Call Number:

MSS 0647

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

1.6 linear foot (3 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0647, Classics Illustrated collection, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1942-1998 (inclusive) and 1942-1969 (bulk)

Form:

Comic books and Graphic novels

Abstract:

The Classics Illustrated collection is a collection of comic books from four versions of the Classics Illustratedseries. Classics Illustrated published adaptations of the classics of literature in comic book format, with the intention of introducing literature to younger readers. The bulk of the collection comprises 79 issues from the original Classics Illustrated series, which was created by Albert Lewis Kanter and published by Gilberton Company from 1941 to 1971. There are also: 22 issues from the Classics Illustrated Junior Series, which adapted fairy tales and fables for a younger audience from 1953 to 1969; three issues of First Comics’s version of Classics Illustrated, which published entirely new adaptations of classic literature from 1990 to 1991; and 48 issues of Acclaim Books’ Classics Illustrated Study Guides, which reprinted issues from the original Classics Illustrated series in a study guide format similar to CliffsNotes from 1996-1998.

Classics Illustrated was created by Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) and first published by Gilberton Company in 1941 under the name Classic Comics. The series was renamed as Classic Illustrated in 1947 in order to distance the series from other comic books, which were under increasing attack from educators and the general public. Kanter intended to use the relatively new comic book format to introduce younger readers to the classics of literature. Each issue presented an illustrated adaptation of a novel, play, or other literary work, which was supplemented by a brief biography of the featured author and shorter comic book adaptations of other historical events. Some newspaper comic strips had presented similar adaptations, but Classics Illustrated was the first full-length comic book to do so. The series proved to be immensely popular, with many issues running through as many as twenty printings. It flourished throughout the 1940s, survived the anti-comics campaigns of the 1950s and extended into the 1960s, with a total run of 169 issues. Sales of Classics Illustrated waned in the 1960s. The last new material in the original Classics Illustrated series was published in 1969. The series continued publishing reprints until 1971, when poor sales and a shrinking market prompted Gilberton to cancel the series. The series has occasionally been revived in the following years; some of these revivals are also represented in the collection.

Jones, W. B, Jr.Classics illustrated: a cultural history, with illustrations. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2002.Standard catalog of comic books. 2nd ed. Iola, Wisc. : Krause Publications, 2003.

The Classics Illustrated collection is a collection of comic books from four versions of the

Classics Illustrated series. Classics Illustrated published adaptations of the classics of literature in comic book format, with the intention of introducing these works to younger readers. The bulk of the collection comprises 79 issues from the original Classics Illustrated series, which was created by Albert Lewis Kanter and published by Gilberton Company from 1941 to 1971. There are also: 22 issues from the Classics Illustrated Junior Series, which adapted fairy tales and fables for a younger audience from 1953 to 1969; three issues of First Comics’s version of Classics Illustrated, which published entirely new adaptations of classic literature from 1990 to 1991; and 48 issues of Acclaim Books’s Classics Illustrated Study Guides, which reprinted issues from the original Classics Illustrated series in a study guide format similar to CliffsNotes from 1996-1998.

The collection is arranged into four series, each of which represents a different imprint of the

Classics Illustrated series: I. Classics Illustrated ; II. Classics Illustrated Junior ; III. Classics Illustrated (Berkley/First Publishing); and IV. Classics Illustrated (Acclaim Books Study Guide). Within each series, the comic books are arranged, alphabetically, by author and title.

Series I,

Classics Illustrated, contains 79 issues of the original Classics Illustrated series, which ran from 1941 to 1971, with a total of 169 issues published. Nearly all of the issues in the collection are later reprintings. Most issues of Classics Illustrated were reprinted several times, which was uncommon for comic books at the time, which usually went through only one printing. The reprints were almost never explicitly identified as reprints, despite the fact that some reprints had been substantially rewritten or featured entirely new artwork. The reprints are most readily identified by the fact that they contain advertisements for subsequent issues of Classics Illustrated which had been published years after the issue in question.

The illustrators and writers employed by

Classics Illustrated generally went uncredited, although their roster included notable comic book artists such as Joe Orlando and Jack Kirby. William B. Jones, Jr. has identified many of the artists and writers involved in his Classics illustrated: a cultural history, with illustrations (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2002).

Series II,

Classics Illustrated Junior, contains 22 issues of the Classics Illustrated Junior series, which was introduced in 1953 in order to expand the Classics Illustrated format to a younger audience. The series printed adaptations of fairy tales, fables and other stories aimed at a younger audience. The stories were usually sanitized so as to eliminate the violent elements often present in the originals. The series began publication with issue number 501 and ceased publication with issue number 577 in 1969. As with the original Classics Illustrated series, most issues went through several printings, usually without any explicit identification that the issue was a reprint. Contributing writers and artists generally went uncredited.

Series III,

Classics Illustrated (Berkley/First Publishing), contains three issues of First Comics’s version of Classics Illustrated, which was published from 1990 to 1991. This series was an entirely new version of Classics Illustrated, which was intended to tap into the popularity of the graphic novel format. Unlike the original Classics Illustrated, the contributors to these issues received prominent credit for their work. The entire comic book industry was experiencing an economic slump at the time, and the series failed to establish a foothold in the market, leading to its cancellation after only twenty-seven issues.

Series IV,

Classics Illustrated (Acclaim Books Study Guide), contains 48 issues of Acclaim Books’ series of Classics Illustrated Study Guides. The series, which went through 62 unnumbered issues from 1996-1998, presented recolored reprints of the original Classics Illustrated series. These reprints were presented as study guides, akin to CliffsNotes, and included supplemental materials such as author biographies, critical analyses, discussion questions and other background materials about the work in question. The series’s editors also commissioned scripts and illustrations for several new adaptations in 1998, near the end of its run. The series proved to be commercially unsuccessful and it was canceled in 1998 after failing to establish an audience.