History MediaNotes / DCComicsEditors

Schwartz, whose background was from science fiction, brought in writers Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher to create a brand new hero, rather than simply use the old one. Using penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, they created Barry Allen, the new Flash, and ushered in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. ''[[ComicBook/ShowcaseNumberFour Showcase]]'' [[ComicBook/ShowcaseNumberFour #4]] would be published in October 1956 and become a smash hit. This led to the major revamping of old characters and introduction of new ones, including a new Green Lantern, a new Atom, and many others. Eventually, in another anthology comic called ''The Brave and the Bold'', Julius Schwartz had Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky create the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, an updated version of the Justice Society of America.

The last book Wheeler-Nicholson would publish would be ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' and he didn't have the money to do it all himself, so, instead, he formed a partnership with Harry Donenfeld, who was the printing-plant owner and magazine distributor that Wheeler-Nicholson owed money towards. Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld formed Detective Comics, Inc. (with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfeld's accountant, listed as owners) and published the first ''Detective Comics'' in March 1937. In 1938, however, either due to the pressures of the Great Depression or because Donenfeld pushed him out, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson was forced to give up his ownership to Donenfeld of both Detective Comics, Inc. and National Allied Publications.

Bob Harris had started his career as an assistant editor at Marvel, before moving up to become the chief editor of the ComicBook/XMen comics in the '90s. Due to their success, Harras was appointed as Marvel's Editor-in-Chief in 1995...just in time for the market to collapse and for Marvel to fall into bankruptcy. Despite those conditions, Harras kept the company afloat, although pretty much nobody liked him. He left Marvel in 2000 and was hired as a contributing editor at [=WildStorm=] in 2001. Moving from there to group editor at DC, he was then named in 2010 as DC's new Editor-in-Chief and Vice President. (He was only the second "official" Editor-in-Chief after Jenette Kahn.)

Their successes, such as Geoff Johns' ''Green Lantern'' saga or ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman, were often overshadowed by their failures and their individual ticks, such as [=DiDio=]'s hatred of Wally West and Dick Grayson. [=DiDio=] was disliked by so many people, in fact, that there was a persistent rumor that he was always on the edge of being fired.

Donenfeld quickly merged both companies together to create National Comics Publications and started publishing a new book in April 1938 called ''ComicBook/ActionComics''. The first issue introduced a new superhero called ComicBook/{{Superman}}, while the next year, in March 1939, ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' #27 introduced another hero named ComicBook/{{Batman}}.

Schwartz, whose background was from science fiction, brought in writers Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher to create a brand new hero, rather than simply use the old one. Using penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, they created Barry Allen, the new Flash, and ushered in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. ''Showcase'' #4 would be published in October 1956 and become a smash hit. This led to the major revamping of old characters and introduction of new ones, including a new Green Lantern, a new Atom, and many others. Eventually, in another anthology comic called ''The Brave and the Bold'', Julius Schwartz had Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky create the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, an updated version of the Justice Society of America.

And then 2020 rolled around and it wasn't a rumor anymore. In February 21, 2020, it was announced that Dan [=DiDio=] would no longer be the co-publisher of DC Comics, with some saying he left, while others saying he had been fired. Reports had come out that he had been championing his "Generation Five" reboot plan for DC, which was wildly unpopular with pretty much everyone in the company, so this might have been the last straw. DC Comics was "restructured" (i.e. a lot of people were fired) in what was termed the "DC Bloodbath" and Bob Harras, too, was fired. Whether this was due to the unpopularity of the "5G" reboot or a result of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic is unknown, but DC Comics was completely changed.

In 1989, Jenette Kahn stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of Editor-in-Chief. (There had been editorial directors, executive editors, and managing editors before, but, unlike Marvel, never an Editor-in-Chief.) In 1993, Kahn launched the [[Creator/DCVertigo Vertigo imprint]], which published books with more mature themes, as well as creator-owned books, and helped launch [[Creator/MilestoneComics Milestone Media]], a minority-founded and diverse line of books that DC published for several years.

Kahn also oversaw the diversification of what was an overwhelming male staff at DC. When she finally left in 2002 to pursue a career as a film producer, after 26 years with the company, almost half of the employees were woman.

By the 1950s, the superhero genre was all but dead and National Periodical Publications had moved on to publishing other genres such as science fiction, Westerns, humor, and romance. Harry Donenfeld's son, Irwin, had become a co-owner of National in 1948 and become the company's editorial director and Executive Vice President. It was Irwin that decided they needed to maintain the trademarks on all the superheroes, so instructed editor '''Julius Schwartz''' to come up with a new Flash story for an experimental anthology comic ''Showcase''.

Jenette Kahn was twenty-eight years old when she was hired by Warner Bros. in 1976 to be the publisher of DC Comics. She had already seen success with publishing previous magazines aimed at children such as ''Kids'', ''Dynamite'', and ''Smash''. At the time, Sol Harrison was president of DC Comics, although when he retired in 1981, Kahn would take his place, becoming the youngest president of a division and first woman. And to mark the occasion, National Periodical Publications was officially renamed DC Comics.

Jenette Kahn was twenty-eight years old when she was hired by Warner Bros. in 1976 to be the publisher of DC Comics. She had already seen success with publishing previous magazines such as Kids, Dynamite, and Smash. At the time, Sol Harrison was president of DC Comics, although when he retired in 1981, Kahn would take his place, becoming the youngest president of a division and first woman. And to mark the occasion, National Periodical Publications was officially renamed DC Comics.

Jenette Kahn was a 28 years old when she was hired by Warner Bros. in 1976 to be the publisher of DC Comics. She had already seen success with publishing previous magazines such as Kids, Dynamite, and Smash. At the time, Sol Harrison was president of DC Comics, although when he retired in 1981, Kahn would take his place, becoming the youngest president of a division and first woman. And to mark the occasion, National Periodical Publications was officially renamed DC Comics.

Shortly after the sale of National Periodical Publications to Kinney National Company in 1967, Irwin Donenfeld was ousted from the company. Kinney would later buy the cash-strapped film company Warner Bros.-Seven Arts and re-branded themselves as Warner Bros. Inc in 1969.

In 1968, editor '''Dick Giordano''' was offered a position on DC Comics and brought with him a number of freelancers from Charlton Comics, including '''Denny O'Neil'''. Giordano and O'Neil would reshape DC Comics again, from stripping Wonder Woman of her powers, to teaming up Green Lantern and Green Arrow. In the 1970s, O'Neil and longtime artist collaborator Neal Adams would team up to take over the Batman titles, revitalizing them with new villains like Ra's al-Ghul and reviving old villains like Two-Face and the Joker. Julius Schwartz and Dennis O'Neil would then revitalize the Superman titles, moving them away from the Silver Age and into the Bronze Age.

Schwartz, whose background was from science fiction, brought in writers Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher to create a brand new hero, rather than simply use the old one. Using penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, they created Barry Allen, the new Flash, and ushered in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. ''Showcase'' #4 would be published in October 1956 and become a smash hit. This led to the major revamping of old characters and introduction of new ones, including a new Green Lantern, a new Atom, and many others. Eventually, in another anthology comic called ''The Brave and the Bold'', Julius Schwartz had Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky create the Justice League of America, an updated version of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica.

By the 1950s, the superhero genre was all but dead and National Periodical Publications had moved on to publishing other genres such as science fiction, Westerns, humor, and romance. Harry Donenfeld's son, Irwin, had become a co-owner of National in 1948 and become the company's editorial director and Executive Vice President. It was Irwin that decided they needed to maintain the trademarks on all the superheroes, so instructed editor '''Julius Schwartz''' to come up with a new Flash story for an experimental anthology comic Showcase.

Schwartz, whose background was from science fiction, brought in writers Gardner Fox and Robert Kanigher to create a brand new hero, rather than simply use the old one. Using penciler Carmine Infantino and inker Joe Kubert, they created Barry Allen, the new Flash, and ushered in the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComics Silver Age]]. ''Showcase'' #4 would be published in October 1956 and become a smash hit. This led to the major revamping of old characters and introduction of new ones, including a new Green Lantern, a new Atom, and many others. Eventually, in another anthology comic called ''The Brave and the Bold'', Julius Schwartz had Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky create the Justice League of America, an updated version of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica.

The last book Wheeler-Nicholson would publish would be ''Detective Comics'' and he didn't have the money to do it all himself, so, instead, he formed a partnership with Harry Donenfeld, who was the printing-plant owner and magazine distributor that Wheeler-Nicholson owed money towards. Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld formed Detective Comics, Inc. (with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz, Donenfeld's accountant, listed as owners) and published the first ''Detective Comics'' in March 1937. In 1938, however, either due to the pressures of the Great Depression or because Donenfeld pushed him out, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson was forced to give up his ownership to Donenfeld of both Detective Comics, Inc. and National Allied Publications.

Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson was a writer and editor, best known, prior to 1935, as a writer of war and military stories. In 1935, he founded a company named National Allied Publications and become a pioneer in this new emerging field, since he published the very first comic book of brand new material entitled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' in February 1935. Prior to this, all of the comic books have been either made up entirely or mostly of reprinted materials from newspaper comic strips, with a small smattering of original material. ''New Fun'' was entirely new material, something which hadn't been seen before, but which would become the norm going forward. ''New Fun Comics'' (as it was re-titled) also featured the debut of writers Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster before their big hit, Superman.

!Dan DiDio, Jim Lee, and Bob Harras (2010-2020)

Kahn changed the editorial practices at DC, making everything more centralized, while also hiring new staff. (This was helped by the fact that Marvel's Editor-in-Chief at the time, Jim Shooter, was alienating his own staff and Kahn was only happy to hired them away from Marvel.) Kahn would introduce a load of new books and titles in what was called the "DC Explosion," although this was followed in 1978 by a many of them being canceled. This was called the "DC Implosion." Alongside editor and executive vice president Paul Levitz and managing editor Dick Giordano, Kahn revitalized the company during a period of downturn, introducing "Dollar Comics" and the limited series so that creators had more flexible arrangements. She also supported creator's rights, giving creators more royalties than they had seen before. Kahn oversaw such genre-changing books as ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', as well as bringing in what was termed the "British Invasion," writers such as Creator/AlanMoore, ComicBook/NeilGaiman, ComicBook/JamieDelano, ComicBook/PeterMilligan, and ComicBook/GrantMorrison.