Independent News
| Company type | National Periodical Publications |
|---|
Independent News Co. was a
History
Origins
In 1929, as a favor to an old client, pulp magazine publisher Harry Donenfeld gave work to the client's son, Jack Liebowitz.[1] Donenfeld and Liebowitz had little in common, but Liebowitz soon emerged as a man who could run finances.[2] Whereas Donenfeld would promise the world to clients without understanding the economic realities, Liebowitz was bookish and ensured bills were paid on time and helped create respectability in the firm. Soon the two men were spoken of as a partnership.
When Liebowitz first worked for Donenfeld, the latter's empire was little more than a publishing house for "
With Sampliner running the distribution end,[4] Donenfeld as salesman, Harry's youngest brother Irving (not to be mistaken for Harry's son: Irwin Donenfeld[5]) as head printer, and Liebowitz running the finances, they launched Independent News in 1932.[6] The Donenfeld brothers had begun as printers, and they continued printing the company's magazine and comic book covers even after branching into distribution.[7]
Now Donenfeld was a distributor as well as a publisher, and was now no longer reliant on others to run his business. As a publisher, Donenfeld had managed to dodge creditors and break deals, but as a distributor, he came to rely more on Liebowitz to ensure that the company ran smoothly. Liebowitz ensured bills were paid on time and began to build trust with clients that Donenfeld's enterprises had never experienced.[8]
Expansion
In 1935, writer/entrepreneur
The fourth publication under National Allied Publications would be
Max Gaines, future founder of EC Comics, formed All-American Publications in 1938 after successfully seeking funding from Harry Donenfeld.,[11] As Gerard Jones writes of Donenfeld's investment:
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].[12]
In 1946, Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, keeping only Picture Stories from the Bible as the foundation of his own new company,
Consolidation
The biggest magazine distribution company of this era was American News Company, which had a virtual monopoly on all comics except DC's. From 1952 to 1957 Atlas Comics publisher Martin Goodman distributed his company's comics to newsstands through his self-owned distributor, Atlas. He then switched to American News — which shortly afterward lost a Justice Department lawsuit and discontinued its business.[14] Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn to its biggest rival, National (DC) Comics which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editor Stan Lee recalled in a 1988 interview:
... [We had been] turning out 40, 50, 60 books a month, maybe more, and ... suddenly we went ... to either eight or 12 books a month, which was all Independent News Distributors would accept from us.[15]
American Comics Group, another comic book publisher from the era (also with ties to Harry Donenfeld), was distributed by Independent News, as were such popular magazines as Playboy and Family Circle.[4]
Jack Liebowitz stayed with Independent News until 1965, eventually becoming a co-owner.[16] Irwin Donenfeld, who was DC's editorial director in the 1960s, was also a vice president of Independent News.[17]
In 1966, Independent News expanded its operations to the United Kingdom by acquiring the bankrupt British publisher/distributor Thorpe & Porter.[18] With this purchase, Independent News became the sole distributor of American comics in the U.K., handling not only DC's output but also those of a few rival publishers, such as Marvel (until 1969), in addition to pulp and popular magazines.[18]
Sale and demise
In 1967, National Periodical Publications (including Independent News) was purchased by
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Jones, p. 62.
- ^ Jones, p. 89.
- ^ Jones, pg 88–89.
- ^ a b Cooke, Jon B. "Donenfeld's Comics: A Talk with Irwin Donenfeld, 1960s DC Editorial Director," Comic Book Artist Collection, vol. 2. (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002), p. 67.
- ^ Alter Ego #26, pg 53. Irwin Donenfeld says: "I was the only Irwin. My uncle Irving..."
- ^ Jones, pp. 89–92.
- ^ Independent News entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
- ^ Jones, pg 92.
- ^ Jones, pp. 101–102, 107–108, 125.
- ^ Jones, p. 142.
- ^ Jones, p. 147.
- ^ Jones, p. 164.
- ^ Jones, p. 223.
- ^ Jones, p. [citation needed]
- ^ "Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas". Comic Book Artist. No. 2. Summer 1998. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009.
- ^ Liebowitz entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
- ^ Donenfeld entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
- ^ Box.com. Retrieved Dec. 28, 2020.
- ^ "DC Comics," Don Markstein's Toonopedia.
- ^ Chamberlin entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
- ^ Marx, Barry, Cavalieri, Joey and Hill, Thomas (w), Petruccio, Steven (a), Marx, Barry (ed). "Warner Publishing Services Fifty Years of Distributing Comics" Fifty Who Made DC Great, p. 12 (1985). DC Comics.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-465-03656-1