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135-426: This is a list of teams and organizations that appear in various DC Comics publications. Note : Please check Category:DC Comics superhero teams before adding any redundant entries for superhero teams to the page. The Academy of Arch-Villains was a gathering of Wonder Woman villains Angle Man , Human Fireworks, and Mouse Man. Agony and Ecstasy are a duo of enforcers of Hell. There are two versions of
270-471: A mythical realm. Since the 1940s, when Superman, Batman, and many of the company's other heroes began appearing in stories together, DC's characters have inhabited a shared continuity that was later dubbed the " DC Universe " by fans. With the story " Flash of Two Worlds ", in Flash No. 123 (September 1961), editor Schwartz (with writer Gardner Fox and artists Infantino and Joe Giella ) presented
405-434: A March 1937 cover date. The themed anthology that revolved originally around fictional detective stories became in modern times the longest-running ongoing comic series. A notable debut in the first issue was Slam Bradley , created in a collaboration between Wheeler-Nicholson, Siegel and Shuster. In 1937, in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld —who also published pulp magazines and operated as
540-508: A Saturday morning live action TV adaptation and gained a prominent position in the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe . As the popularity of superheroes faded in the late 1940s, DC Comics focused on such genres as science fiction, Westerns , humor , and romance . The company also published crime and horror titles, although relatively tame contributions that avoided the mid-1950s backlash against such comic genres. A handful of
675-539: A bad and risky decision, they continue to act as Clark's friends and confidants, offering aid when they can. Gunner and Sarge are World War II US Marines . First appearance: Our Fighting Forces #45 (May 1958). The Hand is a gang featured in Legionnaires #1 (April 1993). The Hand of Krona is an interstellar technology cult. Hunter's Hellcats are a World War II commando unit. First appearance: Our Fighting Forces #106 (April 1967). The Hyperclan
810-476: A conceptual mechanism for slotting the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age heroes into this continuity using the explanation that they inhabited an other-dimensional "Earth 2", whilst the modern heroes exist on "Earth 1", consequently laying the foundations of what was later called the DC Multiverse . DC's introduction of the reimagined superheroes did not go unnoticed by their competitors. In 1961, with DC's JLA as
945-488: A copy of Superman. This extended to DC suing Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel , who was at the time the top-selling comic character (see National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. ). Faced with declining sales and the prospect of bankruptcy if it lost the lawsuit, Fawcett capitulated in 1953 and ceased publishing comics. Years later, Fawcett sold the rights for Captain Marvel to DC Comics, and in 1972
1080-568: A drug-fueled storyline in writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams ' Green Lantern , beginning with the story " Snowbirds Don't Fly " in the retitled Green Lantern / Green Arrow No. 85 (September 1971), which depicted Speedy , the teen sidekick of superhero archer Green Arrow , as having become a heroin addict. Jenette Kahn , a former children's magazine publisher, replaced Infantino as editorial director in January 1976. As it happened, her first task even before being formally hired,
1215-477: A few years, it yielded the popular animated series Static Shock . DC established Paradox Press to publish material such as the large-format Big Book of... series of multi-artist interpretations on individual themes, and such crime fiction as the graphic novel Road to Perdition . In 1998, DC purchased WildStorm Comics, Jim Lee 's imprint under the Image Comics banner, continuing it for many years as
1350-578: A golden mask over Medusa-Man's face, and sends the wooden Mr. Terrific and Atom at Absorbo-Man, who had absorbed Green Lantern's power, meaning he is vulnerable to wood and is destroyed. He uses repello-magic on Repello-Man, which is repelled and destroys him. When the fight comes down to a struggle between Doctor Fate and the Thunderbolt, Johnny Thunder is so battered about by the combatting magic wielders - whose powers fail to do any actual damage to each other - that he finally gives up his attempts to use
1485-504: A handful of thematically-linked series he called collectively "The Fourth World" . In the existing series Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and in his own, newly-launched series New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People , Kirby introduced such enduring characters and concepts as arch-villain Darkseid and the other-dimensional realm Apokolips . Furthermore, Kirby intended their stories to be reprinted in collected editions, in
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#17327798949271620-791: A magic box. The Demons Three appear in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Balance", with Abnegazar voiced by Wayne Knight while Ghast and Rath have no dialogue. The Demons Three appear in Justice League Action , with Abnegazar voiced by Damian O'Hare and Rath by Jason J. Lewis while Ghast has no dialogue. This version of the group are members of the Brothers Djinn alongside series-original characters Calythos (voiced by David Lodge ), Uthool (voiced by Diedrich Bader ), and Nyorlath (voiced by Chris Diamantopoulos ). Additionally, Ghast appears in
1755-456: A major slump, while manufactured " collectables " numbering in the millions replaced quality with quantity until fans and speculators alike deserted the medium in droves. DC's Piranha Press and other imprints (including the mature readers' line Vertigo , and Helix , a short-lived science fiction imprint) were introduced to facilitate compartmentalized diversification and allow for specialized marketing of individual product lines. They increased
1890-528: A primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Given carte blanche to write and illustrate his own stories, he created
2025-416: A principal in the magazine distributorship Independent News —Wheeler-Nicholson had to enter into partnership with Donenfeld to publish Detective Comics No. 1, and Detective Comics, Inc. (which helped inspire the abbreviation DC) was formed, with Wheeler-Nicholson and Donenfeld's accountant Jack S. Liebowitz listed as owners. As the company continued to experience cash-flow problems, Wheeler-Nicholson
2160-415: A publishing format that was later called the trade paperback , which became a standard industry practice decades later. While sales were respectable, they did not meet DC management's initially high expectations, and also suffered from a lack of comprehension and internal support from Infantino. By 1973 the "Fourth World" was all cancelled, although Kirby's conceptions soon became integral to the broadening of
2295-555: A reptilian humanoid. The modern versions of the Black Dragon Society show up in the pages of an issue of JLA . This version appears to be made up of fanatical, east Asian eco-terrorists with the stated intention of putting an end to the exploitation of Pacific oil fields by the west. They take the executive board of the Petroil oil company hostage, and kill all of their security and support staff. A superteam known as
2430-658: A romantic interest for Batman named Julie Madison , as well as the Batarang weapon that Batman commonly uses, and the fictional aircraft called the Batplane . The story of Batman's origin was first shown in Detective Comics No. 33 (November 1939), which depicted the death of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne by a mugger . The origin story remained crucial for the fictional character after its inception. The Daily Planet (a common setting of Superman)
2565-480: A somewhat less-than-scrupulous businessman father). In 1941, he adopted a little freckle-faced blond orphan girl named Peachy Pet, who, despite her cutesy name and clothing, was a tough little girl who was much smarter than her new father. Many times during his adventures, which included a stint with the United States Navy, Peachy would instruct her befuddled but beloved "Papa John" on how and when to use
2700-523: A subsidiary of Time Warner. In June, the first Tim Burton-directed Batman film was released, and DC began publishing its hardcover series of DC Archive Editions ; these were collections of many of their early, key comics series, featuring rare and expensive stories previously unseen by the majority of modern fans. Much of the restoration work was handled by Rick Keene, with colour restoration performed by DC's long-time resident colourist Bob LeRose . The Archive Editions attempted to retroactively credit many of
2835-469: A superhero origin story with the reveal of an unnamed planet, later known as Krypton , where he is said to have originated . The issue also contained the first essential supporting character and one of the earliest female characters in any comic, with Lois Lane as Superman's first depicted romantic interest . The Green Hornet -inspired character known as the Crimson Avenger by Jim Chamber
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#17327798949272970-569: A supporting character called James Gordon , the police commissioner of what would later become Gotham City Police Department . Despite being a parody, All-American Publications introduced the earliest female character who became the female superhero Red Tornado (though disguised as a male) in Ma Hunkel who first appeared in the "Scribbly" stories in All-American Comics No. 3 (June 1939). Another important Batman debut
3105-737: A trio of robots that have antagonized Aquaman. They consist of Claw, Magneto, and Torpedo Man. The Awesome Threesome appear in The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure . Short for Biologically Integrated Organic Network. The Black Dragon Society is a non-fictional Japanese secret society, also known as the Kokuryūkai, which appears in DC Comics . The publisher first used the name in 1942's All Star Comics issue #12 (August 1942) as Japanese saboteurs. They were created by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley . The same name and concept
3240-501: A wholly separate imprint (and fictional universe) with its own unique style and audience. As part of this purchase, DC also began to publish titles under the fledgling WildStorm sub-imprint America's Best Comics (ABC), a series of titles created by Alan Moore which included The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen , Tom Strong , and Promethea . Moore strongly opposed this move, and DC eventually stopped publishing ABC. In March 2003, DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to
3375-550: A young African American boy named Jakeem Williams, who takes up the name Johnny Jakeem Thunder or Jakeem Thunder . In a later battle with Solomon Grundy , Johnny is controlled by the Ultra-Humanite and eventually killed, causing Thunderbolt to fuse with him to save his life. This creates a new being with the memories of both, known as Johnny Thunderbolt. During the Blackest Night storyline, Johnny Thunder
3510-464: Is a White Martian Vanguard. The IMHS is short for the Institute of Metahuman Studies. DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (later simply known as DC ) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment , a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery . DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937. DC Comics
3645-542: Is a supervillain group in The New Adventures of Superman . First appearing in "The Men from A.P.E.", the line-up consists of Lex Luthor , Toyman , Prankster , and Warlock. In "A.P.E. Strikes Back", Lex Luthor and Warlock get back together as A.P.E. with Brainiac as its new member. Short for All-Purpose Enforcement Squad. Argent is a 1950s domestic secret agent team. First appearance: Secret Origins (vol. 3) #14 (May 1987). The Awesome Threesome are
3780-479: Is an alien and a danger to society. However, Kent's reporting later exposed him, and the intervention rove him to madness. Along with being a writer for the Daily Star , partly because editor George Taylor was a friend of his adopted parents, Clark is an active blogger who speaks against political corruption and reports on the troubles of everyday citizens who are not often the focus of news media. While working at
3915-666: Is needed or shown. Post-Crisis, Clark, Lois and Lana never worked for the station. During the 1990s, both Jimmy Olsen and Cat Grant did work there. With the reboot of DC's line of comics in 2011 , the Daily Planet was shown in the Superman comics as being bought by Morgan Edge and merged with the Galaxy Broadcasting System, similar to the Silver/Bronze Age continuity. In Action Comics , it
4050-520: Is not known. CAELOSS is short for The Citizen's Army for the Economic Liberation of Suicide Slum. C.E.M.A. is short for Cosmic Emergency Management Agency. The Children of Cronus are a group of Titans that were responsible for empowering Devastation . See Batmen of All Nations The Demons Three are three demonic brothers consisting of Abnegazar, Ghast, and Rath. They ruled Earth one billion years prior before being banished by
4185-502: Is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. 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
List of teams and organizations in DC Comics - Misplaced Pages Continue
4320-502: Is one of the world's leading telecommunications companies and a major economic engine of both Metropolis and the United States. It has a broadband division that supplies Americans with digital television, internet and phone services, and also produces several periodicals and books through its subsidiary Galaxy Publishing. Originally spearheaded by Morgan Edge , an article by Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent revealed that Edge
4455-510: Is revealed in later issues of Infinity, Inc. to be a hostile alien energy-being, who is defeated by being re-imprisoned in the statue, leaving Jonni without powers. In the Kingdom Come continuity, she and Black Lightning have a child who becomes the antihero Lightning, possessing the electricity-based powers of both of her parents. However, in the contemporary DC Universe, Black Lightning's daughter Lightning , who recently joined
4590-570: Is revealed that in the new history/universe, Clark Kent begins his journalism career in Metropolis roughly six years before Galaxy Broadcasting merges with the Daily Planet even taking on a criminal scandal involving the so-called "Mr. Metropolis" Glen Glenmorgan , CEO of Galaxy Broadcasting. Glenmorgan was spotted by the police after Superman dropped him off a tall building. However, Glenmorgan managed to avoid being arrested and later appeared on television where he expressed his belief that Superman
4725-546: Is sometimes referred to as Earth-A (Earth Alternate), which Johnny thinks up himself. Thunder's 'Lawless League' of evil people with powers like the Justice League heroes, which are made up of Johnny's fellow criminals who were given the powers of the Justice League members, are defeated by the visiting Justice Society of Earth-Two, who had originally disguised themselves as the JLA, after learning of Johnny's disappearance,
4860-516: Is still being used. The company created a second recurring title called New Comics , first released in December 1935, which was the start of the long-running Adventure Comics series that also featured many anthology titles. By 1936, the group had became Nicholson Publishing. Wheeler-Nicholson's next and final title, Detective Comics , was advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936 but eventually premiered three months late with
4995-632: Is temporarily revived as a Black Lantern . Johnny Thunder is later revived in the DC Rebirth initiative, and depicted as living at a retirement home and desperately trying to regain Thunderbolt's power. When Doctor Manhattan undoes the experiment that erased the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes , Johnny regains his powers and helps Superman fight Black Adam . In " The New Golden Age ", Johnny Thunder helps
5130-399: Is the seventh son of a seventh son, born at 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 7, the seventh day of the week, the seventh day of the seventh month in 1917. This causes him to be kidnapped by men from Badhnesia who sought to harness his power. As an infant, Johnny gained possession of the pink, lightning -haired genie -like Thunderbolt named Yz during a mystic ritual on his 7th birthday, which
5265-444: Is third. In 1934, entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson founded National Allied Publications , intended as an American comic book publishing company. Its debut publication was the tabloid -sized New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine #1 (the first of a comic series later called More Fun Comics ) with a February 1935 cover date . An anthology title, essentially for original stories not reprinted from newspaper strips , it
5400-539: The Infinite Crisis limited series. Immediately after this event, DC's ongoing series jumped forward a full year in their in-story continuity, as DC launched a weekly series, 52 , to gradually fill in the missing time. Concurrently, DC lost the copyright to "Superboy" (while retaining the trademark) when the heirs of Jerry Siegel used a provision of the 1976 revision to the copyright law to regain ownership. In 2005, DC launched its " All-Star " line (evoking
5535-847: The Alien Alliance : Competalian rebels from JLA: Haven . The Allied Supermen of America team was created as an homage to the Golden Age Justice Society of America and the Silver Age Justice League . The team was created by Alan Moore and included characters created by Rob Liefeld and Erik Larsen . It was introduced in Supreme #14. The Amazon Nation are a hidden female tribe. First appearance: (historic) All-Star Comics #8 (Winter 1941); (current) Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #1 (February 1987). Short for Allied Perpetrators of Evil, A.P.E.
List of teams and organizations in DC Comics - Misplaced Pages Continue
5670-474: The Daily Planet in a 1971 storyline, with Clark as the anchorman for the WGBS evening news. He was eventually joined by Lana Lang as a co-anchor. After John Byrne's revamp of Superman's origins, though, Clark and Lois were reverted to working at the Daily Planet once again. Galaxy Broadcasting and WGBS-TV still exist post-Crisis , however, and are usually used in any story where a television station or network
5805-667: The Green Lantern character, the introduction of the modern all-star team Justice League of America (JLA), and many more superheroes, heralding what historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books . National radically overhauled its continuing characters—primarily Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—rather than just reimagining them. The Superman family of titles, under editor Mort Weisinger , introduced such enduring characters as Supergirl , Bizarro , and Brainiac . The Batman titles, under editor Jack Schiff , introduced
5940-771: 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
6075-483: The Phantom Stranger ) rose from art director to become DC's editorial director. With the growing popularity of upstart rival Marvel Comics threatening to topple DC from its longtime number-one position in the comics industry, he tried to direct DC's focus towards marketing new and existing titles and characters with more adult sensibilities, aimed at an emerging older age group of superhero comic book fans; this
6210-654: The Power Company shows up and shuts down the Black Dragons before they can kill their hostages. At the end of the story, it is revealed that the entire incident was only part of making a TV commercial for the Power Company, with the Black Dragon members being dressed-up actors on a set. Whether the commercial was based on a real incident, and if the Power Company ever battled the real Black Dragons,
6345-795: The Silver Age , the comics of the 1970s and 1980s became known as the Bronze Age, as fantasy gave way to more naturalistic and sometimes darker themes. Illegal drug use, banned by the Comics Code Authority , explicitly appeared in comics for the first time in Marvel Comics' story " Green Goblin Reborn! " in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 96 (May 1971), and after the Code's updating in response, DC offered
6480-529: The Spirit which it then used, along with some DC heroes, as part of the First Wave comics line launched in 2010 and lasting through fall 2011. In May 2011, DC announced it would begin releasing digital versions of their comics on the same day as paper versions. Johnny Thunder Johnny Thunder is the name of three superheroes appearing in comics published by DC Comics . A fourth character has
6615-464: The Star , Clark meets Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen and the two become friends despite working at rival publications. Clark is also a great fan of Lois Lane's work at the Daily Planet , eventually meeting her through Jimmy. Months after Superman makes his public debut, Clark leaves the Daily Star on good terms and accepts a position at the Daily Planet . After the merger with Galaxy Broadcasting, Lois
6750-557: The line further, increasing the number of titles and story pages, and raising the price from 35 cents to 50 cents. Most series received eight-page back-up features while some had full-length twenty-five-page stories. This was a move the company called the "DC Explosion". The move was not successful, however, and corporate parent Warner dramatically cut back on these largely unsuccessful titles, firing many staffers in what industry watchers dubbed "the DC Implosion ". In September 1978,
6885-461: 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 ), 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
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#17327798949277020-490: The Bible as the foundation of his own new company, EC Comics . At that point, "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, [the self-distributorship] Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, National Periodical Publications ". National Periodical Publications became publicly traded on
7155-472: The Changing Man , as well as an increasing array of non-superhero titles, in an attempt to recapture the pre- Wertham days of post-War comicdom. In 1977, the company officially changed its name to DC Comics . It had used the brand "Superman-DC" since the 1950s, and was colloquially known as DC Comics for years. In June 1978, five months before the release of the first Superman film , Kahn expanded
7290-544: The DC Universe, especially after the major toy-company, Kenner Products , judged them ideal for their action-figure adaptation of the DC Universe , the Super Powers Collection . Obligated by his contract, Kirby created other unrelated series for DC, including Kamandi , The Demon , and OMAC , before ultimately returning to Marvel Comics in 1976. Following the science-fiction innovations of
7425-579: The JSA, is identified as the daughter of Black Lightning and his ex-wife Lynn Stewart. In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC Comics universe and the history of characters related to the Golden Age of Comics has been drastically altered. A new version of Jonni Thunder is introduced on the parallel world of Earth 2 and appeared in the miniseries Earth 2: Worlds End . This version is seemingly possessed by
7560-467: The Justice League——had disappeared, when they had, in fact, disguised themselves as the Justice League to provoke Johnny into revealing what had happened to their version, or making a barrier which keeps out cops, but not superheroes. The Earth-2 Johnny is apparently placed in a coma by the Thunderbolt's magic, though this is not actually shown. The alternate version of Earth-One that Johnny creates
7695-406: The Justice Society fight Per Degaton . Jonni Thunder is the name of a superhero appearing in comics published by DC Comics . She was a rebooted variant of Johnny Thunder and is commonly assisted by a new Thunderbolt . Jonni Thunder first appeared in a four-issue miniseries from 1985 named Jonni Thunder aka Thunderbolt , written by Roy Thomas . In the first few issues, the title of
7830-430: The Justice Society when wishing out loud that he could be a member and was immediately taken to their meeting by the Thunderbolt. Despite recurring impatience with his stupidity, his fellow JSAers genuinely valued Johnny's good-heartedness and dedication and considered him a friend. Furthermore, the Thunderbolt's vast power may have contributed to Johnny's continued JSA membership, his frequent blunders notwithstanding, since
7965-556: The Silver Age Teen Titans led DC's editors to seek the same for the wider DC Universe . The result, the Wolfman/Pérez 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths , gave the company an opportunity to realign and jettison some of the characters' complicated backstory and continuity discrepancies. A companion publication, two volumes entitled The History of the DC Universe , set out the revised history of
8100-744: The Society early on. It was the Dragon King, using a combination of the occult and super-science , who created the forcefield that protected the Axis countries from the superhuman operatives of the Allies . He somehow was able to combine the energies of the Spear of Destiny with those of the Holy Grail to accomplish this. At some point after the war he develops an immortality serum that transforms him into
8235-480: The Society's greater experience allowing them to easily defeat their criminal counterparts. They subsequently face off against Johnny Thunder on the Moon, and the three creatures that the Thunderbolt creates, Medusa-Man (who turns people into wood), Absorbo-Man (who can absorb the powers of others), and Repello-Man (who throws attacks back at their origins). All of the members are defeated, except for Doctor Fate. He creates
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#17327798949278370-567: The Society, and was created by Bill Woolfolk and Charles Sultan . The DC Comics version debuted in All Star Comics #12 (August 1942) and was created by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley , in the story "The Black Dragon Menace" in which a Japanese spy ring called the Black Dragon Society of Japan steals eight American inventions and kidnaps their inventors. Quality Comics' version debuted in Military Comics #24 (November 1943), and
8505-697: The TV series. This change in tone coincided with the prominent "Go-Go Checks" cover-dress that featured a black-and-white checkered strip at the top of each DC comic (all cover dates between February 1966 and August 1967), a misguided attempt by then-managing editor Irwin Donenfeld to make DC's output "stand out on the newsracks". In particular, DC artist Carmine Infantino complained that the distinctive cover made it easier for readers to spot DC's titles and avoid them in favor of Marvel's titles. In 1967, Infantino (who had designed popular Silver Age characters Batgirl and
8640-442: The Thunderbolt and wishes that none of these events had taken place. The two Earths and their respective heroes are restored, with the Justice League mentioning their world's Johnny Thunder as a small-time criminal at their meeting. The Johnny Thunder of Earth-One would return as a threat in Justice League of America #219-220. The absence of the JSA and of Johnny Thunder did not last long. In 1992 DC published Armageddon: Inferno ,
8775-496: The Thunderbolt which grants her electrical abilities and a multi-armed appearance similar to a Hindu goddess where she is described as a "lass with a powerful friend". Jonni Thunder was imprisoned at Arkham Base with Brainwave, Karnevil, and Obsidian. She is part of a team of heroes recruited by the mage John Constantine in his attempt to return to his own world of Prime Earth. Brian Cronin of Comic Book Resources placed her series as part of failed reboots that are way better than
8910-481: The Thunderbolt's magic powers. The green-suit-and-red- bow tie -clad Johnny's appearances with the Justice Society of America and in his own solo adventures tended to be quite comedic, as Johnny's main personality trait was being fairly dimwitted, which prompts his much-smarter Thunderbolt to possess a sarcastic (if patient) attitude toward his "boss", while knowing full well that he could not actually do anything until his master told him to. Johnny accidentally joined
9045-782: The Timeless Ones, though they have occasionally escaped using Felix Faust 's power. Their powers are bound to three mystic artifacts: the Green Bell of Uthool, the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath, and the Red Jar of Calythos. The Demons Three appear in The Batman Strikes! #50. This version of the group were previously allies of Etrigan centuries prior before attempting to lead a rebellion in Hell and being imprisoned in
9180-497: The alternative imprint Vertigo and 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 . DC Comics books are distributed to
9315-587: The antihero. These titles helped pave the way for comics to be more widely accepted in literary-criticism circles and to make inroads into the book industry, with collected editions of these series as commercially successful trade paperbacks . The mid-1980s also saw the end of many long-running DC war comics , including series that had been in print since the 1960s. These titles, all with over 100 issues, included Sgt. Rock , G.I. Combat , The Unknown Soldier , and Weird War Tales . In March 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc. , making DC Comics
9450-429: The bookstore market by Penguin Random House Publisher Services . The comics shop direct market was supplied by Diamond Comic Distributors 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. In 2017, approximately 70% of
9585-413: The brand's popularity, like the presence of the color red or word balloons on the cover, or that the perceived crudeness of the interior art was somehow more appealing to readers. When Lee learned about DC's subsequent experimental attempts to imitate these perceived details, he amused himself by arranging direct defiance of those assumptions in Marvel's publications as sales strengthened further to frustrate
9720-424: The character was revived in DC's new title Shazam! , which featured artwork by Captain Marvel's creator C. C. Beck . In the meantime, the abandoned 'Marvel' trademark had been seized by Marvel Comics in 1967, with the creation of their Captain Marvel , preventing DC from using the name in the title of their own comic series. While DC's Captain Marvel failed to recapture his earlier popularity, he later appeared in
9855-429: The comic book limited series . This publishing format allowed for the deliberate creation of finite storylines within a more flexible publishing format that could showcase creations without forcing the talent into unsustainable open-ended commitments. The first such title was World of Krypton in 1979, and its positive results led to subsequent similar titles and later more ambitious productions like Camelot 3000 for
9990-482: The company. The resulting influx of sophisticated horror-fantasy material led to DC in 1993 establishing the Vertigo mature-readers imprint, which did not subscribe to the Comics Code Authority . Two DC limited series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Watchmen by Moore and artist Dave Gibbons , drew attention in the mainstream press for their dark psychological complexity and promotion of
10125-488: The competition. However, this ignorance of Marvel's true appeal did not extend to some of the writing talent during this period, and attempts were made to emulate Marvel's narrative approach. For instance, there was the Doom Patrol series by Arnold Drake (who had previously warned DC's management about Marvel's strength), a superhero team of outsiders who resented their freakish powers, which Drake later speculated
10260-547: The direct market in 1982. These changes in policy shaped the future of the medium as a whole, and in the short term allowed DC to entice creators away from rival Marvel, and encourage stability on individual titles. In November 1980 DC launched the ongoing series The New Teen Titans , by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez , two popular talents with a history of success. Their superhero-team comic, superficially similar to Marvel's ensemble series X-Men , but rooted in DC history, earned significant sales in part due to
10395-512: The distribution of NPP's shows. A 1966 Batman TV show on the ABC network sparked a temporary spike in comic book sales and a brief fad for superheroes in Saturday morning animation ( Filmation produced most of DC's initial cartoons) and other media. DC significantly lightened the tone of many of its comics—particularly Batman and Detective Comics —to better complement the "camp" tone of
10530-723: The end of 2009. By 2007, DC was licensing characters from the Archie Comics imprint Red Circle Comics . They appeared in the Red Circle line, based in the DC Universe, with a series of one-shots followed by a miniseries that led into two ongoing titles that each lasted for ten issues. In 2011, DC rebooted all of its running titles following the Flashpoint storyline. The reboot called The New 52 gave new origin stories and costume designs to many of DC's characters. DC licensed pulp characters including Doc Savage and
10665-675: The episode "Hat Trick", depicted as a kaiju -like demon that Felix Faust summons to regain his youth. The Demons Three appear in Justice League Dark , with Abnegazar voiced by JB Blanc , Rath by Jeffrey Vincent Parise , and Ghast by Fred Tatasciore . Digitronix Corporation is a company in The Hacker Files . Euroguard is a temporary band in Europe created by the JLE and led by Power Girl . The Everyman Project
10800-450: The example of Atlas/Seaboard Comics and such independent companies as Eclipse Comics —DC began to offer royalties in place of the industry-standard work-for-hire agreement in which creators worked for a flat fee and signed away all rights, giving talent a financial incentive tied to the success of their work. As it happened, the implementation of these incentives proved opportune considering Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief, Jim Shooter ,
10935-509: The fact that the Thunderbolt is "keyed" to simply obey Johnny Thunder, without any distinction made between alternate versions, leaving the Thunderbolt obligated to obey whichever Johnny is conscious despite his own morality. However, the Thunderbolt often tries to work in loopholes to give the heroes an advantage, such as informing the criminal that the Justice Society—who had come to Earth-1 to find out what had happened to their friends in
11070-459: The feature was Johnny Thunderbolt . Jonni existed on Earth-Two before Crisis and is briefly seen on the merged Earth created post- Crisis . Jonni Thunder is a female private detective. A small gold statue gives her the power to turn into a human thunderbolt, while leaving her body behind. First described as "a stone once struck by the hand of Apu Illapu , the Inca lightning god", the thunderbolt
11205-463: The first comic book to feature the character archetype later known as the "superhero", Action Comics was a sales hit that brought to life a new age of comic books, now affectionately termed the "Golden Age" . Action Comics #1 is credited as featuring the first appearance of Superman, both on the cover illustration and inside the issue, and is now one of the most valuable and sought-after comic book issues of all time. The first Superman tale included
11340-686: The first mention of Batman's utility belt by Gardner Fox . Outside of DC's publishing, a character later integrated as DC was introduced by Fox Feature Syndicate named the Blue Beetle released in August 1939. Fictional cities were a common theme of DC; the first revealed city was Superman's home city of Metropolis , originally named in Action Comics No. 16 (September 1939). Detective Comics No. 31 (September 1939) by Gardner Fox, Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff introduced
11475-576: The first recurring Superman enemy referred to as the Ultra-Humanite ; created by Siegel and Shuster, this is commonly cited as one of the earliest supervillains in comic books. The Superman character had another breakthrough when he was given his own comic book series , which was previously unheard of. The first issue, published in June 1939, helped directly introduce Superman's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent , also created by Siegel and Shuster. Detective Comics No. 29 (July 1939) included
11610-503: The groundwork for a full continuity-reshuffling sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths , promising substantial changes to the DC Universe (and side-stepping the 1994 Zero Hour event which similarly tried to ret-con the history of the DCU). In 2005, the critically lauded Batman Begins film was released; also, the company published several limited series establishing increasingly escalating conflicts among DC's heroes, with events climaxing in
11745-415: The island magic had worn out. T-Bolt was all that was left, and he was with me in limbo. They had to leave or starve to death". This series also introduced the young Kiku, according to the Thunderbolt, the last remaining Bahdnesian. After this, Johnny is depicted as having dementia . At one point, he loses track of a pen in which the Thunderbolt is being stored. The pen eventually ends up in the ownership of
11880-481: The leading centers for truth and accuracy throughout the city's media. They are aggressively opposed by LexCorp , which operates WLEX-TV, a major television station in Metropolis; and LexCom, an internet site that serves as a digital news center. As it is offered over the internet, LexCom has a great access to mainstream America, minus the costs of publishing. LexCorp's owner, Lex Luthor , manipulates nearly two-thirds of Metropolis business. Galaxy Communications stands as
12015-526: The leading major media empire which provides the citizens of Metropolis with information and entertainment. WGBS-TV, flagship station of the Galaxy Broadcasting System (GBS) television network, both subsidiaries of media conglomerate Galaxy Communications. Popular shows included The Midnight Show Starring Johnny Nevada (a fictional version of NBC 's The Tonight Show , with Johnny Nevada being an analogue of Johnny Carson ). There
12150-446: The line was dramatically reduced and standard-size books returned to 17-page stories but for a still increased 40 cents. By 1980, the books returned to 50 cents with a 25-page story count but the story pages replaced house ads in the books. Seeking new ways to boost market share , the new team of publisher Kahn, vice president Paul Levitz , and managing editor Giordano addressed the issue of talent instability. To that end—and following
12285-547: The long-running fantasy series Elfquest , previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics ' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents , in collection into DC Archive Editions. In 2004, DC temporarily acquired the North American publishing rights to graphic novels from European publishers 2000 AD and Humanoids . It also rebranded its younger-audience titles with
12420-562: The major DC characters. Crisis featured many key deaths that shaped the DC Universe for the following decades, and it separated the timeline of DC publications into pre- and post-"Crisis". Meanwhile, a parallel update had started in the non-superhero and horror titles. Since early 1984, the work of British writer Alan Moore had revitalized the horror series The Saga of the Swamp Thing , and soon numerous British writers, including Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison , began freelancing for
12555-449: The mascot Johnny DC and established the CMX imprint to reprint translated manga . In 2006, CMX took over from Dark Horse Comics ' publication of the webcomic Megatokyo in print form. DC also took advantage of the demise of Kitchen Sink Press and acquired the rights to much of the work of Will Eisner , such as his The Spirit series and his graphic novels. In 2004, DC began laying
12690-515: The miniseries which brought the JSA out of Limbo and into the Post- Crisis world. This was followed by Justice Society of America (1992–1993). This series showed how the heroes were adjusting to a 'normal' life. Johnny is depicted as an overweight man, not as old as his friends, but nostalgic for the past. It is explained that before he had entered into Limbo, he had lent his foster daughter a few thousand dollars and during his time fighting for
12825-520: The more competent heroes doubtlessly thought it wise to keep an eye on the pair whenever possible. He finally became a member after the Flash left and the group told him to capture Mister X, which he accidentally succeeded in doing. Like most of the JSA members, he had his aging factor greatly slowed during an encounter with the villain Ian Karkull . Johnny's adventures ceased in the late 1940s when he
12960-408: The most popular superhero titles continued publication, including Action Comics and Detective Comics , the medium's two longest-running titles. In the mid-1950s, editorial director Irwin Donenfeld and publisher Liebowitz directed editor Julius Schwartz (whose roots lay in the science-fiction book market) to produce a one-shot Flash story in the try-out title Showcase . Instead of reviving
13095-474: The old character, Schwartz had writers Robert Kanigher and John Broome , penciler Carmine Infantino , and inker Joe Kubert create an entirely new super-speedster, updating and modernizing the Flash's civilian identity, costume, and origin with a science-fiction bent. The Flash's reimagining in Showcase No. 4 (October 1956) proved sufficiently popular that it soon led to a similar revamping of
13230-549: The original explaining that "Thomas and Giordano managed to do a well-done comic detective series, which is no small feat". William Twotrees is the illegitimate son of 1940s hero Johnny Thunder and a Jicarilla Apache woman. Afraid of prejudices against mixed marriages, Johnny abandoned his son, something he later regretted deeply. However, it seems as if Johnny's partner, the magic Thunderbolt named Yz, left his mark on young William, who developed astonishing Thunderbolt powers of his own later in his life. As Will Power, William joined
13365-469: The other imprints was Impact Comics from 1991 to 1992 in which the Archie Comics superheroes were licensed and revamped. The stories in the line were part of its own shared universe. DC entered into a publishing agreement with Milestone Media that gave DC a line of comics featuring a culturally and racially diverse range of superhero characters. Although the Milestone line ceased publication after
13500-644: The sacrifice of Johnny and his JSA teammates as they left the 'new' Post- Crisis world and entered into a Limbo dimension. Caused by the actions of Adolf Hitler in April 1945, a wave of destruction appears over Earth even as it is settling down from the Crisis. To stop a literal Ragnarök , the heroes enter into an eternal battle and so leave the world. Prior to the Crisis on Infinite Earths retcon, an alternate version of Johnny Thunder existed on Earth-One . This version
13635-449: The specific inducement, Marvel Comics' writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ushered in the sub-Silver Age "Marvel Age" of comics with the debut issue of The Fantastic Four . Reportedly, DC dismissed the initial success of Marvel's editorial change until its consistently strengthening sales—albeit also benefiting DC's parent company Independent News, as Marvel's distributor—made it impossible to ignore. This commercial situation
13770-511: The stability of the creative team, who both continued with the title for six full years. In addition, Wolfman and Pérez took advantage of the limited-series option to create a spin-off title, Tales of the New Teen Titans , to present origin stories of their original characters without having to break the narrative flow of the main series or oblige them to double their work load with another ongoing title. This successful revitalization of
13905-490: The stock market in 1961. Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940 and became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977. DC Comics began to move aggressively against what it saw as copyright-violating imitations from other companies, such as Fox Comics ' Wonder Man , which (according to court testimony) Fox started as
14040-498: The successful Batwoman , Bat-Girl , Ace the Bat-Hound , and Bat-Mite in an attempt to modernize the strip with non-science-fiction elements. Schwartz and Infantino then revitalized Batman in what the company promoted as the "New Look", with relatively down-to-earth stories re-emphasizing Batman as a detective. Meanwhile, editor Kanigher successfully introduced a whole family of Wonder Woman characters having fantastic adventures in
14175-471: The title of the 1940s publication ), designed to feature some of the company's best-known characters in stories that eschewed the long and convoluted continuity of the DC Universe. The line began with All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder and All-Star Superman , and All-Star Wonder Woman and All-Star Batgirl was announced in 2006, but neither of these stories had been released or scheduled as of
14310-476: The universe, she had created Peachy's Frozen Yogurt , a very successful chain of which Johnny is half owner and now very wealthy. Of greater import to Johnny is his discovery that the Bahdnesians have all but disappeared. A visit to the island of Bahdnesia (now under the ownership of Pol St. Germain) proves that no Bahdnesians are left there. In issue #7, Johnny states: "There were never very many of them...and
14445-422: The use of non-traditional contractual arrangements, including the dramatic rise of creator-owned projects, leading to a significant increase in critically lauded work (much of it for Vertigo) and the licensing of material from other companies. DC also increased publication of book-store friendly formats, including trade paperback collections of individual serial comics, as well as original graphic novels . One of
14580-539: The variant name Jonni Thunder . The character appeared in the second season of Stargirl on The CW network played by Ethan Embry . Johnny Thunder first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (January 1940) and was created by John Wentworth and Stan Aschmeier. In the first few issues, the title of the feature was Johnny Thunderbolt . He continued in Flash Comics until issue #91 (Jan 1948). John L. Thunder
14715-589: The whole Battalion was transported to the American HQ of the Black Dragon Society. After a quick fight and a call to the US Army, the threat posed by the Black Dragons was over. The Black Dragon Society as an anti-U.S. organization also fought Minute-Man, Atom , Black Condor , the Sniper, and Johnny Everyman during World War II. The Dragon King was a Japanese national and scientific genius who struck off from
14850-475: The would-be conquerors' plans are defeated. Johnny spent some time in Badhnesia afterwards, teaching the native citizens about democracy . He returns home after the country elects its first President . Johnny joins the Justice Society on various adventures. Following the maxiseries Crisis on Infinite Earths was the one-shot Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special (1986). This book depicted
14985-401: The writers and artists who had worked for DC without receiving much recognition during the early age of comic books when individual credits were rare. The comics industry experienced a brief boom in the early 1990s, thanks to a combination of speculative purchasing—mass purchase of the books as collectible items, with the intention to resell at a higher value (as the rising value of older issues
15120-629: Was a real-life WGBS-TV, in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1995; the call letters stood for Grant Broadcasting System, the original owners. The call letters were changed in 1995 to the current WPSG , after acquisition by the Paramount Stations Group and conversion into a UPN outlet; it is currently an affiliate of The CW and is owned by CBS Television Stations . Between the early 1970s and mid-1980s, both Clark Kent and Lois Lane worked for WGBS after Galaxy Communications purchased
15255-469: Was a simple petty criminal with no Thunderbolt. Upon meeting the Earth-Two Thunder (who had traveled to Earth-One out of curiosity), the criminal Johnny Thunder knocked his counterpart out and seized control of the Thunderbolt. He uses it to temporarily reshape Earth-One such that several heroes, such as Superman , Batman , and Green Lantern , retroactively cease to exist. The criminal exploits
15390-412: Was alienating much of his company's creative staff with his authoritarian manner and major talents there went to DC like Roy Thomas , Gene Colan , Marv Wolfman , and George Pérez . In addition, emulating the era's new television form, the miniseries while addressing the matter of an excessive number of ongoing titles fizzling out within a few issues of their start, DC created the industry concept of
15525-421: Was also in command of Intergang , one of Metropolis's most notorious criminal organizations. This eventually led to Morgan's father Vincent Edge taking over Galaxy Communication. However, he too was ousted from the corporation, as it was exposed that he continuously made Cat Grant the victim of repeated sexual harassment. Galaxy Communications shares a loose alliance with the Daily Planet , as they are two of
15660-611: Was also used by several other 1940s comics publishers that were later bought out by DC. A modern reimagining of the group as ecoterrorists was presented in JLA . The Black Dragon Society is based on a real World War II organization of the same name . As such, three separate comics companies ( National Comics , Fawcett Comics , and Quality Comics ) used them as villains. The Fawcett Comics version debuted in Master Comics #21 (December 1941), it had Minute-Man fighting against
15795-444: Was charging fifteen cents. At this time, the senior DC staff were reportedly unable to explain how this small publishing house was achieving its increasingly threatening commercial strength. For instance, when Marvel's product was examined in a meeting, the emphasis on more sophisticated character-based narrative and artist-driven visual storytelling was apparently overlooked. Instead, superficial reasons were put forward to account for
15930-466: Was created by Lex Luthor to grant a group of people identities and powers and become part of his incarnation of Infinity, Inc. Recent appearance in 52 #24 (October 18, 2006). The Excalibur Crew was the shuttle crew that Hank Henshaw was a part of. Galaxy Communications is a fictional American multinational media corporation in the DC Comics universe . It is owned and run by businessman and crime lord Morgan Edge . Galaxy Communications
16065-471: Was created by Ted Udall and Vernon Henkel. The Justice Battalion are given orders to retrieve eight stolen military weapons, and subdue the agents of the Black Dragon Society who had orchestrated the thefts. Starman took on a huge dirigible which acted as a flying aircraft carrier and the planes it housed. The Society, loyal to Imperial Japan , was to use the planes to attack an American city but Starman prevented this. Because of Johnny Thunder 's bumbling,
16200-628: Was featured in Detective Comics No. 20 (October 1938). This character is known to be the first masked vigilante published by DC. An unnamed "office boy", retconned as Jimmy Olsen 's first appearance, was revealed in a Superman story by Siegel and Shuster in Action Comics No. 6 (November 1938). Starting in 1939, Siegel and Shuster's Superman was the first comic-derived character to appear in other formats, later featuring in his own newspaper comic strip , which first introduced his biological parents Jor-El and Lara . All-American Publications' debut comic series, All-American Comics ,
16335-740: Was first named in a Superman newspaper strip around November 1939. Doll Man was the first superhero to be produced by Quality Comics , which DC now owns. Fawcett Comics was formed around 1939 and became DC's original competitor company over the next decade. At the end of 1944, All-American titles began using its own logo to distinguish it from the National comics. All-American Publications , an affiliate concern co-owned by Gaines and Liebowitz, merged with Detective Comics, Inc. on September 30, 1946, forming National Comics Publications . The previous year, in June 1945, Gaines had allowed Liebowitz to buy him out and had retained only Picture Stories from
16470-521: Was first published in April 1939. The series Detective Comics made history as being the first to feature Batman —a Bob Kane and Bill Finger creation—in issue No.27 (March 1939) with the request of more superhero titles. Batman was depicted as a masked vigilante who wore a caped suit known as the Batsuit and drove a car that was later referred to as the Batmobile . The Batman story also included
16605-581: Was forced out after the first year. Shortly afterwards, Detective Comics, Inc. purchased the remains of National Allied (also known as Nicholson Publishing) at a bankruptcy auction and absorbed it. Meanwhile, Max Gaines formed the sister company All-American Publications in 1939. Detective Comics, Inc. soon launched a new anthology title called Action Comics ; the first issue , cover dated June 1938, featured new characters such as Superman by Siegel and Shuster, Zatara by Fred Guardineer , and Tex Thompson by Ken Finch and Bernard Baily . Considered as
16740-418: Was highlighted by Marvel's superior sell-through percentage numbers which were typically 70% to DC's roughly 50%, meaning that DC's publications were barely making a profit after returns from the distributors were factored in, while Marvel was making a healthy profit by comparison. Also in 1961, both DC and Marvel increased their cover price from ten cents to twelve cents, while the rival publisher Dell Comics
16875-457: Was in response to Marvel's efforts to market their superhero line to college-aged adults. Infantino also recruited major talents such as ex-Marvel artist and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko , and promising newcomers Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil , and he replaced some existing DC editors with artist-editors, including Joe Kubert and Dick Giordano , to give DC's output a more artistic critical eye. In 1967, National Periodical Publications
17010-699: Was intended to allow the Badhnesians to use Johnny to rule the world. However, the plan is soon aborted after an attack from a neighboring country. Johnny eventually returns to the United States and lives an ordinary life until one day, while washing windows, he inadvertently summons the Thunderbolt with the magic words " Cei-U " (pronounced "say you"). Johnny underwent several adventures, repeatedly summoning Thunderbolt by accident before learning of his existence. Johnny lived with his parents, dated his on-again, off-again girlfriend Daisy Darling (who had
17145-470: Was plagiarized by Stan Lee to create The X-Men . There was also the young Jim Shooter who purposely emulated Marvel's writing when he wrote for DC after studying both companies' styles, such as for the Legion of Super-Heroes feature. In 1966, National Periodical Publications established its own television arm, led by Allen Ducovny, to develop and produce TV projects, with Superman TV Corporation handling
17280-518: Was promoted to run the TV division, with Clark acting as an on-the-scene reporter for the TV division. Clark is later assigned the "Superman beat". But after rising tension between himself and Lois, as well as with Galaxy Broadcasting head Morgan Edge, Clark concludes that the Daily Planet is now more concerned with ratings and internet page views than actual journalism. He quits and goes off to begin an independent, internet news site with fellow journalist Cat Grant. Though Lois and Jimmy consider this to be
17415-456: Was purchased by Kinney National Company , which purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. Kinney National spun off its non-entertainment assets in 1972 (as National Kinney Corporation ) and changed its name to Warner Communications Inc. In 1970, Jack Kirby moved from Marvel Comics to DC, at the end of the Silver Age of Comics , in which Kirby's contributions to Marvel played a large, integral role. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack
17550-535: Was replaced in the Justice Society stories by a heroine he had begun teaming up with, the Black Canary . The reason for his leaving the Justice Society is eventually explained to be that his control over his Thunderbolt is weakening, thanks to a spell cast by renegade Badhnesian priests. In the early 1950s, Johnny is kidnapped again by agents from Badhnesia, with the intention of executing their original world conquest plan. Johnny manages to summon Superman , and
17685-475: Was the introduction of the fictional mansion known as Wayne Manor first seen in Detective Comics No. 28 (June 1939). The series Adventure Comics followed in the footsteps of Action Comics and Detective Comics by featuring a new recurring superhero called Sandman who first appeared in Adventure Comics No. 40 (July 1939). Action Comics No. 13 (June 1939) introduced
17820-417: Was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as
17955-464: Was thought to imply that all comics would rise dramatically in price)—and several storylines gaining attention from the mainstream media. DC's extended storylines in which Superman was killed , Batman was crippled , and Green Lantern turned into the supervillain Parallax , resulted in dramatically increased sales. However, the increases were temporary, and sales dropped off as the industry went into
18090-421: Was to convince Bill Sarnoff, the head of Warner Publishing, to keep DC as a publishing concern, as opposed to simply managing their licensing of their properties. With that established, DC had attempted to compete with the now-surging Marvel by dramatically increasing its output and attempting to win the market by flooding it. This included launching series featuring such new characters as Firestorm and Shade,
18225-449: Was unlike many comic book series before it. While DC Comics is now primarily associated with superhero comics , the genres in the first anthology titles consisted of funnies , Western comics , and adventure-related stories. The character Doctor Occult —created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in December 1935 and included in issue No. 6 of New Fun Comics —is considered to be the earliest recurring superhero created by DC that
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