Editing DC Comics (section)

==== Golden Age ====
{{Main|Golden Age of Comic Books}}
{| class="wikitable" style="width:99%; text-align:center;"
	
|-
	
! colspan=7| Pioneers of DC Comics who started in the 1930s<ref>[[Fifty Who Made DC Great]]</ref>
	
|-
	
|[[File:Maj. Malcolm Wheeler Nicholson LCCN2014713912.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|[[File:Jerry Siegel in Uniform ca1943 cropped.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|[[File:Joe Shuster.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|[[File:Bob Kane 1966 photo.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|
	
|[[File:Sheldon Mayer self-portrait.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|[[File:Gardner Fox by Gil Kane.jpg|110x110px]]
	
|-
	
| [[Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson]]
	
| [[Jerry Siegel]]
	
| [[Joe Shuster]]
	
| [[Bob Kane]]
	
| [[Bill Finger]]
	
| [[Sheldon Mayer]]
	
| [[Gardner Fox]]
	
|-
	
| Founder of DC Comics
	
| colspan="2" | Creators of [[Superman]] and [[Lois Lane]]
	
| colspan="2" | Creators of [[Batman]] and the [[Joker (character)|Joker]]
	
| Early founder
	
| Created various characters
	
|}
[[File:New Fun - The Big Comic Magazine (no. 1, cover).jpg|thumb|left|Cover art of the first comic book by [[National Allied Publications]], ''[[New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine]]'' #1 ([[cover date]]: February 1935). Unlike earlier comic book magazines series, characters in this book (such as the [[Western (genre)|Western]] character Jack Wood) were original creations that were not taken from existing comic strips.<ref name="Vulture essential"/>]]

In 1935, entrepreneur Major [[Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson]] founded [[National Allied Publications]], intended as an [[American comic book]] publishing company.<ref name="Fifty">Marx, Barry, [[Joey Cavalieri|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</ref><ref name="Goulart55">{{cite book |title=Ron Goulart's Great History of Comics Books |first=Ron |last=Goulart |author-link=Ron Goulart |publisher=Contemporary Press |year=1986 |page=55 |isbn=0-8092-5045-4}}</ref><ref name="Benton17">{{cite book |last=Benton |first=Mike |title=The Comic Book in America: An Illustrated History |location=Dallas, Texas |publisher=Taylor Publishing |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-87833-659-3 |pages=17–18}}</ref> Its debut publication was the [[Tabloid (paper size)|tabloid]]-sized ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' #1 (the first of a comic series later called ''[[More Fun Comics]]'') with a February 1935 [[cover date]]. An anthology title, essentially for original stories not reprinted from [[newspaper strip]]s, it was unlike many comic book series before it.<ref name="Vulture essential">{{cite web |title=The 100 Most Influential Pages in Comic Book History |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/100-most-influential-pages-comic-book-history.html |website=Vulture |access-date=February 22, 2020 |date=April 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624221348/https://www.vulture.com/article/100-most-influential-pages-comic-book-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=gcdnewfun1>{{cite web|url=https://www.comics.org/issue/85/ |title=''New Fun'' #1 (Feb. 1935) |website=[[Grand Comics Database]]}} The entry notes that while the logo appears to be simply ''Fun'', the [[Indicia (publishing)|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,...."</ref> While DC Comics is now primarily associated with [[superhero comics]], the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of [[Sunday comics|funnies]], [[Western comics]], and adventure-related stories. The character [[Doctor Occult]]—created by [[Jerry Siegel]] and [[Joe Shuster]] in December 1935 and included in issue No.{{nbsp}}6 of ''New Fun Comics''—is considered to be the earliest recurring [[superhero]] created by DC that is still being used.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |title=75 Years of the First Comic Book Superhero (It's Not Who You Think) |url=https://techland.time.com/2010/07/05/75-years-of-the-first-comic-book-superhero-its-not-who-you-think/ |magazine=Time |access-date=February 22, 2020 |date=July 5, 2010 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222095550/https://techland.time.com/2010/07/05/75-years-of-the-first-comic-book-superhero-its-not-who-you-think/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CBR DO">{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=John |title=10 Things Everyone Forgets About DC's Dr. Occult |url=https://www.cbr.com/dc-doctor-occuilt-forgotten-facts-comics/ |website=CBR |access-date=February 22, 2020 |date=December 16, 2019 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222095545/https://www.cbr.com/dc-doctor-occuilt-forgotten-facts-comics/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The company created a second recurring title called ''New Comics'', first released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' series that also featured many anthology titles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comics.org/series/71/ |title=New Comics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231231358/http://www.comics.org/series/71/ |archive-date=December 31, 2012 |url-status=live  |website=Grand Comics Database}}</ref> By 1936, the group had become Nicholson Publishing.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fertig |first=Mark |title=Take That, Adolf!: The Fighting Comic Books of the Second World War |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |year=2017 |isbn=9781606999875}}</ref>

Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, ''[[Detective Comics]]'', was advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936 but eventually premiered three months late with a March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was [[Slam Bradley]], created in a collaboration between Wheeler-Nicholson, Siegel and Shuster.<ref name="CBR DO"/> In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor [[Harry Donenfeld]]—who also published pulp magazines and operated as a principal in the magazine distributorship [[Independent News]]—Wheeler-Nicholson had to enter into partnership with Donenfeld to publish ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}1, and Detective Comics, Inc. (which helped inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld's accountant [[Jack S. Liebowitz]] listed as owners. As the company continued to experience cash-flow problems, Wheeler-Nicholson was forced out after the first year. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied (also known as Nicholson Publishing) at a bankruptcy auction and absorbed it.{{sfn|Jones|2004|p=125}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Todd |date=July 8, 2013 |title=The DC Comics Offices 1930s–1950s Part 1 |url=https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-1/ |access-date=July 1, 2024 |website=Todd's Blog |language=en-US |archive-date=July 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701054808/https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = Horizontal
|header = Two famous [[superhero]]es—[[Superman]] and [[Batman]]—were brought to life in the American comic books ''[[Action Comics]]'' and ''[[Detective Comics]]''.
|header_align = <!--center is default-->
|header_background =
|footer =
|footer_background =
|width =
|image1 = Action Comics 1.jpg
|width1 = 216
|caption1 = [[Action Comics 1|''Action Comics'' #1]] (June 1938) introduced Superman and helped birth the superhero genre.
|alt1 =
|image2 = Detective Comics 27 (May 1939).png
|width2 = 222
|caption2 = [[Detective Comics 27|''Detective Comics'' #27]] (May 1939) featured the first appearance of Batman.
| alt2 =
}}

Meanwhile, [[Max Gaines]] formed the sister company [[All-American Publications]] in 1939.{{sfn|Jones|2004|p=147}} Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title called ''[[Action Comics]]''; [[Action Comics 1|the first issue]], cover dated June 1938, featured new characters such as [[Superman]] by Siegel and Shuster, [[Zatara]] by [[Fred Guardineer]], and [[Tex Thompson]] by Ken Finch and [[Bernard Baily]]. Considered as the first comic book to feature the character archetype later known as the "superhero", ''Action Comics'' was a sales hit that brought to life a new age of comic books, now affectionately termed the [[Golden Age of Comic Books|"Golden Age"]]. ''Action Comics'' #1 is credited as featuring the [[first appearance]] of Superman, both on the cover illustration and inside the issue, and is now one of the most valuable and sought-after comic book issues of all time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Superman's debut sells for $1M at auction |url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100222/FREE/100229983 |agency=Associated Press |work=[[Crain's New York Business]] |date=February 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311214801/http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100222/FREE/100229983 |archive-date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first Superman tale included a superhero [[Origin of Superman|origin story]] with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]], where he is [[Kryptonian|said to have originated]]. The issue also contained the first essential [[supporting character]] and one of the earliest female characters in any comic, with [[Lois Lane]] as [[Superman and Lois Lane|Superman's first depicted romantic interest]].<ref name="DC one">{{cite book|last1=Wallace|first1= Daniel|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah |chapter= 1930s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page=20}}</ref> The [[Green Hornet]]-inspired character known as the [[Crimson Avenger (Lee Travis)|Crimson Avenger]] by Jim Chamber was featured in ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}20 (October 1938). This character is known to be the first masked vigilante published by DC.<ref name="Crimson Avenger CBR">{{cite web |last=Cronin |first=Brian |title=Who Was the First Comic Book Masked Vigilante? |url=https://www.cbr.com/first-comic-book-masked-vigilante/ |website=CBR |access-date=February 22, 2020 |date=January 20, 2018 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222124740/https://www.cbr.com/first-comic-book-masked-vigilante/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="superhero">{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Richard A. |title=The American Superhero: Encyclopedia of Caped Crusaders in History |year=2019 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440861246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpuDDwAAQBAJ&q=crimson+avenger+dc |language=en}}</ref> An unnamed "office boy", [[retcon]]ned as [[Jimmy Olsen]]'s first appearance, was revealed in a Superman story by Siegel and Shuster in ''Action Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}6 (November 1938).<ref name="Superman">{{cite book|last= Wallace|first= Daniel|title= Superman: The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel|publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year= 2013|location= London, United Kingdom|page= 126|isbn= 978-1465408754}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jimmy Olsen |url=https://www.dcuniverse.com/encyclopedia/jimmy-olsen/ |website=dcuniverse.com |access-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222133053/https://www.dcuniverse.com/encyclopedia/jimmy-olsen/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman was the first comic-derived character to appear in other formats, later featuring in his own [[Superman (comic strip)|newspaper comic strip]], which first introduced his biological parents [[Jor-El]] and [[Lara (comics)|Lara]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcj.com/reviews/superman-the-golden-age-sundays-1943-1946/|title=Superman: The Golden Age Sundays 1943–1946|last=Tumey|first=Paul|website=The Comics Journal|access-date=April 3, 2019|archive-date=May 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529211844/http://www.tcj.com/reviews/superman-the-golden-age-sundays-1943-1946/|url-status=live}}</ref> All-American Publications' debut comic series, ''[[All-American Comics]]'', was first published in April 1939.<ref name="DC one"/> The series ''Detective Comics'' made history as being the first to feature [[Batman]]—a [[Bob Kane]] and [[Bill Finger]] creation—in [[Detective Comics 27|issue No.27]] (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante who wore a caped suit known as the [[Batsuit]] and drove a car that was later referred to as the [[Batmobile]]. The Batman story also included a supporting character called [[James Gordon (character)|James Gordon]], the [[police commissioner]] of what would later become [[Gotham City Police Department]].<ref name="Batman">{{cite book|title=Batman – The Complete History: The Life and Times of the Dark Knight|first=Les|last=Daniels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73wknu2cVIkC|isbn=978-0-8118-4232-7|year=2004|publisher=Chronicle Books }}</ref> Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who became the female superhero Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in [[Ma Hunkel]] who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in ''All-American Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}3 (June 1939).<ref>{{cite web |title=Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Red Tornado |url=http://toonopedia.com/tornado1.htm |website=toonopedia.com |access-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-date=May 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240528010503/https://www.webcitation.org/6nNOVf01v?url=http://toonopedia.com/tornado1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Another important Batman debut was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as [[Wayne Manor]] first seen in ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}28 (June 1939).<ref name="Batman" /> The series ''Adventure Comics'' followed in the footsteps of ''Action Comics'' and ''Detective Comics'' by featuring a new recurring superhero called [[Sandman (Wesley Dodds)|Sandman]] who first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}40 (July 1939).<ref>{{cite book |last=Benton |first=Mike |title=Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History |year=1992 |publisher=Taylor Publishing Company |location=Dallas |isbn=0-87833-808-X |pages=123–124 |url=https://archive.org/details/superherocomicso0000bent |url-access=registration |access-date=January 15, 2020}}</ref> ''Action Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}13 (June 1939) introduced the first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the [[Ultra-Humanite]]; created by Siegel and Shuster, this is commonly cited as one of the earliest [[supervillain]]s in comic books.<ref>{{cite web |last=Das |first=Manjima |title=Batman And Superman: The Two Superheroes Are Going To Fight The First DC Villain |url=https://trendingnewsbuzz.com/2020/02/17/batman-and-superman-the-two-superheroes-are-going-to-fight-the-first-dc-villain/ |website=Trending News Buzz |access-date=February 23, 2020 |date=February 17, 2020 |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223075743/https://trendingnewsbuzz.com/2020/02/17/batman-and-superman-the-two-superheroes-are-going-to-fight-the-first-dc-villain/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Superman character had another breakthrough when he was given his own [[Superman (comic book)|comic book series]], which was previously unheard of.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wallace|first1= Daniel|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah |chapter= 1930s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9|page= 25|quote = Superman's runaway popularity as part of ''Action Comics'' earned him his own comic. This was a real breakthrough for the time, as characters introduced in comic books had never before been so successful as to warrant their own titles.}}</ref> The first issue, published in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, [[Jonathan and Martha Kent]], also created by Siegel and Shuster.<ref name="Superman"/> ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}29 (July 1939) included the first mention of [[Batman's utility belt]] by [[Gardner Fox]].<ref>{{cite web |last=White |first=Chris |title=DC: The 10 Rarest Batman Comics (& What They're Worth) |url=https://www.cbr.com/dc-batman-rarest-comics-worth/ |website=CBR |access-date=February 23, 2020 |date=November 23, 2019 |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223082357/https://www.cbr.com/dc-batman-rarest-comics-worth/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Batman"/> Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by [[Fox Feature Syndicate]] named the [[Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett)|Blue Beetle]] released in August 1939.<ref>{{cite book |last=Irving |first=Christopher |title=The Blue Beetle Companion: His Many Lives from 1939 to Today |year=2007 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=9781893905702 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHtfwrbpK5cC&q=Mystery+Men+Comics+blue+Beetle |access-date=July 17, 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Richard A. |title=The American Superhero: Encyclopedia of Caped Crusaders in History |year=2019 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440861246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpuDDwAAQBAJ&q=Mystery+Men+Comics+blue+Beetle |access-date=July 17, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Fictional cities were a common theme of DC; the first revealed city was Superman's home city of [[Metropolis (comics)|Metropolis]], originally named in ''Action Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}16 (September 1939).<ref>{{cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |title=A Guide to the Fictional Cities of the DC Universe |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/a-guide-fictional-cities-dc-861874 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=February 18, 2016 |access-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924074327/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/a-guide-fictional-cities-dc-861874 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Webber |first=Tim |title=The Metropo-list: 15 DARK Secrets You Never Knew About Superman's City |url=https://www.cbr.com/dark-secrets-about-metropolis/ |website=CBR |access-date=February 23, 2020 |date=September 19, 2017 |archive-date=February 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223091949/https://www.cbr.com/dark-secrets-about-metropolis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}31 (September 1939) by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and [[Sheldon Moldoff]] introduced a romantic interest for Batman named [[Julie Madison]], as well as the [[Batarang]] weapon that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the [[Batplane]].<ref name="Batman"/> The story of [[Origin of Batman|Batman's origin]] was first shown in ''Detective Comics'' No.{{nbsp}}33 (November 1939), which depicted the death of [[Thomas Wayne]] and [[Martha Wayne]] by [[Joe Chill|a mugger]]. The origin story remained crucial for the fictional character after its inception.<ref name="Vulture essential"/><ref name="SR">{{cite web |title=15 Best Comic Book Origin Stories Of All Time |url=https://screenrant.com/best-comic-book-superhero-origin-stories-ever/ |website=ScreenRant |date=March 15, 2017 |access-date=March 27, 2020 |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729032310/https://screenrant.com/best-comic-book-superhero-origin-stories-ever/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The ''[[Daily Planet]]'' (a common setting of Superman) was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939.<ref>{{cite book|title=Superman: the Golden age dailies 1942–1944|isbn=978-1-63140-383-5|last1=Siegel|first1=Jerry|last2=Ellsworth|first2=Whitney|year=2017|publisher=Idea & Design Works, LLC }}</ref> [[Doll Man]] was the first superhero to be produced by [[Quality Comics]], which DC now owns.<ref name="Quality">{{cite book |last1=Kooiman |first1=Mike |last2=Amash |first2=Jim |title=Quality Companion, The |year=2012 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |location=Raleigh, NC |isbn=978-1-60549-037-3 |page=8 }}</ref>{{clarify|date=October 2024|reason=Quality was sold to National Comics Publications in the 1950s; please check source and clarify wording here.}} [[Fawcett Comics]] was formed around 1939 and became DC's original competitor company over the next decade.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Zack |title=An Oral History of DC's CAPTAIN MARVEL/SHAZAM: The Fawcett Years, Part 1 |url=https://www.newsarama.com/35699-an-oral-history-of-dc-s-shazam-captain-marvel-the-fawcett-years-part-1.html |website=Newsarama |date=July 28, 2017 |access-date=March 28, 2020 |archive-date=June 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601220257/https://www.newsarama.com/35699-an-oral-history-of-dc-s-shazam-captain-marvel-the-fawcett-years-part-1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the end of 1944, All-American titles began using its own logo to distinguish it from the National comics.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Mark |last=Seifert |orig-date=May 20, 2020 |date=September 11, 2022 |title=All-American Part 1: The Organized Crime Origins of DC Comics |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/all-american-part-1-the-organized-crime-origins-of-dc-comics/ |access-date=July 1, 2024 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en |archive-date=July 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701054833/https://bleedingcool.com/comics/all-american-part-1-the-organized-crime-origins-of-dc-comics/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Todd |date=July 9, 2013 |title=The DC Comics Offices 1930s–1950s Part 2 |url=https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-2/ |access-date=July 1, 2024 |website=Todd's Blog |language=en-US |archive-date=July 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701054827/https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[All-American Publications]], an affiliate concern co-owned by Gaines and Liebowitz, merged with Detective Comics, Inc. on September 30, 1946, forming [[National Comics Publications]].{{efn|In a 1947–1948 lawsuit filed by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster against National, the presiding judge noted in a "Findings of Facts": "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."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/298839638/Young-April-12-1948-Findings-of-Facts |title=Young April 12, 1948 Findings of Facts |via=[[Scribd]] |access-date=February 19, 2016 |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820032624/https://www.scribd.com/doc/298839638/Young-April-12-1948-Findings-of-Facts |url-status=live }}</ref>}} The previous year, in June 1945, Gaines had allowed Liebowitz to buy him out and had retained only ''Picture Stories from the Bible'' as the foundation of his own new company, [[EC Comics]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Schelly |first1=Bill |title=Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert |last2=Schelly |first2=William |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1560979289}}</ref> At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, [[National Periodical Publications]]".{{sfn|Jones|2004|p=223}} National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on the stock market in 1961.<ref>{{cite news |title='Superman Faces New Hurdles: Publishers of Comic Books Showing Decline |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 23, 1962 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/23/archives/advertising-superman-faces-new-hurdles-publishers-of-comic-books.html |quote=It was just a year ago that some rather surprising news was announced to the world about a venerable American institution. The announcement said that Superman had gone public. |access-date=July 23, 2018 |archive-date=July 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723182716/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/09/23/archives/advertising-superman-faces-new-hurdles-publishers-of-comic-books.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CBG">Maggie Thompson, Michael Dean, Brent Frankenhoff, Joyce Greenholdt, John Jackson Miller (editors), ''Comics Buyer's Guide 1996 Annual'', Krause Publications, 1995, p. 81: "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"</ref> Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940 and became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7621531 |title=DC Comics, Inc. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516000711/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7621531 |archive-date=May 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=December 18, 2010}}</ref>

DC Comics began to move aggressively against what it saw as [[copyright infringement|copyright-violating]] imitations from other companies, such as [[Fox Comics]]' [[Wonder Man (Fox Publications)|Wonder Man]], which (according to court testimony) Fox started as a copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing [[Fawcett Comics]] over [[Captain Marvel (DC Comics)|Captain Marvel]], who was at the time the top-selling comic character (see ''[[National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.]]''). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost the lawsuit, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC Comics, and in 1972 the character was revived in DC's new title ''Shazam!'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=March 17, 2023 |title='Shazam!' Helmer David F. Sandberg On How 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark' Set A Career Course Mixing Scares & Thrills: The Film That Lit My Fuse |url=https://deadline.com/video/david-f-sandberg-shazam-career-influences-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-the-film-that-lit-my-fuse/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=April 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401090218/https://deadline.com/video/david-f-sandberg-shazam-career-influences-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-the-film-that-lit-my-fuse/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which featured artwork by Captain Marvel's creator [[C. C. Beck]]. In the meantime, the abandoned 'Marvel' trademark had been seized by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1967, with the creation of [[Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)|their Captain Marvel]], preventing DC from using the name in the title of their own comic series. While DC's Captain Marvel failed to recapture his earlier popularity, he later appeared in a Saturday morning [[Shazam! (TV series)|live action TV adaptation]] and gained a prominent position in the mainstream continuity of the [[DC Universe]].

As the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, DC Comics focused on such genres as science fiction, [[Western comics|Westerns]], [[humor]], and [[Romance comics|romance]]. The company also published [[Crime comics|crime]] and [[Horror comics|horror]] titles, although relatively tame contributions that avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comic genres. A handful of the most popular superhero titles continued publication, including ''Action Comics'' and ''Detective Comics'', the medium's two longest-running titles.