These live-action films, short films, TV movies, TV series and serials based on one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books, DC Comics. DC started in 1934 as National Allied Publications, then in the 1937, it formed as Detective Comics, Inc with the founder of the American comic book, Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz. The two merged on September 30, 1946 to become National Comics Publications, Inc. (renamed National Periodical Publications, Inc. in 1961). Despite the official names "National Comics" and "National Periodical Publications", the company began branding itself as "Superman-DC" as early as 1940, and the company became known colloquially as DC Comics for years before the official adoption of that name in 1977.