When I first saw the photo of my old pal Paul Levitz holding his new book, I was shocked. Apparently, he fashioned a lens out of white dwarf star matter and used it to shrink himself down to a much smaller size.* Then the other day, I was in the Taschen bookstore in Farmer's Market and I saw the volume in question. That's when I realized Paul hasn't shrunk. It's just that the book is the size of a Toyota Corolla.
I don't have my copy yet of 75 Years of DC Comics but I can review it just from a fast paging-through at the shop. If you have any affection or interest in the company that publishes Superman, Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and so many other treasures, you have to have this book. It's expensive and it'll be a bitch to store and you may herniate yourself turning more than five pages at a time…but you have to have this book. It's a wonderful celebration of all those comics and the folks who made them. Every time you flip a page, you're face to face with a stunning image…perhaps a rare old cover, perhaps a priceless photograph, perhaps an obscure or unpublished piece of something. And Paul's text, which I've yet to read in full, seems to make a great deal of sense out of a company that's done an awful lot of things that didn't make sense, especially before he became a big part of its management.
If you buy one at a Taschen store, it'll run you $200 but I know you. You're way too smart to pay that. Here's an Amazon link that will get you a copy for, at the moment, $126. This is a bargain, especially if you hate your U.P.S. driver and want to do bodily harm to the guy. I suspect if you scan the 'net and really search, you might find someone who has it for a buck or two cheaper (Barnes & Noble wants $139.14) but not a lot cheaper. Taschen books are usually not discounted even that much. Their $1300 Playboy book is offered at Amazon for $999, which is only a 23% discount. Paul's DC book is 37% off there…if you act now. So act now.
*In case you don't get the reference, scientist Ray Palmer learned how to shrink himself down and become The Atom by fashioning a lens out of white dwarf star matter. And don't tell me that's impossible if you've never tried it.