Action Comics is an
American comic book series that
introduced Superman, one of the first major
superhero characters as the term is popularly defined. The publisher was originally known as
Detective Comics, Inc., and later as National Comics and as National Periodical Publications, before taking on its current name of
DC Comics. Its original incarnation ran from 1938 to 2011 and stands as one of the longest-running comic books with consecutively numbered issues; a second volume of
Action Comics, beginning again with issue #1, was launched in 2011 and is currently in publication as of 2016.