National Comics Publications

National Comics Publications

Company type	Private
Industry	Comic book publishing
Predecessor	National Allied Publications, Detective Comics Inc., All-American Publications
Founded	1934
Founder	Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Defunct	1977
Fate	Renamed to DC Comics
Headquarters	United States
Products	Comic books

National Comics Publications (abbreviated as NCP, and later known as National Periodical Publications Inc. or simply National) was a U.S.-based comic book publisher that served as the direct forerunner to today's DC Comics.

History

The origins of the company trace back to two separate organizations: National Allied Publications Inc.—also referred to as Nicholson Publishing Co., Inc.—which was established in 1934 by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson to produce New Fun, recognized as the first American comic book featuring exclusively original content; and Detective Comics Inc., created in 1936 by Wheeler-Nicholson alongside Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz to release Detective Comics. Financial difficulties led Donenfeld and Liebowitz to assume control of National Allied in 1938, subsequently merging it into Detective Comics.

In 1946, Max Gaines' All-American Publications combined forces with Detective Comics Inc., resulting in the formation of National Comics Publications Inc. on September 30 of that year. The corporation adopted the name "National Periodical Publications Inc." in 1961. Despite these formal titles, from the early 1940s onward, the company marketed itself under the brand "Superman-DC".

The year 1967 marked National Periodical Publications' acquisition by Kinney National Services. A decade later, in 1977, the firm officially transitioned its name to DC Comics.

See also

• National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.

Further reading

• Charles Wooley (1986). Wooley's History of the Comic Book, 1899-1936: The Origin of the Superhero. Lake Buena Vista [self-published].