Roy Thomas & Taschen Celebrate 75 Years Of Marvel In New Book

Besides Stan Lee, there's virtually no one alive with more insider knowledge about Marvel Comics than Lee's successor in the editor-in-chief job, Roy Thomas, so it's appropriate that Thomas' name adorns the cover to Marvel and deluxe books publisher Taschen's new 700-plus-page hardcover 75 Years of Marvel: From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen.

Thomas worked with editor and art director Josh Baker to piece together the massive volume, and according to a Marvel press release, the book will focus as much on Marvel creators as the company's iconic characters. That's encouraging.

Specifically, the release says the book will discuss not only on "celebrated characters – Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor and Iron Man, but also at the “bullpen” of architects whose names are almost as familiar as the protagonists they brought to life -- Stan “the Man” Lee, Jack “King” Kirby, along with a roster of greats like Steve Ditko, John Romita, John Buscema, Marie Severin, and countless others."

Odds are the stories will be rather different from those told in author Sean Howe's often unflattering Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. Or maybe not. It'll be interesting to compare.

In addition to essays by Thomas, the book will include 2,000 images and a four-foot foldout timeline spanning from 1939's Marvel Comics #1 to today's blockbuster films.

75 Years of Marvel: From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen goes on sale this fall for a whopping cover price of $200.