Direct Currents is the name of several promotional features by DC Comics, including a long-running newsletter.
History
Direct Currents was first used as the name of a text feature appearing in DC's comics beginning in 1966. In the 1970s, the feature appeared in DC's fan magazine The Amazing World of DC Comics. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, the name was also used for one of the features in DC's Daily Planet house ads.
From November 1976 to July 1977, DC had its own toll-free phone number called the Direct Currents Hot-Line, where fans could hear pre-recorded messages from DC staff about upcoming titles. The phone number was so popular (it was receiving an average of 100,000 calls a week toward its end) that it had to be shut down due to strain on the telephone system.
Beginning in 1978 and lasting a little more than a year, Direct Currents was the name for a one-page newsletter. The newsletter, which was available by subscription, featured a 13" by 18" poster cover.
In 1988, Direct Currents became the title of a free monthly newsletter distributed by comic book stores, containing articles about DC Comics titles being released that month as well as a checklist of the month's new releases. It was a replacement for DC's previous newsletter, DC Releases. Unlike DC Releases, which was printed in black and white and magazine-sized, Direct Currents was printed in color and was the size of a regular comic book. Eventually, Direct Currents contained a flipbook format, with one side containing features about DC Universe titles, and the other containing features about titles from DC's Vertigo and Paradox Press imprints. The newsletter ran for a total of 92 issues, ending in 1995, and also produced two specials.
Beginning in November 2016, the name was used for a free quarterly magazine offering sneak peeks of every DC title.