75 Years of DC Comics. The Art of Modern Mythmaking

The crown jewel in any comics fan’s library

"What began as a historical project . . . now may qualify as a history-making one." —The 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 material—at 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 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.

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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.

Winner of the 2011 Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Comics-Related Book of the Year!

The author:
Paul Levitz is a comic-book fan who has worked as editor/publisher of The Comic Reader, editor of the Batman titles and others, writer of over 300 stories—including an acclaimed run on Legion of Super-Heroes—and a DC Comics executive, finishing his 38-year stint with the company as President and Publisher. He returned to writing in 2010 with a new series of Legion stories and other projects.


75 Years of DC Comics. The Art of Modern Mythmaking
Leaf through!
Leaf through! Leaf through!

75 Years of DC Comics. The Art of Modern Mythmaking

Paul Levitz
Hardcover, 11.4 x 15.6 in., 720 pages, $ 200
ISBN 978-3-8365-1981-6
Edition: English
Availability: In Stock
  • Reviews
"DC Comics has joined forces with TASCHEN, the book publisher known for its eye for quality, modern design aesthetic and high-end art books spotlighting every aspect of culture: from art and movies to lifestyle and comics, to produce an ultra-comprehensive, extra large book so impressive, even super heroes may have trouble lifting it. ...The book also features massive fold-out timelines and an in-depth appendix that includes bios on artists, writers, editors, publishers and actors - what more do you need to know before this gets an automatic spot on your wish list?" DCU.com, New York, United States
  • Videos
DC's Big Book
Comicvine.com, April 2011
Hammer Lectures: 75 Years of DC Comics
With Patton Oswalt, Paul Levitz, Jim Lee, and Geoff Johns. Hammer Lecture, December 2010
  • See also
Yes is More. An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution
Yes is More. An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution
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Action-packed architecture! A manifesto of architecture as seen by the Copenhagen-based group BIG, told in comic book form