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Wednesday, December 01, 2010

75 Years of DC Comics - 2010

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It's here! It's here!

Waiting for me when I got home on Monday was a box so large I thought to myself, "When did we order a new refrigerator?"

Of course, inside the box was something better--it was the brand-new book 75 Years of DC Comics, published by Taschen. As some of have discovered for yourself, the book is simply massive--measuring around 16x12" and over 700 pages, it comes in its own carrying case.

Looking on the outside of the case, there are a bunch of headshots: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and...Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's Sandman. While this was predictable, I worried that like a lot of the other "DC 75" projects we've seen, Aquaman would be woefully underrepresented.

I needn't have worried--going right to the index like the little Aqua-nerd I am, I found Aquaman makes numerous appearances in this historic book. Some as a member of the JLA, but, more importantly, more as a solo star. Since this book is too damn big for me to scan in, I pulled out my camera and took some shots of the pages in question:
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Aquaman's best moment(s) comes on pages 346-349, which are entirely devoted to him. I can't tell you how geeky giddy I was seeing one of my all-time favorite Aquaman eras featured so prominently. This book was written--at least partially--by DC legend Paul Levitz, who wrote a few Aquaman stories himself. Maybe that worked in the Sea King's favor?

There are of course a half-dozen or so other moments of Aqua-History that I would have loved to have seen covered (the Pozner/Hamilton mini-series, JLA Detroit, the PAD era, one of those kick-ass Alan Davis covers from the last Aquaman solo series), but for once I'm not going to complain--Aquaman is shown off here to good effect, which makes this book a winner for me. I can now enjoy it without reservations.


Earlier in the year, some people from Taschen had contacted me about using some vintage comics pics I had up on my Hey Kids, Comics! blog in the book. I was of course thrilled to help out, and even more thrilled that one of the photos I submitted made it into the book (top right, page 200).

Since I didn't own the rights to the photo (I just happened to possess the biggest usable version of it), my name isn't next to the photo, which is correctly credited to "anonymous." But I did get credited on the back credits page, along with my Hey Kids, Comics! blog, which was where Taschen first saw it:
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I'm very happy I could help out, and am over the moon by one of my little ol' blogs got listed in a historical tome like this--not to mention the fact that by providing that photo, Taschen generously sent me a free copy of the book. Since this baby retails for $200, that was quite a gesture.


Speaking of owning a copy, Amazon has this book on sale for something like $125, so if you're inclined to get this for yourself (or drop a Acme safe-sized hint on someone to get it for you), you can do so by clicking below while simultaneously throwing the Aquaman Shrine a couple of bucks:


Even if you're not planning on getting this, the next time you're in a book store check to see if it has an open copy of the book on display--I know some stores do, and its really quite a treasure trove for any comics fan.


Post Script: Between writing this and posting it, Taschen was kind enough to send some PDFs of some of the Aquaman pages in this book. Here are a couple of them, which you can click on to read the captions:
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10 comments:

David J. Cutler said...

This is from a comic book resources preview of the book. Whoever posed that Nightwing figure next to Aquaman made a HUGE mistake.

David J. Cutler said...

This book looks amazing by the way hahaha... really wish I could afford it.

Anonymous said...

Great post! Good to see some of the interior pages. I'm definitely getting that!

Colin Smith said...

That's a fascinating post. Thank you. It's such a beguiling book, isn't it, but such an expensive one! Still, quality of this kind doesn't come cheap, so I'll just have to save the pennies.

Diabolu Frank said...

Congratulations!

Did the Martian Manhunter get any kind of solo spotlight, or just the usual footnotes and group shots? I don't sweat it as much as you, because my guy isn't supposed to be iconic...

Diabolu Frank said...

Side note: How galling is it that Captain Marvel AND the Martian Manhunter are front row near center in that picture posted in the first comment, while Aquaman is second row left being sexually harassed?

rob! said...

David--That Nightwing figure is...unfortunate. He must be thinking about Babs.

Zombie--Thanks!

Colin--It is a great book. Like I mentioned, Amazon is selling it at almost half off. Also, Borders frequently has 50% coupons, so you could pick the book up for around $100 if so inclined!

Frank--No, J'onn doesn't get a solo spot. He's definitely in there, but he's around the same level as Hawkman, Atom, etc.--seen throughout but not given much in the way of a spotlight.

Wings1295 said...

Wow - That is amazing! I am so happy you posted some pics & scans. Thanks Rob! Enjoy it!

wich2 said...

A well-deserved AquaSalute, Rob!

Happy Holidays,
-Craig

P.S. - Now, if DC would just stick with that larger, Treasuryesque size. (The Simon/Kirby books in that format are SO great!) It slays me - in an era when TV images have gotten bigger and bigger, Comics fans have been content with smaller and smaller...

IADW said...

Wow what an awesome book! And the Aquaman throws a polar bear splash makes the grade!

Hopefully if Santa hasn't pulled out of the driveway just yet he can through one of these on board for me!