 1967, National Periodical Publications (including Independent News) was purchased by
Kinney National Company
Kinney National Service, Inc. (later known as Kinney Services, Inc.) was an American conglomerate company from 1966 to 1972. Its successors were National Kinney Corporation and Warner Communications, Time Warner, AOL Time Warner, and WarnerMedia ...
, which later purchased
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc. was a short-lived American entertainment company active from 1967 until 1969.
History
Seven Arts Productions acquired Jack L. Warner's controlling interest in Warner Bros. Pictures for $32 million in November 19 ...
and became
Warner Communications
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
. The Donenfelds and their "crew" were out, and new management came in. By 1970, Independent News was defunct, absorbed into a larger and changing distribution business. Independent News' last president was Harold Chamberlin, who served from 1968 to 1970. Chamblerin went on to become president of Warner Publishing from 1970 to 1979. As Warner Publishing Services, the company was named by DC Comics as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication ''
Fifty Who Made DC Great
''Fifty Who Made DC Great'' is a one shot published by DC Comics to commemorate the company's 50th anniversary in 1985. It was published in comic book format but contained text articles with photographs and background caricatures.
Publication h ...