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From 1941 to 1971, the well-loved yet controversial “Classics Illustrated” series brought abridged, comics-style versions of literary masterpieces such as Homer's Odyssey, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Goethe's Faust, and Hugo's Les Miserables to millions of children and adults worldwide. Founded by Russian Jewish immigrant Albert Kanter at the dawn of the “Golden Age” of comics, the series used the comic-book form to introduce young readers to the works of Melville, Dickens, Stevenson, Twain and other authors. This work tells the story of Kanter's enterprise and examines the cultural significance of the most successful publication of its kind in the context of the times in which it was published. Attention is given to the evolving mission of “Classics Illustrated” to bring serious literature to popular culture; the publication's ability to stand up to the anti-comics hysteria of the early 1950s; the growth of subsidiary educational series encompassing folklore, mythology, history, and science; and the unsuccessful attempts to revive the series in the 1990s. The careers and contributions of each of the artists are covered, and the text is supplemented by quotations from exclusive interviews and correspondence with such illustrators as George Evans, Gray Morrow, Lou Cameron, Norman Nodel and Rudolph Palais. Detailed appendices provide artist attributions and the contents of each issue in every Classics Illustrated-related series. More than 200 illustrations offer a generous sample of what drew millions of readers to “the World's Finest Juvenile Publication”.
In its expanded third edition, this definitive work on Classics Illustrated explores the enduring series of comic-book adaptations of literary masterpieces in even greater depth, with twice the number of color plates as in the second edition. Drawing on interviews, correspondence, fanzines, and archival research, the book covers in full detail the work of the artists, editors, scriptwriters, and publishers who contributed to the success of the “World’s Finest Juvenile Publication.” Many previously unpublished reproductions of original art are included, along with new chapters covering editor Meyer Kaplan, art director L.B. Cole, and artist John Parker; additional information on contributions from Black artists and scriptwriters such as Matt Baker, Ezra Jackson, George D. Lipscomb, and Lorenz Graham; and a complete issue-by-issue listing of significant international series.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments (xi)
Introduction: “Good Stories” (1)
I. Albert Kanter’s Dream (9)
II. Of Musketeers and Mohicans: The Jacquet Shop (18)
III. Louis Zansky: The Painter’s Touch (30)
IV. Eccentricity Abounding: The War Years (39)
V. Arnold Lorne Hicks: Transitional Figure (47)
Between pages 54 and 55 are 16 color plates with 60 photographs
VI. Enter Iger: The Fiction House Artists (55)
VII. Henry Carl Kiefer and the Classics House Style (69)
VIII. Alex A. Blum: “A Prince of a Man” (81)
IX. A “Newer, Truer Name”: The Late Forties (95)
X. Blood, Sweat, and Rudy Palais (109)
XI. Meyer A. Kaplan: An Editor’s Perspective (116)
XII. William E. Kanter and the Family Business (122)
XIII. Painted Covers and an Extra Nickel: The Early Fifties (126)
XIV. Maurice del Bourgo: From Little Lefty to William Tell (141)
XV. Freelancers and Publicity: The Mid–1950s (147)
XVI. Canonical Matters and Classical Curiosities (156)
XVII. Lou Cameron: “If John Wayne Had Drawn Comic Books” (165)
XVIII. Norman Nodel: “A Certain Integrity” (173)
XIX. Roberta’s Writers: Lorenz Graham and Annette T. Rubinstein (186)
XX. John William Parker: Iconic Images (194)
XXI. From the Crypt to the Classics: The EC Era (197)
Between pages 210 and 211 are 16 color plates with 52 photographs
XXII. George Evans, Reed Crandall, and EC Realism (211)
XXIII. Roberta the Conqueror (223)
XXIV. High Tide and Greenbacks: The Late Fifties (227)
XXV. L.B. Cole: Horses, Wild Animals, and Poster Colors (242)
XXVI. Gerald McCann: The Colors of the Sky (246)
XXVII. Gray Morrow: “Real People and Real Events” (251)
XXVIII. “Roberta’s Reforms”: The Early Sixties (256)
XXIX. “Frawley’s Folly”: The Twin Circle Era (1967–1971) (274)
XXX. Expanding the Mission (Subsidiary Series, 1953–1971): Picture Progress and Classics Illustrated Junior (278)
XXXI. Ambitious Endeavors (Subsidiary Series, 1955–1964): Classics Illustrated Special Issues; The Best from Boys’ Life Comics; The World Around Us (289)
XXXII. Classics Abroad: The Worldwide Yellow Banner (308)
XXXIII. The Wilderness Years: The Seventies and Eighties (320)
XXXIV. Great Expectations: First Publishing’s Graphic Novels (323)
XXXV. “Your Doorway to the Classics”: Acclaim’s Study Guides (333)
XXXVI. Restoration: Jack Lake Productions, Papercutz, and CCS Books (336)
XXXVII. Classics Collected: Notes on the Evolution of a Pastime and a Passion (342)
XXXVIII. Classical Coda (351)
Appendices (355)
A. Classic Comics (Gilberton, 1941–1947) and Classics Illustrated (Gilberton, 1947–1967; Frawley, 1967–1971) (355)
B. Classics Illustrated Giant Editions (Gilberton, 1949) (374)
C. Fast Fiction/Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated (1949–1951) (374)
D. Classics Illustrated Educational Series (Gilberton, 1951–1953) (374)
E. Picture Parade/Picture Progress (Gilberton, 1953–1955) (374)
F. Classics Illustrated Junior (Gilberton/Famous Authors, 1953–1967; Frawley, 1967–1971) (375)
G. Classics Illustrated Special Issues (Gilberton, 1955–1964) (382)
H. The Best from Boys’ Life Comics (Gilberton, 1957–1958) (384)
I. The World Around Us (Gilberton, 1958–1961) (385)
J. British Classics Illustrated, First and Second Series (Thorpe & Porter/Strato, 1951–1963; Ayers & James Pty., Ltd., Australia) (389)
K. British World Illustrated Series (Thorpe & Porter, 1960–1963) (396)
L. Ediçao Maravilhosa (Brazil, Editora Brasil-América Limitada [EBAL], First and Second Series, 1948–1962) (396)
M. Clásicos Ilustrados (Mexico, Editora La Prensa, 1951–1974) (400)
N. Klassika Eikonographemena (Greece, Atlantis-M. Pechlivanides, S.A., First Series 1951–1970, Second Series 1975–1980): Greek Literature, Mythology, and History Titles (403)
O. Classics Illustrated “Joint European Series”/JES (1956–1976) (404)
P. Classics Illustrated, Second Series (Berkley Publishing Group/First Publishing, 1990–1991; Classics International Entertainment, 1994) (409)
Q. Classics Illustrated, Third Series, Study Guides (Acclaim Books, 1997–1998) (409)
R. Classics Illustrated, Fourth Series (Jack Lake Productions, Inc., 2005–2014) (411)
S. Papercutz Classics Illustrated Deluxe Editions (Papercutz, 2008–2014) (413)
T. Papercutz Classics Illustrated Editions (Papercutz, 2008–2014) (414)
U. British Classics Illustrated, Third Series (CCS Books, 2008– ); Modern Hardbacks (CCS Books, 2016– ); Replica Hardbacks (CCS Books, 2018– ) (414)
V. Letter from Albert L. Kanter to T/4 Joseph Mersand, Camp Crowder, Missouri, 7 July 1944 (245)
W. Correspondence Between Roberta Strauss and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, re: The Dark Frigate, November-December 1955 (416)
X. Letter from Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht to E. Nelson Bridwell, 25 July 1960 (417)
Y. Synopsis of The Call of the Wild by Ken W. Fitch, 1951 (418)
Chapter Notes (419)
Sources Cited or Consulted (431)
Index (437)
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