National Comics Publications

It was the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics.

The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied Publications Inc. (also known as National Allied Newspaper Syndicate Inc.[3] and later Nicholson Publishing Co., Inc.[4]) which was founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935[5][6][7] to publish New Fun,[note 1] the first American comic book with all-original material rather than comic strip reprints, and Detective Comics Inc.,[6] which was founded on December 31, 1936[8] by Wheeler-Nicholson with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz to publish Detective Comics.

[9] Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied into bankruptcy and seized it, and as a result, Liebowitz took over and folded National Allied into Detective Comics.

[11]: 102 [16][17] Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" in the early 1940s.

[19] In 1977, the company changed its name to DC Comics.

Cover art of the first comic book by National Comics Publications