Editing DC Comics (section)

==== Silver Age ====
{{Main|Silver Age of Comic Books}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2024}}
In the mid-1950s, editorial director [[Irwin Donenfeld]] and publisher Liebowitz directed editor [[Julius Schwartz]] (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a [[One-shot (comics)|one-shot]] [[Flash (DC Comics character)|Flash]] story in the try-out title ''[[Showcase (comics)|Showcase]]''. Instead of reviving the old character, Schwartz had writers [[Robert Kanigher]] and [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]], [[penciler]] [[Carmine Infantino]], and [[inker]] [[Joe Kubert]] create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in ''Showcase'' No.{{nbsp}}4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of the [[Green Lantern]] character, the introduction of the modern all-star team [[Justice League of America]] (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the [[Silver Age of Comic Books]].

National radically overhauled its continuing characters—primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—rather than just reimagining them. The Superman family of titles, under editor [[Mort Weisinger]], introduced such enduring characters as [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]], [[Bizarro]], and [[Brainiac (character)|Brainiac]]. The Batman titles, under editor [[Jack Schiff]], introduced the successful [[Batwoman]], [[Bette Kane|Bat-Girl]], [[Ace the Bat-Hound]], and [[Bat-Mite]] in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz and Infantino then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in a [[mythical]] realm.

Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters have inhabited a shared [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]] that was later dubbed the "[[DC Universe]]" by fans. With the story "[[Flash of Two Worlds]]", in ''Flash'' No.{{nbsp}}123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and [[Joe Giella]]) presented a conceptual mechanism for slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity using the explanation that they inhabited an other-dimensional "Earth 2", whilst the modern heroes exist on "Earth 1", consequently laying the foundations of what was later called the [[DC Multiverse]].