DC Comics has published a number of other imprints and lines of comics over the years.
History
In the Golden Age of Comic Books publishing, DC Comics was also an imprint of Detective Comics and its affiliated companies, All-American Publications and National Allied Publications, that were later all merged into National Periodical Publications, later renamed DC Comics. Before the merger, due to squabbles between the companies, All-American published under its own name/imprint in 1945 starting with the February stand date until the December stand date.
In 1987, DC started Piranha Press as a mature readers line. The Elseworlds concept was tested in 1989 with Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternate History of the Batman and became an imprint with 1991's Batman: Holy Terror. Using the licensed Red Circle characters, DC launched the Impact Comics imprint in 1991 as an introductory and new talent imprint.
In January 1993, DC's Vertigo imprint was launched with some former DC Comics imprint titles. DC teamed up with Milestone Media to co-publish Milestone Comics starting in 1993. Impact Comics last saw print in July.
Piranha was shut down in 1994 to be replaced by Paradox Press with Milestone Comics following in 1996. In July, the Helix science fiction imprint was launched. In December 1997, the Tangent Comics imprint was published on skip week, then on skip week of September 1998. In August 1998, DC purchased WildStorm, including imprints Cliffhanger, Homage and ABC. 1998 also saw the end of the Helix imprint as its top title was moved to Vertigo, where reprints of the Helix titles also were printed under.
In 2001, DC shut down Paradox Press. DC launched a manga imprint, CMX and DC Focus in 2004, but Focus was soon shut down in 2005. Johnny DC was launched in September 2004 with DC Comics' Looney Tunes and Cartoon Network-based comic books. In September 2005, All-Star DC was launched with All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. In May 2007, DC launched a line for young women called Minx. Also that year, DC entered the webcomic market with Zuda Comics.
After seeing Tangent characters in the regular DC Universe in Infinite Crisis in 2006, in Ion #9–10 in 2007 and then in Countdown to Final Crisis, the Tangent imprint was revived in March 2008, for a 12-issue maxiseries. The Red Circle line began print in 2008 as DC's second attempt with the Red Circle characters, this time as part of the DC Universe. The Milestone characters were also licensed in 2008 to be included in the DC Universe. With no placement in major bookstores in the young adult section, Minx was canceled in September 2008. With some licensed pulp characters mixed with pulp-like DC characters, DC launched the First Wave line in 2009.
In July 2010, DC shutdown its CMX imprint and moved Megatokyo to the DC imprint. Later in September, as part of DC Entertainment's reorganization, DC ended WildStorm and Zuda imprints and Bob Harris was named Editor-in-Chief for all remaining imprints: DC, Mad and Vertigo. With the New 52 reboot in September 2011, the Wildstorm characters were adapted into the DC Universe within the "Edge" line, which also featured the Western and war comics. The Earth One graphic novel imprint was launched in November 2010. By the end of 2011, the First Wave line was discontinued.
In a May 2017 editorial leadership reorganization, three Executive Editors split up DC Comics and its imprints. Pat McCallum took the DC superhero titles and Mark Doyle the two mature imprints, Vertigo and Young Animal. Executive Editor Bobbie Chase was given custom comics, DC Kids, Digital First titles, Hanna-Barbera Beyond comics, Milestone comics, the relaunched WildStorm Universe, and the young reader imprint.
In 2018, DC Comics launched a number of new imprints and lines. Imprints included DC Black Label, youth-oriented DC Ink and DC Zoom and Brian Michael Bendis' Wonder Comics imprint, while DC imprint Vertigo launched a Sandman Universe line.
DC Comics discontinued all imprints as of January 2020 while implementing a new age-specific identification of DC Kids (ages 8–12), DC (ages 13 and older) and DC Black Label (ages 17 and above and a reuse of the former label name). This does not apply to the pop-up imprints like Young Animal and The Wild Storm.
Imprints
Absolute Universe
The Absolute Universe (AU) is a shared universe featuring reimagined, modern takes on many of DC's superhero properties. The imprint debuted following the 2024 Absolute Power crossover event.
All Star
All Star, or All Star DC, was a DC imprint that allowed big name creators to make "out-of-continuity" stories of DC major characters. All Star was DC's answer to Marvel's Ultimate imprint. The original purposes of the line was to have stories featuring the characters in their "most identifiable versions as seen by the world outside of comics", but based on the creators recruited, the purpose shifted to the creators' vision.
Only two out of the four planned miniseries made it to print. All-Star Superman was considered a landmark series for the Superman character and the creators. The other title, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, was never finished (the last two issues remain unpublished to this day), but created a lot of discussions. The title is expected to get new branding as Dark Knight, if and when it resumes. Due to scheduling issues of the creative team, the status of writer Geoff Johns and artist J. G. Jones' All Star Batgirl by November 2008 was on indefinite hold. Adam Hughes was working on the All Star Wonder Woman book with some pages completed by November 2008.
All Star DC imprint was launched in September 2005 with All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder.
A direct-to-video animated film was made based on All-Star Superman by Warner Home Video and released in February 2011.
Amalgam Comics
Amalgam Comics was a joint imprint from Marvel Comics and DC Comics that published amalgamated characters such as the Dark Claw, Iron Lantern, Spider-Boy, and Lobo the Duck. Amalgam Comics published a total of 24 comics, with the first 12 comics being published in April 1996 in-between issues #3 and 4 of the miniseries DC vs. Marvel and the other 12 issues being published in June 1997.
DC Black Label
DC Black Label is DC Comics' out of continuity all-star creator imprint.
This imprint allows creators to craft stories about DC's superheroes outside of restrictive continuity. The initial lineup included creators such as Frank Miller, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Scott Snyder, Lee Bermejo, and more. The earliest known release is Batman: Damned by Bermejo and Brian Azzarello in September 2018.
DC Focus
Focus or DC Focus was an alternative imprint from DC Comics launched in 2004. The imprint was an alternative in that the titles were about people with superpowers without costumes or fighting crime. While the imprint had four solid titles, the line was closed in mid-2005, with only Hard Time moving to the main DC imprint in a second series.
DC Ink
DC Ink is a graphic novel imprint for younger readers.
In a May 2017 editorial leadership reorganization, three Executive Editors split up DC Comics and its imprints. Executive Editor Bobbie Chase was given custom comics, DC Kids, Digital First titles, Hanna-Barbera comics, Milestone and the relaunched WildStorm Universe. The next year in February, DC unveiled two new graphic novel imprints aimed at younger readers. DC Zoom is focused on young readers, while DC Ink is aimed at young adults. Creators include Danielle Paige, Lauren Myracle, Marie Lu, and more. The books came in a standard format with a standard price: 192 pages for $16.99. Ink launched in September 2018 with Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Tamaki and Steve Pugh.
DC Zoom
DC Zoom is a graphic novel imprint aimed at younger readers. DC Zoom is focused on young readers, while DC Ink is aimed at young adults. Creators include Mariko Tamaki, Ridley Pearson, Steve Pugh, and more. The books came in a standard format with a standard price: 128 pages for $9.99. Zoom launched in October 2018 with DC Super Hero Girls: Search for Atlantis by Shea Fontana.
Earth M
Earth M is an imprint and a relaunch of the Milestone universe by DC and Milestone Media. Earth M was supposed to launch its first book in early 2018, but the first release featuring this reality was Milestone Returns #0 in September 2020. Milestone, Static Shock, Duo, Love Army and Earth M make up the entirety of that imprint.
Earth One
Earth One (EO) is a DC Comics graphic novel imprint that features a separate continuity from their main imprint. Founded in 2009, Earth One graphic novels feature re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the DC Universe.
Elseworlds
Elseworlds is DC Comics' superhero alternative history and non-canon imprint.
In November 1989, the first Elseworlds title, Gotham by Gaslight: An Alternative History of the Batman, was printed. The line became an imprint with October 1991's Batman: Holy Terror, as it was the first to carry the Elseworlds logo.
Helix
Helix was a science fiction imprint of DC Comics. It only lasted two years before being merged into DC's Vertigo imprint.
Originally, it was planned to be released in July 1996 with September cover dates as "Matrix", but to avoid comparison to the then-upcoming film The Matrix, the imprint was renamed "Helix". The imprint continued until 1998, when its "signature book" Transmetropolitan transferred to the Vertigo imprint. Additional Helix titles were later republished in collected editions under the Vertigo brand.
Impact Comics
Impact Comics (also stylized !mpact Comics or Impact! Comics) was a superhero imprint for DC Comics using the Red Circle characters licensed from Archie Comics. The line was supposed to be a newsstand based line aimed at the younger readers within its own self-contained universe. The Comet, by creators Mark Waid and Tom Lyle, was the imprint's longest running title. The imprint was also supposed to be a training ground for new talent.
Impact was launched in July 1991 with several titles: Black Hood, The Fly, Jaguar, Comet, Legend of the Shield and The Web. In May 1992, the imprint got its first team title, The Crusaders, lasting eight issues. From October to December 1992, various titles were cancelled. The miniseries Crucible began in February 1993 by writers Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and artist Joe Quesada and was an attempt to relaunch the line, but with sales still lagging, the imprint was instead cancelled.
Johnny DC
Johnny DC (later DC Entertainment) was DC's imprint for its all ages cartoon titles. Previously, Johnny DC was used in the Silver Age as a mascot for DC Comics.
DC started a Warner Bros. cartoon character line featuring Looney Tunes and Cartoon Network with the April 1994 issue of Looney Tunes. In September 2004, DC upgraded this line to a full imprint as Johnny DC for the November cover date. In the same month, the imprint added The Batman Strikes!, a comic based on the Cartoon Network series The Batman, and Cartoon Network Block Party, an anthology title. In September 2006, Krypto the Superdog comic was released based on the Cartoon Network series of the same name. Three new titles, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam!, Tiny Titans and Super Friends, were launched in August 2007 by coordinating editor Jann Jones. In February, Tiny Titans first issue was released, while in March the Super Friends title was relaunched, now based on the Mattel toyline of the same name. Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade began in December 2008. The imprint was renamed DC Entertainment.
Minx
Minx was an imprint of DC Comics graphic novels aimed at the young adult market, particularly teenage girls. The line was launched with The Plain Janes, the line's signature title. DC signed Alloy Media & Marketing to market the imprint with a $250,000 budget. Also, Minx was working with Book Sense to get the novels into independent bookstores. The Plain Janes was the only title to get a second volume before the imprint was shut down. Random House, DC's bookstore distributor, could not get the line's books into the young adult fiction section at the major bookstores. The line was canceled in September 2008. The New York Four moved to Vertigo for its sequel, New York Five.
Paradox Press
Paradox Press was DC's second mature readers imprint replacing Piranha Press in 1994. The Paradox imprint was shut down in 2001.
Paradox's first comic books, Big Book of Urban Legends, La Pacifica and Brooklyn Dreams, saw print in January 1995. In August 1996, Paradox began the reprinting of the Gon manga by Masashi Tanaka. Road to Perdition, published in April 1998, was later adapted into a motion picture. Paradox stopped releasing material with Gon on Safari in September 2000.
Piranha Press
Piranha Press was DC Comics' first mature readers imprint launched in 1989. The book establishing the imprint's tone was Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children (BSfUC), an anthology by Dave Louapre and Dan Sweetman. Piranha's best-selling (and most well-remembered) title was Why I Hate Saturn (which started Kyle Baker's solo career). Piranha was shut down in 1994 to be replaced by Paradox Press. The imprint was DC's first imprint that allowed creator-owned titles.
Piranha Press was announced in November 1987 with Mark Nevelow as its editor. In June 1989, the imprint's first titles hit the stands, BSfUC and ETC. 24 different titles saw print under the Piranha imprint. BSfUC lasted 30 issues, while most were one-shots or did not last for more than five issues. In December 1992, Prince: Alter Ego, based on the rock star Prince, hit the stands.
Tangent Comics
Tangent Comics was a DC Comics imprint that introduced the Tangent Universe, a new universe of superheroes, created by Dan Jurgens in 1997 based on alternative concepts for the regular DC superheroes.
The imprint published a series of 18 one-shots over two years starring the Tangent version of the major DC Universe characters. The first nine specials were published during December 1997's "skip-week", with the second nine for September 1998's skip-week. The one-shots were collected into two volumes published in January 2008. In 2006, the Tangent characters appeared in the regular DC Universe in Infinite Crisis in 2006, in Ion #9-10 in 2007 and then in Countdown to Final Crisis in 2007. A 12-issue maxiseries titled Tangent: Superman's Reign, written and drawn by Jurgens, ran from March 2008 to March 2009 and revisited the Tangent Universe 10 years later, both in reality and fiction.
Superman is an African-American New York police officer named Harvey Dent who received psychic powers from experiments conducted on him by a top secret 'Big Brother' group called Nightwing.