User:TheJoebro64/drafts/DCImprints

DC Comics' current logo (2016—)

DC Comics is an American comic book publisher based out of Burbank, California. It was founded in 1934 under the name National Comics Publications by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson; DC's current name comes from the initials of its flagship title, Detective Comics. As the company's success grew from their superhero comics, DC would seek to emulate this in various genres. One of DC's early experiments with imprints was Elseworlds, made for the publication of alternate versions of well-known DC characters.

DC's production of horror, fantasy, and creator-owned works led to the creation of a new imprint, Vertigo, for publication of these titles. Vertigo was a major critical and commercial success and attracted many new readers. Vertigo inspired DC to create similar imprints, such as the science-fiction oriented Helix, the minority hero-focused Milestone Media, and the children-targeted Johnny DC.

Current imprints

Imprint	Started	Notes
DC Comics	1934	General banner for DC comics and products Founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson under the name National Comics Publications The DC logo first debuted in 1940; the company changed their name to DC in 1977 The initials "DC" come from Detective Comics, the company's flagship title
DC Universe	2017	Publishes superhero comics set in the DC Universe Established after the DC Rebirth relaunch event.
Earth One	2010	Publishes modernized retellings of DC heroes' origins, separate from the main DC Universe First title published under the imprint was Superman: Earth One, written by J. Michael Straczynski
Mad	1952	Humor magazine Founded by Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines Last remaining title from the EC Comics line Acquired by DC in 1993
Milestone Media	1993	Founded by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle Publishes comics featuring minority superheroes Shut down in 1997, but some characters were integrated into the DC Universe afterward The imprint will be relaunched in 2018
Vertigo	1993	Publishes content aimed at mature readers, such as horror and fantasy, thus allowing more creative freedom than DC's main line Founded by Karen Berger Some titles are company-owned content set within the DC Universe, while others are original, creator-owned works
WildStorm	1992	Publishes content set in the Wildstorm Universe, as well as creator-owned and licensed properties Founded by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi as an imprint of Image Comics Acquired by DC in 1999 Discontinued in 2010 and merged with the main DC line, but was revived in 2017 by Warren Ellis
Young Animal	2016	Publishes content set within the DC Universe but aimed at adults, similar to Vertigo Founded by Gerard Way

Former imprints

Imprint	Year(s) active	Notes
All Star	2005—2008	Premise was to let acclaimed writers script stories featuring well-known DC characters, separate from the DC Universe Only two titles were published under the imprint: All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder; and All Star Superman All Star Wonder Woman and All Star Batgirl were canceled; All Star Batman & Robin was placed on indefinite hiatus and All Star Superman reached its natural conclusion
Amalgam Comics	1996—1997	Published jointly between DC and Marvel Comics Spun out of the DC vs. Marvel Comics crossover Featured DC and Marvel characters fused together to form new characters (see List of Amalgam Comics publications)
America's Best Comics (ABC)	1999—2005	Originally an imprint of WildStorm when it was a separate company Started by Alan Moore, with assistance from Jim Lee Published properties owned by Moore, such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Went defunct when Moore decided to publish his works independently
Cliffhanger	1998—2004	Originally an imprint of WildStorm when it was a separate company Published creator-owned works Merged with Homage Comics to form WildStorm Signature (see below)
CMX Manga	2004—2010	Published translations of Japanese manga Censored some titles; all changes were overseen and approved by Oh! Great
DC Focus	2004—2005	Featured super-powered characters in adventures outside the main DC Universe Most titles failed to generate significant sales The title that lasted longest was Hard Time, which concluded under the main DC banner
Elseworlds	1989—2010	Featured well-known DC characters taken out of their normal settings and placed in "strange times and places—some that have existed, and others that can't, couldn't or shouldn't" First title was Gotham by Gaslight, which featured a Victorian era Batman DC scaled back production of Elseworlds series in 2003 to "put the luster back on them" The final Elseworlds series, Superman: The Last Family of Krypton, was published in 2010
First Wave	2009—2011	Featured licensed pulp fiction characters teamed with versions of established non-super powered DC heroes, such as Batman Part of the DC Multiverse First title was the one-shot Batman/Doc Savage Canceled due to low sales
Helix	1996—1998	Short-lived imprint focusing on science fiction and science fantasy Originally due to be called "Matrix" but was changed to avoid conflicts with the film of the same name Some titles were adopted under Vertigo after Helix's demise

To list w/ sources:

• Impact Comics
• Johnny DC
• Minx
• Paradox Press
• Piranha Press
• Tangent Comics
• Imprints of WildStorm (before 2011):
  • Homage Comics
  • WildStorm Signature
• Zuda Comics