By early 1963 the foundations of the Marvel Age had been laid. Marvel editor in chief Stan Lee realized something was missing, so Lee and artist Jack Kirby assembled Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor, and the Hulk to create the Avengers. If the Fantastic Four were family, then the Avengers were the co-workers you didn't choose. Not everyone got along-the Hulk fought with everyone-but working together they could defeat the baddest of Marvel's bad guys, like Loki, Kang the Conqueror, the Masters of Evil, and Immortus. Relive the classic early adventures of Avengers Nos. 1-20 in an XXL-sized edition that's bigger than the Hulk's fist, weightier than Thor's hammer, and with more extras than Iron Man's armor. TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques. Accompanying the stories are an original foreword by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and an in-depth history by the Eisner Award-winning writer Kurt Busiek that's illustrated with original art, little-seen photographs, and rare documents.