Line #48 Creator/DCComics


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dc_comics_2016.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:200:[[{{Slogan}} Where Legends Live.]]\
3	[[note]]DC's logo as of ComicBook/DCRebirth. [[ImageLinks/DCComics Click here to see their old logos]].[[/note]]]]
4
5	DC Comics, Inc. are one of the Big Two comic book publishers active in the United States today, the other being Creator/MarvelComics. The publishing unit of DC Entertainment, itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creator/WarnerBros (and, in turn, itself a part of Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery), it's one of the largest, oldest, and most well-known comic book publishing companies in the world. Most of its material has relied steadfastly on [[MeaningfulTitles "The World's Greatest Super-Heroes"]] throughout its history, with such iconic names such as Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, Franchise/TheFlash, Franchise/GreenLantern, along with an enormous supporting cast of allies, rogue's galleries, task forces, crime syndicates, and oddities holding its banner high.
6
7	To tell the history of this storied company and its exploits would arguably take as much time to explain DC's [[Franchise/TheDCU extensive universe]]. As an alternative, this is our attempt.
8
9	!History
10
11	DC began as Detective Comics, Inc in 1937, to publish a crime-themed AnthologyComic, ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'', which introduced Franchise/{{Batman}} in issue 27. In 1938, the company launched a second title, ''Action Comics'', by Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster, starring Franchise/{{Superman}}. Detective Comics merged with National Allied Publications and All-American Publications in 1944 to form National Comics; however, due to the appearance of their logo, the company was popularly known as DC Comics, and eventually formally adopted that as its name.
12
13	Detective Comics' {{superhero}}es proved popular in the 1940s, but with the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the genre entered a decline. National Comics managed to hold on during MediaNotes/TheInterregnum by diversifying into {{western}}s, humour, romance, and scifi, as well as some crime and horror titles which were innocuous enough to escape being censored by MediaNotes/TheComicsCode.
14
15	In the mid-1950s, DC revived their old superhero, Franchise/TheFlash, in order to appear in their anthology ''Showcase''. Rather than bringing back the old character, the writers introduced a new hero with a new secret identity and a scifi-based origin. Following the success of this story, the Franchise/GreenLantern was similarly reimagined, and National began increasing their superhero output. This practice was copied by several other publishers, most notably Marvel, rising quickly in popularity due to Stan Lee's editorial direction resulting in stronger writing. While Marvel wouldn't challenge DC's absolute sales yet, it was in the sell-through figures where Marvel started shining to DC's growing shock.[[note]]This requires explanation: at that time, the standard comic book industry method was to publish a large number of copies with the anticipation that a portion would not be sold on the newsstand and would be returned to the publisher for refunds. So, the real income from publishing would be determined by how much refund money the publisher would have to give up. In the early 1960s, DC's sell-through rate was about 50%, break-even numbers for them, but Marvel was then enjoying a 70% sell-through, which meant that they had refund a lot less money and got to keep the difference as profit. Even though DC, which was distributing Marvel at the time, had screwed over that company by restricting their publishing to 8-12 titles a month, they had a fabulously profitable publishing tiger by the tail.[[/note]]
16
17	For their part, DC tried figuring out how Marvel was doing it, but outside Creator/ArnoldDrake (Creator of the ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'') and later a teenage Creator/JimShooter, proved hopeless at it such as they had no clue as to the real reasons. Instead, they guessed at such superficial reasons like the color red or loads of text on the covers, or supposedly the bad art in their eyes like Creator/JackKirby's was somehow more appealing.[[note]]Creator/StanLee found out about this boardroom guesswork by his rivals and amused himself by defying their conjectures to frustrate them still more.[[/note]] In 1967, DC managed to get some of this popularity by bringing Creator/SteveDitko over from Marvel, who introduced elements such as [[{{Antihero}} flawed heroes]] and personality clashes during team-up stories. Around the same time, the conglomerate Kinney National Company (who would become the parent of film studio Creator/WarnerBrothers shortly after) purchased DC Comics, integrating it as a division of Warner Bros. in the process. In the 1970s, DC began to expand into more mature stories, attracting teenagers and young adults who previously considered comics to be exclusively a kids' medium.
18
19	In the 1970s, after Marvel's [[MediaNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code]]-defying [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug]] ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' story, DC jumped on the bandwagon with a slew of relevant, social-issue-tackling {{superhero}} stories. Most famously, Franchise/GreenLantern and ComicBook/GreenArrow took a trip across America, fighting such issues as drug use and broken homes. Furthermore, Creator/JackKirby, the other major co-creator of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, signed up to create [[ComicBook/NewGods The Fourth World]] comics such as ''The ComicBook/NewGods'' and ''Mister Miracle''. Unfortunately, these titles were ahead of their time: the original GL/GA series was cancelled and eventually revived with a more escapist tone and Kirby's titles all cancelled and he eventually returned to Marvel in the mid 1970s.
20
21	However, by the late 1970s, the company was going through rough waters with Marvel finally beating them in sales and DC Comics floundering with titles that began big and then petered out within a few issues. Then the company got a new president, Jenette Kahn, whose first task she had at the first minute was to talk the head of Warner Publishing out of simply having DC stop publishing and just manage their property licenses.
22
23	With that successful, she began to reorganize the company to fix that problem. For instance, she created health plans and instituted reprint fees. More importantly, in 1980, she instituted a royalty system for talents where the better their titles sold, the more they would be paid, giving them a stake in a series' continued success. Furthermore, she wooed various Marvel talents like Creator/SteveEnglehart, Creator/MarvWolfman and Creator/GeorgePerez, who were fortuitously disgruntled with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Creator/JimShooter's heavy-handed management enough to jump ship.
24
25	Unfortunately, Kahn's early marketing efforts did not work out too well, most infamously when a major publishing expansion in 1977 called "The DC Explosion" backfired in part due to a severe winter hampering distribution, into the infamous "DC Implosion," where the publishing line was clawed back. However, Khan and the senior editors took control of their titles' sustainability problem by creating the limited series publishing concept, so they could at least get it under their control by introducing new titles without shackling the creative staff into unsustainable open-ended commitments. Most of the moves paid off, with the most obvious example being ''The New ComicBook/TeenTitans'' which became a major success under Creator/MarvWolfman and Creator/GeorgePerez, whose enhanced pay was enough incentive to keep the title going for years. Furthermore, they could show the origins of their original characters in a mini-series ''Tales of the New Teen Titans'' without interrupting their main title.
26
27	In addition, DC took a chance on some of the talent from Britain and gave some of the promising talents, such as Creator/AlanMoore, Creator/GrantMorrison, and Brian Bolland, a shot at their lesser titles, such as ''Saga of the ComicBook/SwampThing''. The result was an explosion of astounding creativity that signalled the comic book version of UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion. Mainstream comics would never be the same.
28
29	[floatboxright:DC universes with their own articles
30	* Franchise/TheDCU (Main comics)
31	* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse (''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' and related shows)
32	* WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse (Direct-to-video animated films starting with ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'')
33	* WesternAnimation/{{Tomorrowverse}}
34	* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse (cinematic shared universe starting with ''Film/ManOfSteel'')
35	* Series/ArrowVerse (''Series/{{Arrow}}'' and related shows)
36	* VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries (VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum and sequels)
37	* ComicBook/EarthOne
38	* ComicBook/GirlsLoveStories
39	]
40
41	In the late 1980s, DC was responsible for catapulting comics to a new era of respectability and critical acclaim. Part of this was their epic, {{continuity}}-shaking ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', which showed that comics could tell stories as effectively as any novel or movie, while it allowed Franchise/TheDCU to get a needed modernisation. The other was a pair of {{deconstructi\|on}}ve works, Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and Creator/FrankMiller's ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', both of which brought a new level of intelligence and psychological complexity to the medium. They also kicked off the craze for DarkerAndEdgier, HotterAndSexier comics, and started the so-called [[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]]. In the wake of this, all the other publishers started [[FollowTheLeader copying them]], and even the main [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]] became somewhat darker to accommodate the new tastes.
42
43	DC's supernatural paradigm has changed considerably. In the 1990s, with the growing influence of the ComicBook/SwampThing and the beginning of the Kali Yuga storyline, DC left behind the Cosmic Good versus Cosmic Evil convention once common in superhero stories. Instead, according to current DC metaphysics, the cosmic battle involves LawfulNeutral (angels, Lords of Order) versus ChaoticNeutral (demons, Lords of Chaos), with both sides fairly indifferent to human perspectives about good or evil. (The only exception to this seems to be the DC version of God, who is Good rather than Lawful, and the Devil, who varies according to the writer.) This cosmic disinterest in good/evil issues has been a major motivation for ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger and Deadman in their choices to side with humans instead of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness of the week.
44
45	[[index]]
46	[floatboxright:DC Comics imprints
47	* ComicBook/AllStarDCComics
48	* Creator/AmalgamComics
49	* Creator/AmericasBestComics
50	* Creator/CharltonComics
51	* Creator/{{CMX}}
52	* Creator/DarkMatter2017
53	* Creator/DCBlackLabel
54	* Creator/DCGraphicNovelsForKids
55	* Creator/DCGraphicNovelsForYoungAdults
56	* Literature/DCIcons
57	* Creator/ECComics
58	* Creator/{{Elseworlds}}
59	* Creator/FawcettComics
60	* Creator/HillHouseComics
61	* Creator/JohnnyDC
62	* Creator/MilestoneComics (associated publisher as Milestone retains the copyrights while DC owns the trademarks)
63	* Creator/QualityComics
64	* Creator/TangentComics
65	* Creator/VertigoComics
66	* Creator/{{Wildstorm}}
67	* Creator/WonderComics
68	* Creator/YoungAnimal
69	]
70	[[/index]]
71
72	In the 1990s, with comics enjoying increased sales due to a speculation boom, DC published a series of dramatic, shocking stories, including such world-shocking events as [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman's death]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman's back being broken]], and Green Lantern becoming a {{supervillain}}; sales were impressive, but [[MediaNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 they quickly dropped off again as the law of supply and demand came to bite speculators in]] [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer their collective asses]]. However, even with the millennium approaching, DC endured, and continued to publish a number of critically acclaimed graphic novels under its Vertigo, [=WildStorm=], and America's Best Comics imprints. (Other imprints, such as the short-lived science-fantasy concentric Helix and the [[ShoujoDemographic teenage-girl-targeting]] Minx, have been less successful.)
73
74	Since then, DC has continued quite strongly, and in all likelihood will co-dominate the English-speaking comic industry for years to come.
75
76	As of September 2011, breaking their tradition of waiting 10 years after the last time with the ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' series, DC performed a hard-reset on their entire universe back to square one, as a means of making their stories and characters 'younger and more relevant' to the modern age. This took the form of the ''ComicBook/New52'' comics revamped, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman and the Justice League. Eventually, so many fans were alienated by this move[[note]]Such as [[DeathByOriginStory killing off Jonathan and Martha Kent]] after decades of being beloved ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' supporting characters in his ComicBook/PostCrisis adulthood[[/note]] that DC eventually decided to backtrack with ComicBook/DCRebirth saying the previous revision was Dr. Manhattan of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'s'' fault.
77
78	In 2013, it was announced that DC would be relocating its main offices from [[UsefulNotes/NewYork Midtown Manhattan]] to [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles Burbank]] to better integrate its multimedia operations, and be within closer communicative contact with their Hollywood-based parent company, Warner Bros.
79
80	In 2018, further sub-labels were launched aimed at specific age groups. Creator/DCBlackLabel was originally created as something of a revival of Vertigo, telling adult-oriented non-continuity stories about DCU characters, before becoming a complete replacement for Vertigo as stand-alone comics were launched under the name. For younger readers, Creator/DCInk (for teen and YA books) and Creator/DCZoom (for preteen readers) were launched before quickly having their names abandoned in favor of the clearer DC Young Adult and DC Middle Grade. Both publish graphic novels featuring DC characters in non-continuity stories (and sometimes with a very heavy {{Retool}} from the mainstream DCU version), and have recruited writers already established in childrens' and YA prose fiction.
81
82	[[index]]
83	[floatboxright:Multimedia Production Houses
84	* WesternAnimation/DCAnimation
85	* Creator/DCStudios
86	* Creator/DCUniverse
87	* WesternAnimation/DCUniverseAnimatedOriginalMovies
88	]
89	[[/index]]
90
91	Two years later, in 2020, DC suddenly announced [[https://www.ign.com/articles/dc-comics-dc-universe-layoffs-editorial-staff-warnermedia massive layoffs]] affecting nearly one-third of editorial staff in both its comic and television departments. They also revealed plans to cut down drastically on the number of monthly comic books published in 2021[[note]] quoted as [[https://www.ign.com/articles/dc-comics-layoffs-changes-future-2021-dc-universe-collectibles 20% to 25%]] of their 2020 output[[/note]], as well as their abandonment of the planned '5G' storytelling initiative, which was subsequently retooled into the ''ComicBook/DCFutureState'' event series while moving forward with existing DC characters and storylines. According to Creator/JimLee, the company will also be shifting their focus back to more [[LighterAndSofter family-friendly content]], and keeping their books and characters "on-brand" by editorial mandate. For this move's specific effects on Creator/DCBlackLabel and Creator/DCUniverse, please see their respective pages.
92
93	See DCComicsCharacters for an index of the characters in the larger DC Universe, and check DCComicsSeries for an index of all the series published by DC, both in and outside of the larger continuity. If you want to read more of the history of DC Comic's main editors and Editors-in-Chief and how they changed the company, see [[MediaNotes/DCComicsEditors here]]. If you want to see an index about all the important events that have taken place in the DCU, see DCComicsEvents.
94	----
95	!!Relevant tropes:
96	* ArcNumber: Since 2006, "52" has been the arc number for the DC Universe, being the title of a weekly series, the number of Earths in their multiverse, the number of DCU titles in their 2011 reboot, et cetera. This may no longer apply as of Convergence and DC Rebirth.
97	* ContinuityReboot: DC has rebooted their universe twice, and used CrisisCrossover stories to "tweak" matters at least twice more.
98	** Not to mention they retconned the Second Reboot (the New 52) with a soft reboot (Rebirth), indicating that the New 52 was not a separate universe, but rather the Post-Crisis Universe Altered by an outside actor. The "New" Batman/Superman etc. simply have altered histories but are the same people substantially.
99	* CrossoverFinale: Because DC tended to launch new titles out of crossovers in the 1980s and 1990s, the yearly renewals tended to come up around the time of the next crossover. Thus throughout the 1990s, many DC Comics ended with a crossover story. And given the aforementioned tendency towards ContinuityReboot, sometimes the sole line gets something like a CrossoverFinale.
100	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: DC stands for "Detective Comics". So the company's current name iteration in full is "Detective Comics Comics".
101	* MicroMonarchy: The tiny state of Markovia.
102	* MostWritersAreMale: The creative teams at the start of the 2011 reboot highlight this: Out of 52 creative teams, of two or three people each, there was exactly ''one'' woman: Creator/GailSimone is writing ''[[ComicBook/FirestormDCComics The Fury Of Firestorm]]'' and ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl\|2011}}''. Later, more women were added to the creative teams; such as Christy Marx writing ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'' for the ''Sword and Sorcery'' comic.
103	* SuperFamilyTeam: Various imprints either have family teams in them, or are of family teams.
104	* TrainingTheGiftOfMagic: While the metaphysics of the DC universe is often confused, it seems that some characters (such as ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}) are "Homo Magi", members of a subspecies of humanity with the ability to work magic quickly and easily, although they may still need some kind of training, while others (such as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]]) have to work through rituals and hard study.
105	* TwoFirstNames: Various civilian identities of their superheroes have this, such as [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]], [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]], and [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]], among others.

Context Creator / DCComics