View source for All-American Publications

{{short description|American comic book publishing company}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = All-American Publications
| founded          = {{Start date and age|1939}}
| defunct          = {{End date and age|1944}}
| fate             = Merged into [[National Comics Publications]] in 1946
| successor        = National Comics Publications
| founder          = [[Max Gaines]]
| key_people       = [[Harry Donenfeld]]<br />[[Jack Liebowitz]]
| image            = All-AmericanComics logo.jpg
| location         = 225 [[Lafayette Street]]<br />[[New York City]], U.S.
| products         = [[Comic books]]
| genre            = [[Superhero fiction|Superhero]], [[Adventure fiction|adventure]], [[funny animal]], [[Humor comics|humor]]
}}

'''All-American Publications, Inc.'''<ref group="note">The name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources including [http://www.toonopedia.com/all-amer.htm All-American Publications] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20240525220356/https://www.webcitation.org/66vzDncIK?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/all-amer.htm Archived] from the original on April 15, 2012.</ref> was one of two [[American comic book]] companies that merged to form the modern-day [[DC Comics]], one of the two largest publishers of comic books in the United States. [[Superhero]]es created for All-American include the original [[Atom (Al Pratt)|Atom]], [[Jay Garrick|Flash]], [[Alan Scott|Green Lantern]], [[Hawkman#The Golden Age Hawkman (Carter Hall)|Hawkman]], and [[Wonder Woman (Earth-Two)|Wonder Woman]], all in the 1940s' [[Golden Age of Comic Books]].

==Publishing history==
[[Max Gaines]], future founder of [[EC Comics]], formed All-American Publications in 1939 after successfully seeking funding from [[Harry Donenfeld]],<ref name="Jones">{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Gerard|author-link=Gerard Jones|title=Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book|date=2004|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York|isbn=9780465036561}}</ref>{{rp|147}} CEO of both [[National Allied Publications]] (publisher of ''[[Action Comics]]'' and other titles) and sister company [[Detective Comics, Inc.|Detective Comics]] (publisher of that [[Detective Comics|namesake comic book]]). As [[Gerard Jones]] writes of Donenfeld's investment:
[[Image:All-American Comics 16.jpg|thumb|''[[All-American Comics]]'' #16 (July 1940), cover art by [[Sheldon Moldoff]].]]
{{quote|text=Harry had agreed on one condition: that [Gaines] take [Detective Comics partner] [[Jack Liebowitz]] on as his partner. ... Jack would be tempted to leave and form a competing company if there was nothing to hold him. And it may well have been a way for Harry to keep Gaines under control; since Jack was still drawing a salary and significant bonuses from Detective Comics and [self-distributorship] [[Independent News]], he wouldn't let Gaines take off on his own or act against the interests of the other companies. ... Gaines became the principal and Jack Liebowitz the minority owner of All-American [Publications].<ref name="Jones"/>{{rp|164}}}}

While All-American, at 225 [[Lafayette Street]] in [[Manhattan]], was physically separated from DC's office space uptown at 480 [[Lexington Avenue]], it used the informal "DC" logo on most of its covers for distribution and marketing reasons. In 1944,<ref name="Jones"/>{{rp|223}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Daniels|first1=Les|author-link=Les Daniels|title=DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|date=1995|publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|location=Boston|isbn=0821220764|page=48|edition=1st|quote=It was perhaps inevitable that the two firms would merge, and it happened in 1944 when Liebowitz bought out Gaines' share.}}</ref> Gaines sold his share of the company to Liebowitz by June 1945,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schelly |first=Bill |title=Man of Rock: A Biography of Joe Kubert |last2=Schelly |first2=William |date=2008-11-17 |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]] |year=2008 |isbn=1560979283}}</ref> keeping only ''Picture Stories from the Bible'' as the foundation of his own new company, EC. As Jones describes,

{{quote|Gaines saw the end of the superhero fad coming and wanted to get into something more durable, like children's books and magazines. ... In 1944, he decided he'd had enough. He let Jack Liebowitz buy him out with a loan from Harry.... Liebowitz promptly orchestra the merger of All American Comics and Detective Comics into [[National Comics Publications|National Comics]], of which he was the junior partner, vice president, and publisher. Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity, [[National Comics Publications|National Periodical Publications]]".<ref name="Jones"/>{{rp|223}} }}

At the end of 1944, but shortly before the merger, Gaines first rebranded All-American with its own logo, beginning with books cover-dated February 1945: ''[[All-Flash]]'' #17, ''[[Sensation Comics]]'' #38, ''Flash Comics'' #62, ''Green Lantern'' #14, ''Funny Stuff'' #3, and ''[[Mutt & Jeff]]'' <ref name="Mutt" group="note">The comic book, unlike the comic strip, spelled its title with an ampersand. See: [http://www.comics.org/series/114/ ''Mutt & Jeff''] at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> #16, and the following month's ''[[All-American Comics]]'' #64 and the hyphenless ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #24.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klein |first=Todd |date=2013-07-09 |title=The DC Comics Offices 1930s-1950s Part 2 |url=https://kleinletters.com/Blog/the-dc-comics-offices-1930s-1950s-part-2/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Todd's Blog |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Comments |first=Mark Seifert {{!}} Last updated {{!}} |date=2020-05-20 |title=All-American Part 1: The Organized Crime Origins of DC Comics |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/all-american-part-1-the-organized-crime-origins-of-dc-comics/ |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en}}</ref> Liebowitz later merged his and Donenfeld's companies into National Comics Publications by September 30, 1946.<ref name="Jones"/>{{rp|223}}

==Creative legacy==
[[Image:Flash Comics (Jan. 1940)-1.jpg|thumb|left|All-American's first superheroes began their run in ''[[Flash Comics]]'' #1 (Jan. 1940), cover art by Sheldon Moldoff.]]
During All-American's existence, much cross-promotion took place between the two editorially independent companies, so much so that the first appearance of the [[Justice Society of America]], in ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #3 (Winter 1940/41), included in its roster All-American characters the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman, and the National characters [[Doctor Fate]], [[Hour-Man]] (as it was then spelled), the [[Spectre (comics)|Spectre]], and the [[Sandman (Wesley Dodds)|Sandman]] — creating comics' first [[intercompany crossover]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cronin|first1=Brian|title=Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #5!|url=http://goodcomics.blogspot.com/2005/06/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-5.html|website=Comics Should Be Good|publisher=Wayback Machine|access-date=2017-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060818051923/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2005/06/30/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-5/|archive-date=August 18, 2006|date=2005-06-30}}</ref><ref group="note">National's top stars, Batman and Superman, had first crossed over as "honorary" Justice Society members in ''All Star Comics'' #7 (Dec. 1941), making cameo appearances in the three-page introduction and four-page conclusion of the story "$1,000,000 for War Orphans". See: [http://www.comics.org/issue/1681/ ''All-Star Comics'' #7] at the Grand Comics Database.</ref> with characters from different companies interacting — although National's Sandman, Spectre and Hour-Man had previously appeared in solo adventures in ''All Star Comics'' #1 (Summer 1940).

With Gaines as editor, assisted by [[Sheldon Mayer]], All-American Publications launched its flagship series ''[[All-American Comics]]'' with an April 1939 premiere. Like many comics of the time, ''All-American'' debuted with a mix of [[newspaper]] [[comic strips]], reprinted in color, and a smattering of original, comic-strip-like features. Among the strips were three hits of the era: ''[[Mutt and Jeff]]'',<ref name="Mutt" group="note"/> by [[Al Smith (cartoonist)|Al Smith]] ghosting for strip creator [[Bud Fisher]]; ''[[Skippy (comic strip)|Skippy]]'', by [[Percy Crosby]]; and ''[[Toonerville Folks]]'' by [[Fontaine Fox]]. New content included ''[[Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist|Scribbly]]'', a semiautobiographical Mayer feature about a boy cartoonist. ''All-American Comics'' lasted 102 issues through October 1948.

Also debuting that month was ''Movie Comics'' ("A full movie show for 10 cents"), featuring simple adaptations of movies using painted movie stills, as well as [[cartoonist]] [[Ed Wheelan]]'s popular ''Minute Movies'' comics.  The first of its six issues through Aug. 1939 adapted no fewer than five films: ''[[Son of Frankenstein]]'', ''[[Gunga Din (film)|Gunga Din]]'', ''[[The Great Man Votes]]'', ''[[Fisherman's Wharf (film)|Fisherman's Wharf]]'', and ''[[Scouts to the Rescue]]''.

The next two comics were ''Mutt & Jeff'',<ref name="Mutt" group="note"/> which ran 103 issues from Summer 1939 - June 1958; and the company's superhero debut, ''Flash Comics'' #1 (Jan. 1940), which introduced the super-speedster title character, created by writer [[Gardner Fox]] and artist [[Harry Lampert]], as well as the Golden Age Hawkman and future Hawkgirl, by Fox and artist [[Dennis Neville]], and [[Johnny Thunder]], by scripter John Wentworth and artist Stan Aschmeier, among other features.

The Golden Age Green Lantern, from ''Batman'' writer [[Bill Finger]] and artist [[Martin Nodell]], debuted in ''All-American Comics'' #16 (July 1940), followed by the original Atom, created by Bill O'Connor and penciler Ben Flinton, in ''All-American'' #19 (Nov. 1940). Wonder Woman was introduced in a nine-page story in [[All Star Comics 8|''All Star Comics'' #8]] (Dec./Jan. 1941/1942), the product of psychologist [[William Moulton Marston]] (under the [[pseudonym]] [[William Moulton Marston|Charles Moulton]]) and Max Charles Gaines, and drawn by artist [[Harry G. Peter]].

[[Image:All-AmericanComics1.jpg|thumb|''All-American Comics'' #1 (April 1939), launches  All-American Publications. [[Skippy (comic strip)|Skippy]] is on the [[Statue of Liberty]]'s torch; [[Mutt and Jeff]] are pictured above her crown. Scribbly is at left above the text box, and two of the [[Toonerville Folks]] above him to the right. Cover art by [[Sheldon Mayer]].]]

==Titles==
* ''[[All-American Comics]]'' (began April 1939)
* ''[[All-Flash]]'' (began Summer 1941)
* ''[[All Star Comics]]'' (began Summer 1940; co-publication with Detective Comics, Inc.)
* ''[[Comic Cavalcade]]'' (began Winter 1942-1943)
* ''[[Flash Comics]]'' (began January 1940)
* ''Funny Stuff'' (began Summer 1944)
* ''[[Green Lantern (comic book)|Green Lantern]]'' (began Fall 1941)
* ''Movie Comics'' (1939)
* ''[[Mutt and Jeff]]'' (began September 1939)
* ''Picture Stories From The Bible - New Testament'' (1944–1945)
* ''Picture Stories From The Bible - Old Testament'' (1942 - Fall 1943)
* ''[[Sensation Comics]]'' (began January 1942)
* ''The Big All-American Comic Book'' (1944, one-shot)
* ''[[Wonder Woman (comic book)|Wonder Woman]]'' (began Summer 1942)

==All-American characters==
{{inc-lit|date=October 2021}}
[[Image:AllStar1.jpg|thumb|Premiere issue of ''[[All Star Comics]]'' (Summer 1940), the anthology that would introduce the [[Justice Society of America]] two issues later. Note the [[DC Comics|National / DC]] characters the [[The Sandman (DC Comics Golden Age)|Sandman]], the [[Spectre (comics)|Spectre]] and [[Hour-Man]].]]

===Superhero / masked crimefighter===
* [[Atom (Al Pratt)|The Atom]]
* [[Black Canary]]
* [[Doctor Mid-Nite]]
* [[Jay Garrick|The Flash]]
* The [[Gay Ghost]]
* [[Alan Scott|Green Lantern]]
* [[Hawkman#The Golden Age Hawkman (Carter Hall)|Hawkman]] and [[Hawkgirl]]
* [[Hop Harrigan]]
* [[King Standish|The King]]
* Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys
* [[Mister Terrific (comics)|Mr. Terrific]]
* [[Sargon the Sorcerer]]
* [[Johnny Thunder]]
* Gary Concord, the [[Ultra-Man]]
* [[Whip (comics)|The Whip]]
* [[Wildcat (DC Comics)|Wildcat]]
* [[Wonder Woman]]

===Adventurer/war===
* [[Black Pirate|The Black Pirate]]
* Cliff Cornwall
* Gunner Godbee
* Red, White and Blue (Red Dugan, Whitey Smith, Blooey Blue)

===Funny-animal / other humor===
* Bulldog Drumhead
* [[Red Tornado (Golden Age)|The Red Tornado]]
* [[Scribbly the Boy Cartoonist]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
{{reflist|group=mutt}}

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/dc.htm DC Comics], and [http://www.toonopedia.com/jsa.htm The Justice Society of America] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060203010103/http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/dchistory/DCHISTORY-1.htm DC Comics Timeline], SupermanArtists.comics.org
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[[Category:All-American Publications| ]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:1944 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Publishing companies based in New York City]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1939]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1944]]
[[Category:Publishing companies established in 1939]]
[[Category:Publishing companies disestablished in 1944]]
[[Category:1944 mergers and acquisitions]]