TASCHEN + MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 1961â1963 â CREATED WITH PHOTOS FROM SHELTONâS PERSONAL COLLECTION!
TASCHEN and Marvel Entertainment Announce âThe Marvel Comics Libraryâ;
Fantastic Four Vol. 1. 1961â1963
Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies
In 1961 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created The Fantastic Fourâa powerhouse super hero team revolutionary for their flaws and complexityâthat kicked the comic industry into high gear. This XXL volume from the Eisner Award-winning series reproduces the Fourâs first 20 stories and charts how it became in Leeâs words âthe worldâs greatest comic magazine.â
The First Family of the Marvel Age
The ultimate collection of the worldâs greatest comic magazine
Hoping to break out of a sales slump at Marvel in the early 1960s, veteran comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby hit on the idea of doing a super team. Kirby, who thought superheroes were due for a revival after 15 years of being pushed aside by romance, horror, and war comics, saw it as smart business. Lee just once wanted to âdo the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.â The Fantastic Four forever changed their careers, their lives, and the comic book industry.
Some of the most iconic moments in Marvel history are here, starting with Reed Richards, his girlfriend Sue Storm, his best friend Ben Grimm, and her little brother Johnny Storm crash landing their rocket after it has been hit cosmic rays and discovering they have been transformed into Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch in issue No. 1. They were emotionally complex characters, who werenât always sure whether their powers were a benefit or burden. Stories were set in New York City, not some fictional stand-in, and Marvel heroes regularly crossed over into each otherâs books. The art was dynamic and the writing conversational and engaging. Lee and Kirby were like the Lennon and McCartney of comic books. Where the talents of one ended and the other began was not always clear, but together one plus one equaled three.
Collected here in an XXL-size volume are the first 20 issues reproduced from the most pristine pedigreed original comics, which were cracked open and photographed in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company.
Featured alongside the comics is an in-depth essay by acclaimed Marvel writer Mark Waid, a foreword by former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, and original art, photographs, and other rarities. Welcome true believers to the Marvel Age of Comics.
The author
Mark Waid is a New York Times best-selling author who has written nearly two thousand comics and graphic novels over the course of his career. He has penned adventures for dozens of characters including Superman, Batman, the X-Men, Archie, and the Fantastic Four.
The contributing author
Mike Massimino, Ph.D, is a former NASA Astronaut who flew twice on the Space Shuttle to service the Hubble Space Telescope. He is a New York Times bestselling author, a Columbia University professor, an advisor at The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a television host and expert commentator, and a motivational speaker.
The artists
Stan Lee (1922â2018) is known to millions as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and hundreds of others. While the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, he was also the Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, where he created numerous new characters and stories in areas including publishing, film, TV reality, stage, documentary, and multimedia.
Jack Kirby (1917â1994) was one of comicsâ most legendary and prolific artists whose notable co-creations include Captain America, Avengers, X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Thor.
Marvel Comics Library. Fantastic Four. Vol. 1. 1961â1963
Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies
Mark Waid, Mike Massimino, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
ABOUT THE SERIES:
TASCHENâs extra-large format, close in size to the original artworks, reveal startling new details in the work of Marvelâs most acclaimed artists. For each title in the series, the most pristine pedigreed comics (from the collection of our own SHELTON DRUM!) have been cracked open for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Rather than recolor the original production artwork (as has been done in previous decadesâ reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. Beginning with high grade, top-quality comics sourced with the assistance of the CGC, super-high-resolution photographs of each page were made as printed more than half a century ago, using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the eraâs inexpensive, imperfect printing. This included improved and balanced ink densities and color matching, proper registration of the four-color printing and correction of thick/thin lines resulting from the flexible plates âsmudging.â The end result is a finished product â as if hot off a world-class printing press produced without economic or time-pressure constraints â tailored for readers, fans, artists and collectors alike.
Each volume features an essay by a comic book historian alongside hundreds of photos and artifacts. The books use three different paper stocks, including an uncoated and wood-free paper exclusively developed for this series that simulates the feel of the original comics.
The first 5,000 copies of Fantastic Four Vol. 1 will be numbered and released as a âFamous First Editionâ. The book is also available as a Collectorâs Edition, limited to 1,000 copies featuring an aluminum print cover tipped into a leatherette-bound spine, foil embossing, and housed in a slipcase. Each book is individually numbered. The inaugural purchase of the Collectorâs Edition entitles the collector to the selection of a personal favorite number between 1 and 1,000 on a first-come-first-serve basis. This will also secure a preemptive right to reserve a copy with the identical edition number for all forthcoming Collectorâs Edition titles in âThe Marvel Comic Libraryâ.
The next title in âThe Marvel Comics Libraryâ series will be Captain America, scheduled for release in 2023.
Shelton granted exclusive and unprecedented access to some of his most prized and beloved comics, and art, to assist in the creation of this comics tome.
âWorking with TASCHEN and the CGC on these books has been an honor. The finished product FAR EXCEEDS any pre-conceived expectations I may have held! I just opened the box with the book, and I know the word might be overused, but it is FANTASTIC! The production quality is awesome. I love it!â
We have a few copies available for purchase in-store NOW, or you can order your copy to have it shipped today!
The Marvel Comics Library Fantastic Four Vol. 1. 1961â1963
Hardcover, 11 x 15.6 in., 10.48 lbs, 700 pages
US$ 200.00
Famous First Edition: First printing of 5,000 numbered copies
Shipping is an additional $25.00 if you are unable to pick up in store.
Pre-Order your copy for pick-up in our store HERE
Order your copy to be shipped HERE – Ships within the US ONLY
