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 Publications, Inc. (also known as National Allied Newspaper Syndicate, Inc.) which was founded by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in autumn 1934The company debuted in 1935 with the
tabloid
Tabloid may refer to:
* Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
* Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
** Chinese tabloid
* Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
* Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft
* ''Ta ...
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 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'', 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
Jacob S. Liebowitz (; born Yacov Lebovitz October 10, 1900 – December 11, 2000)
National Allied and Detective Comics, Inc. merged to become National Comics Publications, Inc. on September 30, 1946, absorbing Max Gaines' and Liebowitz's All-American Publications 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.