"All of the great titles in the CLASSICS Illustrated series will give you the most memorable reading treat of your lie. They're exciting, informative, thrilling, educational . . . EACH TITLE IS A COMPLETE, FAITHFUL ADAPTATION OF A GREAT CLASSIC."
--- Taken from an ad on back covers of Classics Illustrated comics
For many children, and many adults, the Classics Illustrated adaptations represented a first introduction to classic literature; as well as a portal into the world of contemporary reading, libraries, and the larger culture wherein these articles are contained. The comic series was the brainchild of publisher Albert Kantor. In his indispensable work, CLASSICS Illustrated: A Cultural History, With Illustrations, William B. Jones, Jr. has written that Kantor "deserves recognition as one of the great teachers of the 20th century."Interior art and cover for "From the Earth to the Moon" was done by Alex A. Blum, whose beautifully symmetrical pages will be familiar to any fan of CI. Blum was born in Hungary, and his clean, crisp outlines belay his background as an etcher.
I had a lot of these when I was a kid, including this one. Thanks so much for posting it!
ReplyDeletenatewhilk - a t - gmail - d o t - com
Hey!... it's 2 of my obsessions [Comics and Jules Verne] in one place!
ReplyDeleteI liked this one a lot. I have a lot of CIs but have never read this one so thanks for it.
This was a MUCH more faithful adaptation than the old Joseph Cotten movie, and still manages to be more entertaining, I reckon. I always thought the movie would have been so much better if it drew from the Verne original more. Verne is just a very entertaining writer-- even his peculiarities and inaccuracies are endearing somehow. This comic shows all of that, too, to some extent.
Great post!
Nate: My pleasure! Come back soon.
ReplyDeleteAlbie: I have just started collecting CIs and they really are wonderful. Albert Kantor approached these comics with an enthusiastic integrity, so they are always very faithful to source material. Thanks for commenting, buddy!
Do I sense another blog in your future? :)
ReplyDeleteJacque: I thought about it very hard, you mind reader, you. But, I think it would be that one comics blog too far. I finally decided, after much inner turmoil, to incorporate CLASSICS Illustrated comics (which you have rightly guessed I love dearly) into my excisting Kids' blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts, Jacque? Worth a blog all on its own?
There certainly are enough to have an entire blog devoted to it but, I think keeping it here fits well. :) For now at least!
ReplyDeleteA splendid tale, but dated. In 2010, Neptune's head would not have been blocked by a mere human in the last panel. In some ways, we are making progress...
ReplyDeleteStill, thanks for a great post.
Myrrpage: Great catch! Thanks for checking in. -- Mykal
ReplyDeleteRight on Mykal, I've been wanting to read this one... thanks!
ReplyDeleteKarswell: I have a bunch more of these CIs coming over time.
ReplyDelete