DC Comics, Inc. (doing business 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.

Detective Comics was the final publication of the entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, whose comics company, National Allied Publications, would evolve into DC Comics, one of the world's two largest comic book publishers, though long after its founder had left it.

In order to publish "Detective Comics," Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson partnered with Harry Donenfeld to form a new company named, of course, Detective Comics, Inc. After some financial issues, Wheeler-Nicholson was pushed out and Detective Comics, Inc. purchased his National Allied Publications at a bankruptcy auction.

Wheeler-Nicholson published a third and final title, named Detective Comics. It was scheduled and advertised to be published on December 1936, however, it premiered on March 1937. During that year, he became indebted to Harry Donenfeld, who was a printing-plant and magazine publisher.

Its earliest predecessor was founded by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson as National Allied Publications, Inc. Eventually, circumstances led Wheeler-Nicholson to form a partnership with printer Harry Donenfeld and eventually accountant Jack Liebowitz to produce his third title, Detective Comics.