DC Comics
Superheroes are at the height of their success. Until the 2000s, the genre was marginalised and reserved for a geeky audience, but in recent years, thanks to Hollywood, it has experienced a meteoric rise. Marvel and DC, the two great American comic book publishers who have been rivals for more than 80 years, are still in a power struggle over the best comic book content.
The beginnings of comics
It was in the 1930s that a new book format seduced young people in the United States: the comic book. In 1935, a company was created in this lucrative market, National Allied Publications. In the following years, two other companies entered the market: Detective Comics, which later became DC Comics, and All American Publications. In June 1938, Superman, the first real superhero, was released by All American Publications. What makes him incredible? Well, the secret identity and the special costume are two things that were already present in other characters such as The Phantom or Zorro, but Superman is special because he has superhuman powers.
The birth of DC Comics
After Superman came along, many other heroes followed, including Batman, Wonder Woman, a superhero, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and many others.
In 1941, National Allied Publications, Detective Comics and All American Publications came up with the idea of combining their characters into a superhero team called the Justice Society, the forerunner of the Justice League we have today. In 1946, this collaboration led to a merger and this is how DC Comics was born!
Over the decades, the publisher grew and absorbed several others, enriching its arsenal of characters in the process.
For 86 years, DC Comics has published tens of thousands of comics. Generation after generation, hundreds of creators have succeeded in creating an increasingly rich and complex universe.
The universe and its characters evolve
In the DC Comics universe, heroes with secret identities fight alongside a multitude of unusual characters such as aliens, gods and monsters. The characters evolved according to fashion, but in the 1960s DC Comics was still working on new concepts.
In the 1970s, Jack Kirby introduced the New Gods, a cosmic myth that can be compared with Thor. Not for nothing, since Jack Kirby had also co-created Thor a decade earlier. So the supernatural remains omnipresent in comic book stories, as do the original anti-heroes such as the swamp creature for example.
In the 1980s, the publishing house underwent a radical change and cleaned up the DC universe. The stories were rewritten and all the characters were remade, modified and updated. Indeed, this process would be repeated regularly, even to this day, potentially confusing some fans.
Adaptations and merchandise
A profusion of DC Comics products has appeared over the years and is still available for purchase in our geek shop to the delight of collectors. You will find everything you need to decorate your bookshelf in our figurine shop.
Now, the great publisher is also the leader in a multimedia empire that offers all sorts of goodies ranging from geek caps to tableware and stickers.
The popularity of DC Comics vigilantes today is not only due to the originality of the stories and characters, but also to the adaptations of these stories. The success of the people and DC Comics is also largely due to Hollywood. Indeed, from the 1940s onwards, the stories of Batman, Superman and a few others were adapted into serials (ancestors of the TV series in the cinema). Supported by Warner Bros., the owner of DC since 1967, our two most popular vigilantes have since then also been featured in cartoons, series and blockbuster films.