75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking

The crown jewel in any comics fanÕs library

"What began as a historical project . . . now may qualify as a history-making one." ÑThe Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles

In 1935, DC Comics founder Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun No. 1, the first comic book with all-new, original materialÑat a time when comic books were mere repositories for the castoffs of the newspaper strips. What was initially considered to be disposable media for children was well on its way to becoming the mythology of our timeÑthe 20th centuryÕs answer to Atlas or Zorro. More than 40,000 comic books later, in honor of the publisherÕs 75th anniversary, TASCHEN has produced the single most comprehensive book on DC Comics, in an XL edition even Superman might have trouble lifting. More than 2,000 imagesÑcovers and interiors, original illustrations, photographs, film stills, and collectiblesÑare reproduced using the latest technology to bring the story lines, the characters, and their creators to vibrant life as theyÕve never been seen before. Telling the tales behind the tomes is 38-year DC veteran Paul Levitz, whose in-depth essays trace the companyÕs history, from its pulp origins through to the future of digital publishing.

"The biggest (and best) gift you can buy a comic book fan this holiday season...the new release from TASCHEN that began as a historical project but now may qualify as a history-making one with its colossal ambitions, insight and collected rarities." Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times


by Paul Levitz
Hardcover, 11.4 x 15.6 in
720 pages