History Creator / DCComics

* [[Franchise/DCAU DC Animated Universe]]

[[caption-width-right:199:[-DC's logo as of the {{New 52}}. [[ImageLinks/DCComics Click here to see their old logos]].-] ]]

Detective Comics' {{superhero}}es proved popular in the 40s, but with the end of WorldWarII, the genre entered a decline. National Comics managed to hold on during 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 UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode.

In the mid-1950s, DC revived their old superhero, 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 GreenLantern was similarly reimagined, and National began increasing their superhero output. This practise was copied by several other publishers, most notably Marvel, who actually managed to exceed DC's sales and popularity in the 60s due to stronger writing. In 1967, DC managed to get some of this popularity by bringing SteveDitko over from Marvel, who introduced elements such as [[{{Antihero}} flawed heroes]] and personality clashes during team-up stories. In the 70s, DC began to expand into more mature stories, attracting teenagers and young adults who previously considered comics to be exclusively a kids' medium.

In the 1970s, after Marvel's [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code]]-defying [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug]] ''{{Spider-Man}}'' story, DC jumped on the bandwagon with a slew of '[[MoralOfTheStory relevant]]', social-issue-tackling {{superhero}} stories. Most famously, Franchise/GreenLantern and 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 MarvelUniverse, signed up to create TheFourthWorld comics such as ''TheNewGods'' and ''MisterMiracle''. Unfortunately, these titles were ahead of their time and Kirby eventually returned to Marvel in the mid 1970s.

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, who began to reorganize the company to fix that problem. For instance, she created health plans and instituted reprint fees. More importantly, in 1981, 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. Also, she and the senior editors took control of their titles' sustainability problem by creating the LimitedSeries, so they could at least get it under their control with predetermined endings for title. The moves paid off, the most obvious example being ''TheNewTeenTitans'' which became a major success under Marv Wolfman and George Perez, 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 Teen Titans'' without interrupting their main title.

* TheDCU
* DCAnimatedUniverse

In the late 80s, DC was responsible for catapulting comics to a new era of respectability and critical acclaim. Part of this was their epic, {{continuity}}-shaking ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', which showed that comics could tell stories as effectively as any novel or movie. The other was a pair of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]] works, Creator/AlanMoore[='=]s ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and 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 DarkAge. In the wake of this, all the other publishers started [[FollowTheLeader copying them]], and even the main DCUniverse became somewhat darker to accommodate the new tastes.

DC's supernatural paradigm has changed considerably. In the 1990s, with the growing influence of the 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 except 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 Comicbook/{{Deadman}} in their choices to side with humans instead of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness of the week.

* TangentComics
* VertigoComics

In the 90s, with comics enjoying increased sales due to a speculation boom, DC published a series of dramatic, shocking stories, including such events as [[TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[{{Knightfall}} Batman's back being broken]], and Green Lantern becoming a {{supervillain}}; sales were impressive, but they quickly dropped off again as the law of supply and demand came to bite speculators in [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer their collective assi]]. However, 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 Helix (SF) and Minx (targeted at the teenage girl manga market), have been less successful.)

As of September 2011, DC rebooted their entire universe back to square one to make the stories and characters 'younger and more relevant' to the modern age. This took the form of "the {{New 52}}" comics revamped, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman and the Justice League.

* 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: GailSimone is writing ''[[{{Firestorm}} 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.

DC's supernatural paradigm has changed considerably. In the 1990s, with the growing influence of the 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 except 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 ThePhantomStranger and Comicbook/{{Deadman}} in their choices to side with humans instead of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness of the week.

In addition, DC took a chance on some of the talent from Britain and gave some of the promising talents, such as AlanMoore, GrantMorrison, and Brian Bolland, a shot at their lesser titles. The result was an explosion of astounding creativity that signaled the comic book version of the BritishInvasion. Mainstream comics would never be the same.

In the late 80s, DC was responsible for catapulting comics to a new era of respectability and critical acclaim. Part of this was their epic, {{continuity}}-shaking ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', which showed that comics could tell stories as effectively as any novel or movie. The other was a pair of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]] works, AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and 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 DarkAge. In the wake of this, all the other publishers started [[FollowTheLeader copying them]], and even the main DCUniverse became somewhat darker to accommodate the new tastes.

* AllStarDCComics

In 2013, it was announced that DC would be relocating its main offices to Los Angeles to be integrate its multimedia operations.

DC began as Detective Comics, Inc in 1937, to publish a crime-themed AnthologyComic, ''Detective Comics'', which introduced {{Batman}} in issue 27. In 1938, the company launched a second title, ''Action Comics'', starring {{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.

In the late 80s, DC was responsible for catapulting comics to a new era of respectability and critical acclaim. Part of this was their epic, {{continuity}}-shaking ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', which showed that comics could tell stories as effectively as any novel or movie. The other was a pair of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]] works, AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' and FrankMiller's ''{{Batman}}: TheDarkKnightReturns'', 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 DarkAge. In the wake of this, all the other publishers started [[FollowTheLeader copying them]], and even the main DCUniverse became somewhat darker to accommodate the new tastes.

* America's Best Comics
* {{CMX}}

* {{Wildstorm}}

!! Relevant tropes:

Detective Comics' {{superhero}}es proved popular in the 40s, but with the end of WorldWarII, the genre entered a decline. National Comics managed to hold on during 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 the ComicsCode.

In the 1970s, after Marvel's ComicsCode-defying [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug]] ''{{Spider-Man}}'' story, DC jumped on the bandwagon with a slew of '[[MoralOfTheStory relevant]]', social-issue-tackling {{superhero}} stories. Most famously, GreenLantern and GreenArrow took a trip across America, fighting such issues as drug use and broken homes. Furthermore, JackKirby, the other major co-creator of the MarvelUniverse, signed up to create TheFourthWorld comics such as ''TheNewGods'' and ''MisterMiracle''. Unfortunately, these titles were ahead of their time and Kirby eventually returned to Marvel in the mid 1970s.

* DepartmentOfRedubdancyDepartment: A minor case, technically the company's full name would read Detective Comics' Comics.

In addition, DC took chance on some of the talent from Britain and gave some of the promising talents, such as AlanMoore, GrantMorrison and Brian Bolland a shot at their lesser titles. The result was a explosion of astounding creativity that signaled the comic book version of the BritishInvasion. Mainstream comics would never be the same.

In the 1970s, after Marvel's ComicsCode-defying [[DrugsAreBad anti-drug]] ''{{Spider-Man}}'' story, DC jumped on the bandwagon with a slew of '[[MoralOfTheStory relevant]]', social-issue-tackling {{superhero}} stories. Most famously, GreenLantern and GreenArrow took a trip across America, fighting such issues as drug use and broken homes. Furthermore, JackKirby, the other major co-creator of the MarvelUniverse signed up to create TheFourthWorld comics such as ''TheNewGods'' and ''MisterMiracle''. Unfortunately, these titles were ahead of their time and Kirby eventually returned to Marvel in the mid 1970s.

* DCUniverseOriginalAnimatedMovies

* 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: GailSimone is writing ''[[{{Firestorm}} The Fury Of Firestorm]]'' and ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl| 2011}}''. Later, more women were added to the creative teams; such as Christy Marx writing ''AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'' for the ''Sword and Sorcery'' comic.

[[caption-width-right:199:DC's logo as of the {{New 52}}. [[ImageLinks/DCComics Click here to see their old logos]]. ]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dc-logo-272x350_294.png
[[caption-width:199:DC's logo as of the {{New 52}}. [[ImageLinks/DCComics Click here to see their old logos]]. ]]

In the late 80s, DC was responsible for catapulting comics to a new era of respectability and critical acclaim. Part of this was their epic, {{continuity}}-shaking ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', which showed that comics could tell stories as effectively as any novel or movie. The other was a pair of [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructive]] works, AlanMoore's ''{{Watchmen}}'' and FrankMiller's ''{{Batman}}: TheDarkKnightReturns'', 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 DarkAge. In the wake of this, all the other publishers started [[FollowTheLeader copying them]], and even the main DCUniverse became somewhat darker to accommodate the new tastes.

* MostWritersAreMale: The creative teams of the 2011 reboot highlight this: Out of 52 creative teams, of two or three people each, there's exactly ''one'' woman: GailSimone is writing ''[[{{Firestorm}} The Fury Of Firestorm]]'' and ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl| 2011}}''.

DC's supernatural paradigm has changed considerably. In the 1990s, with the growing influence of TheSwampThing 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 except 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 ThePhantomStranger and Comicbook/{{Deadman}} in their choices to side with humans instead of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness of the week.

In the 90s, with comics enjoying increased sales due to a speculation boom, DC published a series of dramatic, shocking stories, including such events as [[TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[{{Knightfall}} Batman's back being broken]], and Green Lantern becoming a {{supervillain}}; sales were impressive, but they quickly dropped off again as the law of supply and demand came to bite speculators in [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer their collective assi]]. However, 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 Helix (SF) and Minx (targeted at the teenage girl manga market), have been less successful.)

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* MostWritersAreMale: The creative teams of the 2011 reboot highlight this: Out of 52 creative teams, of two or three people each, there's exactly ''one'' woman: GailSimone is writing ''[[{{Firestorm}} The Fury Of Firestorm]]'' and ''{{Batgirl}}''.

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DC Comics is one of the two biggest comic publishers active in the United States today, the other being Creator/MarvelComics.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DCLogo.jpg DC Comics is one of the two biggest comic publishers active in the United States today, the other being Creator/MarvelComics.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DCLogo.jpg [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment DC Comics]] is one of the two biggest comic publishers active in the United States today, the other being Creator/MarvelComics.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DCLogo.jpg [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment DC Comics]] is one of the two biggest comic publishers active in the United States today, the other being MarvelComics.

As of September 2011, DC rebooted their entire universe back to square one to make the stories and characters 'younger and more relevant' to the modern age. This will took the form of "the {{New 52}}" comics revamped, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman and the Justice League.