Marvel Classics Comics

Marvel Classics Comics is a 1970s comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby-Dick, The Three Musketeers, and The Iliad. Running from 1976â€"1978, it was Marvel Comics' attempt to pick up the mantle of Classics Illustrated, which stopped publishing in 1971. 36 issues of Marvel Classics Comics were published, 12 of them being reprints of another publisher's work.

Overview

Classics Illustrated, created by Albert Kanter, began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Editor Vincent Fago's Pendulum Now Age Classics, published by Pendulum Press, began adapting literary classics into black-and-white comics beginning in 1973. The Pendulum series was the direct antecedent to Marvel Classics Comics â€" in fact, the Marvel series' first twelves issues were colorized reprints of selected Pendulum comics, with new covers. These issues featured writers like Otto Binder, Kin Platt, and Irwin Shapiro doing the adaptations; with art by Filipino artists Alex Niño, Rudy Nebres, and E. R. Cruz, among others.

Issues in the Marvel Classics Comics series were 52 pages with no advertisements. Most of the titles in the series had previously been adapted in Classics Illustrated, but two new ones were added: Bram Stoker's Dracula (issue #9, a Pendulum Press reprint) and H. Rider Haggard's She (issue #24).

After the first twelve reprint issues, adaptations were handled by writers like Doug Moench and John Warner (Warner was the series editor from issue #13â€"24). Many issues were drawn by Dino Castrillo; artists like Jess Jodloman, Yong Montaño, and Rudy Mesina also had multiple contributions. Ernie Chan was in charge of most of the early covers.

In 1984, Marvel teamed with Fisher-Price to re-issue a selection of Marvel Classics Comics titles in toy stores, packaged with a cassette tape of the book.

In 2007, Marvel re-entered the literary adaptations arena with their imprint Marvel Illustrated.

Issue list

Original run (1976-1978)

1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, adapted by Kin Platt and Nestor Redondo
2. The Time Machine, adapted by Otto Binder and Alex Niño
3. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, adapted by Naunerle Farr and Jun Lofamia
4. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, adapted by Otto Binder and Romy Gaboa & Ernie Patricio
5. Black Beauty, adapted by Naunerle Farr and Rudy Nebres
6. Gulliver's Travels, adapted by John Norwood Fago and E. R. Cruz
7. Tom Sawyer, adapted by Irwin Shapiro and E. R. Cruz
8. Moby-Dick, adapted by Irwin Shapiro and Alex Niño & Dan Adkins
9. Dracula, adapted by Naunerle Farr and Nestor Redondo
10. The Red Badge of Courage, adapted by Irwin Shapiro and E. R. Cruz
11. The Mysterious Island, adapted by Otto Binder and E. R. Cruz
12. The Three Musketeers, adapted by Naunerle Farr and Alex Niño
13. The Last of the Mohicans
14. The War of the Worlds
15. Treasure Island
16. Ivanhoe
17. The Count of Monte Cristo
18. The Odyssey
19. Robinson Crusoe
20. Frankenstein
21. Master of the World
22. Food of the Gods, adapted by Doug Moench and Sonny Trinidad
23. The Moonstone
24. She
25. The Invisible Man
26. The Illiad
27. Kidnapped
28. The Pit and the Pendulum
29. The Prisoner of Zenda
30. Arabian Nights
31. The First Men in the Moon â€" cover mistakenly attributes authorship of the original novel to Jules Verne
32. White Fang
33. The Prince and the Pauper
34. Robin Hood
35. Alice in Wonderland
36. A Christmas Carol

Fisher-Price re-issue (1984)

• Alice in Wonderland
• The Arabian Nights
• Frankenstein
• Robin Hood
• Robinson Crusoe
• Treasure Island