SECRET ORIGINS OF THE SUPER DC HEROES
1975
This was DC’s answer to Marvel’s very successful ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS. It was also one of the most highly-awaited books in my household from the time I saw the first house ads for it. Big and expensive, I had to wait for Christmas before I could afford my own copy. And what a book it was!
18 stories featuring both the golden age and the silver age origins of all of DC’s icon characters–some of which haven’t been reprinted since. A cornucopia of talent and reading enjoyment.
I read my copy literally to pieces, as witnessed by the crappy condition of the (detached) cover on the scan above. So if anybody’s got a copy in reasonable condition that they’re looking to sell…
2014 Note: I’ve replaced my copy twice over since this was written, once in softcover and then upgraded to hardcover sometime later.