One of the
major comic book publishers. DC got its start back in 1935, when they were called "
National Periodical." They eventually adopted the name "DC" for "
Detective Comics," their
oldest continuous
publication.
Historically, DC was responsible for the beginnings of the
Golden Age (with "
Action Comics #1," the first appearance of
Superman) and the
Silver Age (with "
Showcase #4," the first appearance of the new
Flash). Most importantly,
DC owns the
rights to
Superman,
Batman, and
Wonder Woman, which means they'll probably never go
out of business. They are owned by
AOL Time Warner, which probably can't hurt either, business-wise.
DC isn't considered as
hip as
Marvel Comics or
Image, but the
writing and the
stories are usually
better over at DC (the company takes a bit of a hands-off approach to stories -- if a
writer really wants to shake up the
status quo and can provide a good
reason, the company will often allow them to do it -- but you still can't permanently kill the
Man of Steel). DC also publishes
Vertigo Comics, which is their
imprint for "
Mature Readers" comics. Vertigo has published "
The Sandman," "
Preacher," "
Hellblazer," "
The Invisibles," "
Transmetropolitan," and many more.