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National Comics Publications

National Comics Publications (NCP; later known as National Periodical Publications Inc. or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company. 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.^{[10][11]: 20 [12]}

Max Gaines' All-American Publications and Detective Comics Inc. merged to become National Comics Publications Inc.^[13] on September 30, 1946.^{[14][11]: 50 [15]} National Comics was renamed "National Periodical Publications Inc." in 1961.^{[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.^[18]

In 1967, National Periodical Publications was purchased by Kinney National Services.^[19] In 1977, the company changed its name to DC Comics.^[20]

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

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