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he co-created Excalibur with Claremont, a series uniting Captain Britain with several
X-Men characters in a U.K.-based superhero group. Davis left Excalibur in 1989, but
returned to the title as its writer and artist from 1991 to 1993. In 1994, Davis invented
ClanDestine for Marvel, a series about a British family of superheroes that he wrote
and drew. However, due to disputes with editorial, he left after only eight issues. In
1995, Davis committed to work for other publishers, but much of it was derailed
before publication. In 1997, he returned to Marvel, relaunching Fantastic Four with
writer Scott Lobdell. From 1998 through 2000, Davis wrote both Uncanny X-Men and
X-Men, also drawing the latter. In 2004, he reunited with Claremont for another year-
long stint on Uncanny X-Men. Other Marvel projects in the 2000s include a brief run
drawing Avengers, as well as writing and drawing the miniseries Killraven, Fantastic
Four: Th e End and, returning to his 1994 creation, ClanDestine.
Recent updates on Davis’s web site suggest that medical complications in his wrist
resulting from an accident at the age of 13 are aff ecting his work, but Davis refers to
his condition as “more of an annoyance than a disability.” As of May 2009, he continues
work on several Marvel projects.
Selected Bibliography: Davis, Alan. “News: 23 May 2009.” Alan Davis Comicart
(May 23, 2009). http://www.alandavis-comicart.com/AADNEWS.html; Davis,
Alan. “Stick with It, It Gets Better!” X-Men Archives Featuring Captain Britain 1
(1995): 2–3; Shutt, Craig. “On the Brink.” Wizard: Th e Comics Magazine 81 (1998):
42 – 46.
Marc-Oliver Frisch
DC COMICS. Perhaps the oldest continuing publisher of comic books in the world,
DC Comics is the publishing home of some of the most important characters in
American pop culture, such as Superman, Batman, Wo n d e r Wo m a n, and others.
Currently owned by the media conglomerate Time Warner, DC operates under a
variety of imprints and publishes a diverse line of comic books and graphic novels.
Th e company now known as DC Comics was founded in 1934 as National Allied
Publications by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, a cavalry veteran, adventurer, and
pulp writer. National, as it was then known, published titles such as New Fun (later
More Fun) and New Comics that showcased original comic strips. Wheeler-Nicholson
was only a modestly successful businessman, so he sought outside assistance for fund-
ing to expand his publishing line to a third title. Th is outside help was in the form
of Harry Donnenfeld and Jack Liebowitz, who operated Independent News, a pulp
magazine publisher and distributor. Together, in 1937, they published the fi rst issue
of Detective Comics, and formed a separate business partnership, Detective Comics,
Inc., to publish it. Before long, Wheeler-Nicholson sold out his share of ownership in
Detective Comics, Inc., as well as National Allied Publications, leaving Donnenfeld and
Liebowitz in charge. For much of its history, DC was an independent company, largely
owned by Leibowitz and Donnenfeld. In 1967, DC was purchased by Kinney National
