180:. Donenfeld and Liebowitz had little in common, but Liebowitz soon emerged as a man who could run finances. 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.
422:. The Donenfelds and their "crew" were out, and new management came in. By 1970, Independent News was defunct, absorbed into a larger and changing distribution business. Independent News' last president was Harold Chamberlin, who served from 1968 to 1970. Chamblerin went on to become president of
210:
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
199:
and could no longer pay its publishers; the company owed
Donenfeld alone $ 30,000. A compromise was called for, and Donenfeld, not wanting to find himself hamstrung by a distributor again, approached Sampliner with the idea of creating the Independent News Company, a publishing house with its own
298:
Harry had agreed on one condition: that take 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
247:, in which Wheeler-Nicholson was forced to take Donenfeld and Liebowitz as partners. In 1938, Donenfeld sued Wheeler-Nicholson for nonpayment and Detective Comics Inc. went into bankruptcy. Not too surprisingly Donenfeld bought up the company and Wheeler-Nicholson's
207:) as head printer, and Liebowitz running the finances, they launched Independent News in 1932. The Donenfeld brothers had begun as printers, and they continued printing the company's magazine and comic book covers even after branching into distribution.
299:
significant bonuses from
Detective Comics and 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 .
402:. 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.
229:, having lost his previous backers due to poor sales and debts. Donenfeld accepted to distribute the comic but with a heavy loss of rights for Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson produced two more titles to be handled by Independent News,
311:. "Liebowitz promptly orchestrated the merger of All-American and Detective Comics into National Comics.... Next he took charge of organizing National Comics, Independent News, and their affiliated firms into a single corporate entity,
315:". Donnenfeld was also minority owner in pulp magazine distributor Leader News Company, who started it in 1939 until 1956, during that time the company distributed magazines by Trojan, as well as
362:... 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.
495:
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.
343:
distributed his company's comics to newsstands through his self-owned distributor, Atlas. He then switched to
American News — which shortly afterward lost a
426:
from 1970 to 1979. As Warner
Publishing Services, the company was named by DC Comics as one of the honorees in the company's 50th-anniversary publication
369:, another comic book publisher from the era (also with ties to Harry Donenfeld), was distributed by Independent News, as were such popular magazines as
272:, and the character's popularity created incredible profits; not only in comic book sales, but also in merchandising such as toys, costumes and even a
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768:
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With
Sampliner running the distribution end, Donenfeld as salesman, Harry's youngest brother Irving (not to be mistaken for Harry's son:
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273:
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ensured bills were paid on time and began to build trust with clients that
Donenfeld's enterprises had never experienced.
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and discontinued its business. Atlas was left without distribution and was forced to turn to its biggest rival,
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Vol. 1: "SF Crime Horror
Westerns & Comics" (Wilts, UK: Zeon Publishing / Zardoz Books, 1993), pp. 16–29.
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411:
183:
When Liebowitz first worked for Donenfeld, the latter's empire was little more than a publishing house for "
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37:
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151:. Independent News distributed all DC publications, as well as those of a few rival publishers, such as
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336:
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In 1967, National Periodical Publications (including Independent News) was purchased by
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629:"Stan the Man & Roy the Boy: A Conversation Between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas"
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which imposed draconian restrictions on Goodman's company. As then-Atlas editor
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and popular magazines. The company was founded in 1932 and operated until 1970.
678:
Chibnall, Steve. "The Sign of the Tee Pee: The Story of Thorpe & Porter,"
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509:#26, pg 53. Irwin Donenfeld says: "I was the only Irwin. My uncle Irving..."
351:
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739:). "Warner Publishing Services Fifty Years of Distributing Comics"
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stayed with Independent News until 1965, eventually becoming a co-owner.
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in 1938 after successfully seeking funding from Harry Donenfeld., As
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The fourth publication under National Allied Publications would be
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Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book
223:
approached Independent News in a bid to relaunch his comic book
172:
In 1929, as a favor to an old client, pulp magazine publisher
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The biggest magazine distribution company of this era was
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In 1966, Independent News expanded its operations to the
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by acquiring the bankrupt British publisher/distributor
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In 1946, Gaines let Liebowitz buy him out, keeping only
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98:
87:
79:
65:
57:
43:
33:
714:, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
666:, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
654:, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
530:, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
360:
296:
239:(which would later see the first appearance of
335:on all comics except DC's. From 1952 to 1957
8:
28:
16:Magazine and comic book distribution company
743:, p. 12 (1985). DC Comics.
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260:(1938). Issue #1 introduced the superhero,
307:as the foundation of his own new company,
27:
637:. No. 2. Summer 1998. Archived from
251:in their entirety as part of the action.
187:" and art nudie magazines distributed by
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191:, a company run by Charles Dreyfus and
7:
680:Paperback, Pulp and Comic Collector
294:writes of Donenfeld's investment:
155:from 1957 to 1969, in addition to
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548:Jones, pp. 101–102, 107–108, 125.
313:National Periodical Publications
145:National Periodical Publications
122:National Periodical Publications
731:), Petruccio, Steven (
176:gave work to the client's son,
358:recalled in a 1988 interview:
305:Picture Stories from the Bible
195:. In 1931, Eastern News faced
1:
219:In 1935, writer/entrepreneur
249:National Allied Publications
702:Don Markstein's Toonopedia.
243:), now under the banner of
21:For unassociated news, see
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690:. Retrieved Dec. 28, 2020.
20:
735:), Marx, Barry (
288:All-American Publications
221:Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson
799:Distribution (marketing)
414:, which later purchased
147:, the parent company of
741:Fifty Who Made DC Great
727:and Hill, Thomas (
429:Fifty Who Made DC Great
416:Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
412:Kinney National Company
528:Independent News entry
483:Jones, pg 88–89.
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331:, which had a virtual
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641:on February 18, 2009.
420:Warner Communications
367:American Comics Group
329:American News Company
245:Detective Comics Inc.
200:distribution system.
763:(Basic Books, 2004)
352:National (DC) Comics
282:, future founder of
264:, created by artist
130:Independent News Co.
29:Independent News Co.
804:Magazine publishing
599:www.pulpartists.com
400:Thorpe & Porter
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345:Justice Department
143:business owned by
104:Irving Donenfeld,
784:Book distributors
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723:Marx, Barry,
634:Comic Book Artist
518:Jones, pp. 89–92.
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270:Jerry Siegel
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189:Eastern News
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141:distribution
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88:Headquarters
34:Company type
18:
418:and became
268:and writer
266:Joe Shuster
38:Distributor
778:Categories
618:Jones, p.
448:References
339:publisher
280:Max Gaines
274:radio show
231:New Comics
197:bankruptcy
138:comic book
100:Key people
794:DC Comics
595:"Catalog"
506:Alter Ego
317:EC Comics
309:EC Comics
286:, formed
284:EC Comics
215:Expansion
149:DC Comics
52:magazines
684:Archived
604:July 12,
436:See also
356:Stan Lee
333:monopoly
262:Superman
185:sex pulp
134:magazine
44:Industry
751:Sources
688:Box.com
372:Playboy
348:lawsuit
226:New Fun
168:Origins
163:History
80:Defunct
66:Founder
58:Founded
767:
241:Batman
132:was a
117:Parent
94:, U.S.
48:Comics
453:Notes
765:ISBN
606:2024
375:and
233:and
157:pulp
136:and
83:1970
61:1932
686:at
780::
759:,
737:ed
671:^
631:.
597:.
488:^
432:.
381:.
319:.
108:,
50:,
733:a
729:w
608:.
25:.
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