Last month, DC announced a collaboration with TASCHEN Books: a massive history of DC Comics, written by Paul Levitz with tons of artwork from DC’s 75-year history.
At the time, I asked, “How soon can I pre-order this?”
Well, now I can…for the low, low price of $126, marked down from $200.*
Yow! That may be a little out of my budget. Admittedly, it’s a 650+ page hardcover full of glossy color printing that weighs in at 15 pounds (6.8kg). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows weighs less than three pounds, and even the slipcase edition of Comic Book Tattoo “only” weighs eight. Still, when the price gets into triple digits, I start thinking seriously about what else I could buy with that money instead.
Two other items are on the listing that I don’t recall seeing when I looked last month: a cover and a release date. I don’t know if the cover is final or preliminary. It’s on Amazon’s schedule for November 1, 2010, making this a likely Christmas gift for historically-inclined DC fans.
Amazon: 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking
*This tracks with the £135 that Acrobatic Flea spotted on Amazon UK a few weeks ago. So much for it being a placeholder price.
Maybe you can take out a Home Improvement loan based on the fact that it can be used as a part of an addition’s foundation? (Drop that sucker on the floor, balance a 2×4 on it and take a picture.)
I’m hoping to convince my wife that I really need this for Christmas (possibly in lieu of all my other presents!) as I can’t see any other way I’ll be able to get my hands on a copy. Thanks for the acknowledgment, by the way 😉
Hope there is more info on the Flash in this one. The last DC Hardcover Retrospect that I got years ago (1996 or so) was DC Comics : Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes and it had barely anything on any of the Flashes. Especially Wally West. I know there is a lot of history and characters to fit in these books but I think with all the milestones that all three characters represent there would be a bit more info on them.
I oddly enough wonder why people buy these timeline books when the company still exists. I see problems with this book are the resale problems, not to mention storage, and no one can turn the pages while holding the book.
Why not? We write biographies of people who are still alive, and histories of nations that still exist. We don’t wait until a city is destroyed before writing about its history, either.
Good points. All I meant by my earlier comment was that DC’s History is still being made so the books are constantly needing updates.
The good points statement is directed at Acrobatic Flea as well.
Thank you ;D
I think they are a memento of a moment in history, especially when they are specifically written to celebrate a certain anniversary. Taschen books in particular are usually designed as “coffee table” books, rather than for storage – almost conversation pieces to be browsed and flicked through, rather than read cover-to-cover.
The storage problem does come up when living space is an issue.
Yes, there is no rebuttal to that one 😉 If you don’t have the room, you don’t have the room… but it would probably make a nice corner table, bed support or burglar deterrent!
Burglar Deterrent Works.
You could prop it up above the door as a trap!