Classic Comics

Infobox comic book title
title = Classic Comics

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caption = Original line-drawn cover, issue 1
schedule = Irregular
format =
ongoing=y
publisher = Elliot Publishing Co. (1941-1942)
Gilberton Company, Inc. (1942-1967 as "Classics Illustrated")
date = October 1941 — February 1947
issues = 34
main_char_team =
writers =
artists = Various including Lillian Chesney, Matt Baker, and Henry Kiefer
pencillers =
inkers =
colorists =
creative_team_month =
creative_team_year =
creators = Albert Lewis Kanter
subcat=American comics
sort=PAGENAME

"Classic Comics" is a comic book series that features adaptations of novels, plays, and other literary works in comic book format. The series debuted in 1941, was irregularly published in its first years, and changed its name to "Classics Illustrated" in 1947. The series ceased publication altogether in 1971. With their garish line-drawn covers and art, "Classic Comics" books are highly collectible.

History

Russian-born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) created "Classic Comics" for Elliot Publishing Company in October 1941 with debut title "The Three Musketeers". "Ivanhoe" and "The Count of Monte Cristo" followed.

In addition to the literary adaptations, Kanter's books featured author profiles, educational fillers, and ads for coming titles. The first five titles were published irregularly under the banner "Classic Comics Presents" while issues six and seven were published under the banner "Classic Comics Library" with a ten-cent cover price. "Arabian Nights" (issue 8) is the first issue to use the "Classics Comics" banner.

With "The Last of the Mohicans" (issue 4) in 1942, Kanter moved the operation to new offices and the corporate identity was changed to the Gilberton Company, Inc.. The reprinting of previously issued titles began in 1943. "Don Quixote" (issue 11) was the first issue to feature a catalog of titles and a subscription order form on its back cover. Wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce the 68-page format to 60 pages beginning with "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (issue 13), and then to 52 pages with "Frankenstein" (issue 26). The last "Classic Comics" was "Mysterious Island" (issue 34, February 1947). The series name-changed in March 1947 to "Classics Illustrated" with "The Last Days of Pompeii" (issue 35). "Classic Comics" issues 1-34 were thereafter reprinted as "Classics Illustrated", sometimes with covers and art redone. The line ceased publication in 1971.

"Classic Comics" is marked by varying quality in art and is celebrated today for its often garish but highly collectible line-drawn covers. Artists include Lillian Chesney ("Arabian Nights", issue 8, and "Gulliver's Travels", issue 16), Webb and Brewster ("Frankenstein", issue 26), Matt Baker ("Lorna Doone", issue 32), and Henry Carl Kiefer (second cover for "The Prince and the Pauper", issue 29, cover for "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", issue 33, and the first "Classics Illustrated" issue "The Last Days of Pompeii", issue 35). "Oliver Twist" (issue 23) was the first title produced by the Eisner & Iger shop.

Some titles were packaged in gift boxes of threes or fours during the period with specific themes such as adventure or mystery. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (issue 13) and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (issue 15) were both cited in Dr. Frederic Wertham's infamous 1954 condemnation of comic books "Seduction of the Innocent". Original edition "Classic Comics" in Near Mint condition command prices in the thousands of dollars.

"Classic Comics" titles

# "The Three Musketeers" (October 1941, 68 pages)
# "Ivanhoe" (December 1941)
# "The Count of Monte Cristo" (March 1942)
# "The Last of the Mohicans" (August 1942)
# "Moby Dick" (September 1942)
# "A Tale of Two Cities" (October 1942; cover and art by Zuckerberg)
# "Robin Hood" (December 1942)
# "Arabian Nights" (February 1942; cover and art by Lilian Chesney)
# "Les Miserables" (March 1943)
# "Robinson Crusoe" (April 1943; cited in "Seduction of the Innocent", pg. 142)
# "Don Quixote" (May 1943)
# "Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman" (June 1943; pages reduced to 60)
# "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (August 1943; cited in "Seduction of the Innocent", pg. 143; sometimes considered the first true horror comic, 60 pages)
# "Westward Ho!" (September 1943)
# "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (November 1943; cited in "Seduction of the Innocent", pgs. 102, 103)
# "Gulliver's Travels" (December 1943; Lilian Chesney cover and art)
# "The Deerslayer" (January 1944)
# "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (March 1944)
# "Huckleberry Finn" (April 1944)
# "The Corsican Brothers" (June 1944)
# "3 Famous Mysteries" (July 1944; "The Sign of the 4", "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "The Flayed Hand")
# "The Pathfinder" (October 1944)
# "Oliver Twist" (July 1945, first "Classic Comics" produced by the Eisner & Iger shop)
# "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" (September 1945)
# "Two Years Before the Mast" (October 1945; Webb/Heames cover and art)
# "Frankenstein" (December 1945, Webb/Brewster cover and art; 52 pages)
# "The Adventures of Marco Polo" (April 1946)
# "Michael Strogoff" (June 1946)
# "The Prince and the Pauper" (July 1946; horror cover)
# "The Moonstone" (September 1946, Rico cover and art)
# "The Black Arrow" (October 1946)
# "Lorna Doone" (December 1946; Matt Baker cover and art)
# "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (January 1947; "Study in Scarlet", "Hound of the Baskervilles"; Henry Kiefer cover, 68 pages)
# "Mysterious Island" (February 1947; Webb/Heames cover and art)

Gallery

References

*Goulart, Ron. "Great American Comic Books". Publications International, Ltd., 2001.
*Malan, Dan. "The Complete Guide to Classics Illustrated". Classics Central.Com, 2006.
*Overstreet, Robert M.. "Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide". House of Collectibles, 2004.

External links

* [http://www.classicscentral.com/ Classics Central] Covers, etc.
* [http://comicbookdb.com/title.php?ID=7592 Comic Book Database] Gallery of "Classic Comics" and "Classics Illustrated" covers