Classics Illustrated were comic book adaptations from classic literature, a series that Russian-born Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) began in 1941 for Elliot Publishing.

Over the years the titles have been published by various companies, including First Comics in the early nineties, Jack Lake Productions Inc. in 2003 and most recently Papercutz, starting in late 2007.^[1] First Comics was an American publisher of comic books. ... 2007 2006 in comics 2008 in comics Notable events of 2007 in comics. ...

History

Introduced under the title Classic Comics, the series started in October 1941, with a 64-page adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, followed by Ivanhoe and The Count of Monte Cristo. With the fourth issue, The Last of the Mohicans, Kanter began his own Gilberton Publications. Alexandre Dumas redirects here. ... For other uses, see The Three Musketeers (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ivanhoe (disambiguation). ... The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... For other uses, see The Last of the Mohicans (disambiguation). ...

The first 12 issues had 64 pages, but wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce each issue to 56 pages. In 1947, after the first 34 issues, Kanter changed the title from Classic Comics to Classics Illustrated, a logo with a high visibility over the next 15 years because Kanter, unlike other comic book publishers, kept his titles in print, going back to press with occasional reprintings.

In 1948, rising paper costs resulted in a reduction from 56 pages to 48 pages. In addition to the illustrated adaptations, the books featured biographical profiles, educational fillers and house ads (but no outside advertising). This 48-page format continued throughout the run.

Between 1941 and 1962, sales totaled 200 million on Gilberton's Classics Illustrated adaptations of great works of literature, including Don Quixote, Frankenstein, Hamlet, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jane Eyre, Lord Jim, Macbeth, Moby-Dick, Oliver Twist, The Red Badge of Courage, Silas Marner and A Tale of Two Cities. Kanter also began several spin-offs, including The World Around Us and the 77-issue Classics Illustrated Junior with fairy tales and folk tales for younger readers. This article is about the fictional character and novel. ... This article is about the 1818 novel. ... For other uses, see Hamlet (disambiguation). ... The Hunchback of Notre Dame (original French title, Notre-Dame de Paris) is an 1831 French novel written by Victor Hugo. ... This article is about the Victorian novel. ... Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad, originally published in Blackwoods Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick - the official title of the first edition - is a novel by Herman Melville. ... Oliver Twist (1838) is Charles Dickens second novel. ... The Red Badge of Courage (1895) is an impressionistic novel by Stephen Crane about the meaning of courage, as it is discovered by Henry Fleming, a recruit in the American Civil War. ... Silas Marner : The Weaver of Raveloe is a novel by George Eliot (the pen name of Mary Ann Evans) which was first published in 1861. ... For other uses, see A Tale of Two Cities (disambiguation). ...

Lou Cameron was the illustrator of The War of the Worlds (#124, January 1955) and The Time Machine (#133, July 1956). Other artists who contributed to Classics Illustrated included Jack Abel, Stephen Addeo, Dik Browne. Sid Check, Leonard B. Cole, Reed Crandall, George Evans, Graham Ingels, Henry C. Kiefer, Alex Blum, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Jack Kirby, Roy Krenkel, Gray Morrow, Joe Orlando, Norman Nodel, Rudolph Palais, Norman Saunders, John Severin, Joe Sinnott, Angelo Torres, Al Williamson and George Woodbridge. The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, is an early science fiction novel (or novella) which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. ... The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. ... Jack Abel a. ... Dik Browne (11 August 1917–4 June 1989) was the New York City-born author of Hägar the Horrible, a comic strip enjoyed by audiences around the world. ... Reed Crandall (February 22, 1917 - September 13, 1982) was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. ... George Evans (February 5, 1920- June 22, 2001) was an American cartoonist and comic book artist. ... Graham Ingels (June 7, 1915- April 4, 1991) was a comic-book artist best known for his work at the EC Comics company in the 1950s, notably on the Al Feldstein-edited horror titles The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror and Tales from the Crypt. ... Gerald R. Ford. ... Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds... Roy G. Krenkel, (1918-1983) was an American illustrator who specialized in fantasy drawings and paintings. ... Gray Morrow (March 7, 1934 - November 6, 2001) was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics. ... Joe Orlando was an illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist who was born April 4, 1927, in Bari, Italy, and died December 23, 1998, in Manhattan. ... Norman Saunders (1907-1989) was a prolific commercial artist who produced paintings for pulp magazines, paperbacks, mens magazines, comic books, and trading cards. ... John Powers Severin (born December 21, 1921, Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics. ... Joe Sinnott (born October 16, 1926, Saugerties, New York, United States) is an American comic book artist. ... Angelo Torres is a cartoonist and caricaturist who appeared in many comic books, as well as a long-running regular slot at MAD Magazine. ... Al Williamson Al Williamson (March 21, 1931 - ) is an American cartoonist of partly Colombian descent. ... George Woodbridges drawing of a Bacons Rebellion soldier in 1675 George Woodbridge (1930-January 19, 2004) was an American illustrator known for his exhaustive research and historical accuracy. ...

Kanter's last new issue was Faust (#167, August 1962), and in 1967 he sold his company to Twin Circle publisher Patrick Frawley, who brought out two more issues but mainly concentrated on foreign sales and reprinting older titles. After four years, Twin Circle discontinued the line because of poor distribution. Classics Illustrated had many foreign editions. The American editions had 169 titles with many specials. By the early 1970s, Classics Illustrated and Junior had been discontinued, although the Classics Illustrated branding would be used on at least one made-for-TV film, an adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For other uses, see Faust (disambiguation). ... The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. ...

In 1990, First Comics partnered with Berkeley Publishing to acquire the rights and Classics Illustrated returned with new adaptations and a line-up of artists that included Kyle Baker, Dean Motter, Mike Ploog, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Staton and Gahan Wilson. However, First's line lasted a little over a year. First Comics was an American publisher of comic books. ... Kyle Baker (born 1965 in Queens, New York City, United States) is an American writer and illustrator of comic books as well as an animator. ... In the late 1970s Toronto-based illustrator/ designer/ writer Dean Motter edited and art directed Andromeda, a Canadian comic book series which adapted the works of major science–fiction authors such as Arthur C. Clarke and AE Van Vogt. ... The Eisneresque Topaz: Splash panel, Werewolf by Night #13 (Jan. ... Philip Craig Russell, a. ... Bill Sienkiewicz in Gijón, Spain. ... Joe Staton (born January 19, 1948 in North Carolina), is an American illustrator and writer of comic books. ... Gahan Wilson (born February 18, 1930) is an author, cartoonist, and illustrator in the United States. ...

1. The Raven & Other Stories
2. Great Expectations
3. Through The Looking Glass
4. Moby Dick
5. Hamlet
6. The Scarlet Letter
7. The Count Of Monte Cristo
8. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
9. Tom Sawyer
10. The Call Of the Wild
11. Rip Van Winkle
12. The Island Of Dr. Moreau
13. Wuthering Heights
14. Fall Of the House of Usher
15. The Gift Of the Magi
16. A Christmas Carol
17. Treasure Island
18. The Devil's Dictionary
19. The Secret Agent
20. The Invisible Man
21. Cyrano de Bergerac
22. The Jungle Books
23. Robinson Crusoe
24. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
25. Ivanhoe
26. Aesop's Fables
27. The Jungle

In 1997-1998, Acclaim Books, the successor to Valiant Comics, published a series of recolored reprints in a digest-size format with accompanying study notes by literary scholars. The Acclaim line included Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, with art by Frank Giacoia, and The Three Musketeers, illustrated by George Evans. The series favored Mark Twain with reprints of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The Prince and the Pauper and Tom Sawyer. Other reprints in this series were Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. For other uses, see The Raven (disambiguation). ... The Devils Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce offers an interesting reinterpretation of the English language in which cant and political double-talk were neatly lampooned. ... For the episode of The Twilight Zone, see The Jungle (The Twilight Zone). ... See also: 1996 in comics, other events of 1997, 1998 in comics, 1990s in comics and the list of years in comics Publications: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Publications This is an incomplete list. ... 1998 1997 in comics 1999 in comics Notable events of 1998 in comics. ... For the Hal Foster comic strip, see Prince Valiant. ... Huckleberry Finn is the protagonist of Mark Twains famous book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. ... Frank Giacoia (1925-1989) is an American comic book artist who sometimes worked under the name Frank Ray and to a lesser extent Phil Zupa and the single moniker Espoia. ... There have been a number of prominent people named George Evans: For the American congressman, see George Evans (politician) For the Australian explorer, see George Evans (explorer) For the Sergeant-Major of The Manchester Regiment awarded the Victoria Cross in World War I, see George Evans (VC) For the comic... Puddnhead Wilson is a novel by Mark Twain. ... The Prince and the Pauper was first published in 1881 in Canada before its 1882 publication in the united states. ... The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a popular 1876 novel about a young boy growing up in the Antebellum South on the Mississippi River in St. ... For other uses, see Crime and Punishment (disambiguation). ... The House of the Seven Gables (1668) is a Colonial mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, as well as the title of a novel written in 1851 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. ...

In 2003, Toronto's Jack Lake Productions revived Classics Illustrated Junior, also reprinting from the original editions. In 2005, Jack Lake Productions published a 50th anniversary edition of Classics Illustrated's The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells in both hard and softcover versions. In early 2006, Jack Lake Productions in collaboration with First Classics began worldwide licensing of artwork associated with Classics Illustrated, Classics Illustrated Junior, Classics Illustrated Special Issues and The World Around Us titles. This is a list of comics-related events in 2005. ... 2006 2005 in comics 2007 in comics Notable events of 2006 in comics. ...

Of the 162 British titles, there were 13 that never appeared in America, plus some variations in cover art. UK issues never published in the United States include Aeneid, The Argonauts, The Gorilla Hunters and Sail with the Devil. The British Classics Illustrated adaptation of Dr. No was never published under the U.S. Classics Illustrated line, but instead was sold to DC Comics which published it as part of their superhero anthology series, Showcase. The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Vergil in the 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. ... Dr. No can refer to a number of things Dr. No (novel), the 1958 novel by Ian Fleming on his inspirational character James Bond Dr. No (film), the first James Bond film, starring Sean Connery. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Showcase has been the title of several anthology series published by DC Comics. ...

In 2007, it was announced that Papercutz has recently acquired the license and will begin publishing graphic novels starting with The Wind in the Willows. They will be combining reprints of some of the original titles with new modern adaptations, largely produced in France, the first of which will be The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with art by Severine Lefebvre.^[1] In November 2007, Jack Lake Productions Inc., published for the first time in North America #170 The Aeneid (originally published in the UK) along with #1 The Three Musketeers, #4 The Last of the Mohicans and #5 Moby Dick. There will be many more original "Gilberton" titles released in 2008. 2007 2006 in comics 2008 in comics Notable events of 2007 in comics. ... Graphic novel (sometimes abbreviated GN) is a term for a kind of book, usually telling an extended story with sequential art ( comics). ... For other uses, see The Wind in the Willows (disambiguation). ...

See also

Other companies producing comic adaptations of literature:

• Marvel Illustrated
• Classical Comics
• Self Made Hero
• Graphic Classics^[2]

Marvel Illustrated is an imprint for comic adaptations of classic literature which launches in the next several monthes. ... Classical Comics are a British publisher releasing graphic novel adaptations of the great works literature, including Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë and Dickens. ... Self Made Hero are a British comics publishing firm, and imprint of Metro Media, who specialise in adapting works of literature. ...

References

Newsarama. ...

External links

• Classics Illustrated by Papercutz
• Classics Illustrated Junior
• Classics Central
• Review of War Of The Worlds Classics Illustrated

Listen to

• 1990 audio interview with Rick Obadiah, one of the founders of Classics Illustrated by Don Swaim at Wired for Books.