Let’s say this upfront: not everyone knows everything. You may know that because you know everything. But the vast majority of human knowledge isn’t as intrinsically tied to everyone as those in a particular fanbase may think. Take, for example: what does DC Comics stand for?
For a comic book fan, this is so obvious a question with so obvious an answer they wouldn’t even think to ask. But for the new comic book fan, or perhaps someone more casually interested in DC’s TV shows or movies, it might not be abundantly obvious.
So if you don’t know, get ready to have your mind blown. And if you do think you know? You may not know as much about the history of DC Comics as you believe.
What Does DC Comics Stand For? What Does DC Stand For In DC Comics?
The DC in DC Comics stands for “Detective Comics.” Now, you may be familiar with a title called Detective Comics, starring Batman. And yep, that is in fact the inspiration for the DC in DC Comics. However, it took a good long while to get there.
Originally called National Allied Publications, the company eventually to be known as DC went through various name changes from 1934 to 1937. It was changed to Nicholson Publishing in 1936, after the owner, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. And then when he went into debt in 1937, he took on Harry Donenfeld, a magazine publisher, as a partner, to publish Detective Comics #1. Subsequently, the name of the company was changed to Detective Comics, Inc.
You’d think that’s when DC Comics started being called DC Comics… But you’d be wrong. In 1946, Detective Comics, Inc. merged with All-American Publications, publisher of Action Comics, and once again changed the name — this time to National Comics Publications. Meanwhile, the company was publicly traded on the stock exchange as National Periodical Publications.
However, the two companies had already been working together for a while in a less official business capacity and had branded themselves as Superman-DC, even though that wasn’t the official business name.
Shockingly, it wasn’t until 1977 that the company officially rebranded as DC Comics, over 40 years after Detective Comics was first published. So yeah, when you’re reading a copy of the Batman book, it’s Detective Comics Comics’ Detective Comics. But for four decades, it wasn’t.
