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Taschen’s best books: Star Wars, Disney, Adidas and more

The Taschen’s books they have always attracted attention for their cover. They are generally spectacular volumes that attract anyone’s attention and are even used to decorate certain spaces. But Taschen’s books are more than just a pretty face. They also count cool stories And it is precisely in that combination of aesthetics and content that I find myself today, making a selection of my favorite publications.

Taschen, an iconic publisher

You may not know it, but the Taschen publishing house is relatively young. It was founded in Germany in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen, who since he was 12 years old was already selling used comics around the house to get some money. At 18 he had already opened his first store (called Taschen Cómics) and two years later a second one that would be the firm’s definitive takeoff. And it is that after the purchase of thousands of editions that were in settlement and that he sold for twice what he bought, he raised enough money to publish a photography book of Annie Leibovitz with his own label, the cornerstone of a career that would be followed by editions by numerous renowned artists (including Picasso).

Image of Tachen inspired by The Simpsons

Currently, the publishing house has numerous categories among which those of art, architecture, design, urban culture and cinema stand out. He has also been working (again) on the comics line for some time, with special editions that pay tribute to studios like Marvel and that are real gems for fans.

Whoever writes these lines declares himself an absolute fan of his books and, in fact, I have more than 15 Taschen books in my library: some more common and others more special editions due to their format. Today I select you my favorites and I show you on video.

My 7 favorite Taschen books

Although you have them on video just on these lines, I also leave you my selection in writing.

The Star Wars Archive

really this is a combo of two volumes, but it is difficult to understand a book without the other. I mean The Star Wars Archives in XXL size, with the edition that covers from 1977 to 1983 -currently out of print at the publisher- and the one that covers from 1999 to 2005. These books are created in collaboration with Lucasfilm and George Lucas himself and they bring everything you can imagine related to the movies: parts of scripts, production documents, shooting photographs, concept drawings that never saw the light of day, official posters…

In short, all kinds of material related, on the one hand, to the episodes IV, V and VI and, on the other, to episodes I, II and III.

The Stan Lee Story

The jewel that every Marvel lover (and especially Stan Lee) should have in their library. This huge XXL edition book has a very attractive and attractive cover and inside it makes a detailed review of the cartoonist’s entire life and his creations most prominent -which are not few.

It is written by Roy Thomas, famous comic book writer and editor who succeeded Stan Lee as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics, and brings together never-before-seen photos, original drawings, fragments of comics… To get lost in it for hours.

Adidas Archive

At home we are quite fans of sports shoes to wear, so my library could not miss a book related to this world. This book, which weighs 5 kilos, has 644 pages on the history from Adidas, the design of its most iconic sneakers and it even teaches you prototypes that have never seen the light.

It is true that there is a reduced and much cheaper version (with 112 pages), but I think this XL edition from the German firm is much more worthwhile.

Sneaker Freaker

And another book about sneakers. In this case, it is an anthology of the 15 years of the cult magazine Sneaker Freakera benchmark within this world and urban clothing.

With a very striking cover in gold, the book reviews the evolution of this element as a garment and how it has changed over the decades, reviewing very iconic ranges such as Air Max, Air Force, Converse, the family from Michael Jordan, the Yeezy… None are missing.

her majesty

My love for everything that has to do with the British royal family and my fever for the series The Crown (from Netflix) were more than enough reasons for me to be given the volume of her majesty.

This beautiful book makes an incredible review of the life of the late Queen of England, Elizabeth II, through photographs that have been taken from 1926 to the last one that illustrates this edition and that was captured in 2022. Of XL edition, it is a real joy for those who are fans of this historical figure.

The Walt Disney Archives

very much in the style of The Star Wars Archiveswe also have the publisher’s catalog The Disney Archives about animated films from the Disney factory. Taschen describes it as a tribute to the eternal magic of the golden age of animation who lived the study and whose history can be reviewed through the 1,500 images that the volume brings together – it is an XXL edition.

Photographs of the filming, transcripts, sketches, scripts… you will find endless material relative to both the first short films and the classic films that we all know as can be Snow White, The little Mermaid, pinocchio either the jungle book.

And you, do you have any Taschen book that you want to recommend to us? Leave it to us in comments.

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