DC Comics

This article is about the US publisher of comics. For the Scottish publisher of comics and newspapers, see DC Thomson.

DC Comics, Inc.
Parent company
StatusActive
Founded
FounderMalcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters location4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, California
Distribution
Key people
Publication typesList of publications
Fiction genres
ImprintsList of imprints
No. of employeesapprox. 230[5]
Official websitedc.com

DC Comics, Inc. (later simply known as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment,[6][7] a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.[8][9] DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937.[10]

DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937.[11] The majority of its publications are set in the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters, such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman; as well as famous fictional teams, including the Justice League, the Justice Society of America, the Teen Titans, and the Suicide Squad. The universe contains an assortment of well-known supervillains, such as the Joker, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, the Reverse-Flash, Brainiac, and Darkseid. The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Fables, and many other titles, under the alternative imprint Vertigo and now DC Black Label.

Originally at 432 Fourth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, the company offices have been located at 480 and later 575 Lexington Avenue, 909 Third Avenue, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, 666 Fifth Avenue, and 1325 Avenue of the Americas. DC Comics was located at 1700 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan until April 2015, when DC Entertainment transferred its headquarters to Burbank, California.[12]

DC Comics books are distributed to the bookstore market by Penguin Random House Publisher Services.[13] The comics shop direct market was supplied by Diamond Comic Distributors[12][14] until June 2020, when Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors (who were by then dominating direct market distribution on account of the disruption to Diamond caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) replaced Diamond as the direct market distributor.[4]

In 2017, approximately 70% of the American comic book market was shared by DC Comics and its long-time major competitor Marvel Comics (acquired in 2009 by Warner Bros. Discovery's main competitor, The Walt Disney Company),[15] though this figure may be distorted by the fact that sales of graphic novels are excluded. When all book sales are included, DC is the second largest publisher of comic books, after Viz Media; and Marvel is third.[16]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fifty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goulart55 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Benton17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (June 5, 2020). "DC Cut Ties with Diamond Comic Distributors". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  5. ^ McMillan, Graeme (January 23, 2019). "DC Publishing Laying Off 3 Percent of Its Workforce". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Melrose, Kevin (October 10, 2009). "DC Entertainment – what we know so far". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 13, 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  7. ^ "DC Entertainment Expands Editorial Leadership Team". DC.com (Press release). May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Brent Lang; Matt Donnelly (April 14, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  9. ^ Fuster, Jeremy; Gonzalez, Umberto (June 1, 2022). "Inside David Zaslav's Overhaul of the Warner Bros. Movie Division | Analysis". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Jung, Michael (May 7, 2020). "What Does DC Comics Stand For?". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Galloway, Ryan (July 5, 2021). "What Was The First DC Comic?". We Got This Covered. Archived from the original on September 11, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "DC Comics Inc". hoovers.com/dc-comics-inc. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
  13. ^ Reid, Calvin (September 5, 2017). "DC Comics, Random House Ink Distribution Pact". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  14. ^ "Welcome to Diamond Comic Distributors' Retailer Services Website!". retailer.diamondcomics.com. June 30, 2017. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  15. ^ Miller, John. "2017 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018. Share of Overall Units—Marvel 38.30%, DC 33.93%; Share of Overall Dollars—Marvel 36.36%, DC 30.07%
  16. ^ Magulick, Aaron (October 8, 2017). "Viz Manga Sales are Destroying DC, Marvel in Comic Market". goboiano.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.