75 years of DC Comics : the art of modern mythmaking

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75 years of pow ! biff ! smash ! ! !

On December 15, 1978, the dreams of generations of American children finally came true. « You'll believe a man can fly, » read the posters and billboards for the blockbuster film Superman. With undeniable mass appeal, it cemented the role of the super hero as America's most enduring archetype, and the comic book as one of the country's most significant native art forms.

In 1935, DC Comics founder Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun No. 1, the first comic book with all-new, original material - at a time when comic books were mere repositories for the castoffs of the news-paper strips. Just a few years later, demoralized from the Great Depression and on the verge of another Great War, America was desperately in need of a hero when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman electrified the cover of Action Comics No. 1, launching the Golden Age of Comics. Almost instantly, Superman became the biggest success the fledgling comic book industry had seen. By the following year, with vigilante antihero Batman's debut in Detective Comics No. 27, DC had become a veritable factory for super heroes - Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hawkman - and a Rogues Gallery of super villains - Lex Luthor, the Penguin, Catwoman, Bizarro, Egg Fu, and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were bounding off the page and on to radio and television, the big screen, and store shelves worldwide. What was initially considered to be disposable media for children was well on its way to becoming the mythology of our time - the 20th century's answer to Atlas or Zorro.

More than 40 000 comic books later, in honor of the publisher's 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 images - covers and interiors, original illustrations, photographs, film stills, and collectibles - are reproduced using the latest technology to bring the story lines, the characters, and their creators to vibrant life as they've never been seen before. Telling the tales behind the tomes is 38-year DC veteran Paul Levitz, whose in-depth essays trace the company's history, from its pulp origins through to the future of digital publishing. Year-by-year timelines that fold out to nearly four feet and biographies of the legends who built DC make this an invaluable reference for any comic book fan.

From the atom to zatara 75 years of DC comics

The Art of Comics : DC's super heroes - icons of the 20th century brought to life by the legendary comic book publisher. Now Taschen has created a book as epic as the characters DC has immortalized, and one that belongs in the libraries of art aficionados, students of popular culture, and comic book fans alike.

The Most Comprehensive Book Ever About DC Comics : From the world's most valuable comic books, original artwork, and ephemera, to behind-the-scenes photographs, film stills, animation, and posters. More than 2 000 images, including hundreds of rarities never before published in book form.

The World's Greatest Super Heroes : Superman, Batman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Spectre, Dr. Fate, Supergirl, Batgirl, Power Girl, Swamp Thing, Jonah Hex, the Sandman, Watchmen, and many more.

Behind the Scenes, a Cast of Thousands : Including pioneers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Midcentury innovators Julius Schwartz, Mort Weisinger, Carmine Infantino, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, and Dennis O'Neil. Modern masters Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Jim Lee, and Geoff Johns.