''Marvel Classics Comics'' was an American comics magazine which ran from 1976 until 1978. It specialized in adaptations of literary classics such as '' Moby-Dick'', '' The Three Musketeers'', and '' The Iliad''. It was Marvel Comics' attempt to pick up the mantle of '' Classics Illustrated'', which stopped publishing in 1971. Thirty-six 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'' — in fact, the Marvel series' first 12 issues were colorized reprints of selected Pendulum comics, with new covers. These issues featured writers like Otto Binder, Kin Platt, and

Irwin Shapiro Irwin Ira Shapiro is an American astrophysicist and Timken University Professor at Harvard University. He has been a professor at Harvard since 1982. He was the director of the Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian from 1982 to 20 ...

doing the adaptations; with art by Filipino artists

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early life and career Alex Niño was born ...

Rudy Nebres Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...

, and

E. R. Cruz Eufronio Reyes Cruz (born 1934) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work on mystery comics and war comics for DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. Biography E. R. Cruz began his career as an artist by drawing for such publications as ''Li ...

, 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 Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

's ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' (#9, a Pendulum Press reprint) and

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform ...

's ''

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

'' (#24). After the first 12 reprint issues, adaptations were handled by writers like Doug Moench and

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...

(Warner was the series editor from issue #13–24). Many issues were drawn by Dino Castrillo; artists like Jess Jodloman, Yong Montaño, and Rudy Mesina also had multiple contributions.

Ernie Chan Ernesto Chan (July 27, 1940 – May 16, 2012), born and sometimes credited as Ernie Chua, was a FilipinoAmericans, American comics artist, known for work published by Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including many Marvel issues of series featurin ...

was in charge of most of the early covers. Michael Golden's first work for Marvel Comics was "The Cask of Amontillado", a backup story in ''Marvel Classics Comics'' #28 (1977) adapting an Edgar Allan Poe short story. In 1984, Marvel teamed with

Fisher-Price Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York, East Aurora, New York (state), New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depressio ...

to re-issue a selection of ''Marvel Classics Comics'' titles in toy stores, packaged with a

cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...

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

Issue list

Original run (1976-1978)

# ''

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

'', adapted by Kin Platt and Nestor Redondo # '' The Time Machine'', adapted by Otto Binder and

# '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'', adapted by Naunerle Farr and

Jun Lofamia Jun or JUN may refer to: People and anthroponymy * Jun (given name), a common Japanese given name * Jun (singer), a member of South Korean boy band U-KISS * Tomáš Jun, Czech footballer * A spelling of common Korean family name Jeon (Korean surn ...

# '' Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'', adapted by Otto Binder and Romy Gaboa & Ernie Patricio # '' Black Beauty'', adapted by Naunerle Farr and

# ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

'', adapted by

John Norwood Fago John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

# '' Tom Sawyer'', adapted by

and

# '' Moby-Dick'', adapted by

and

& Dan Adkins # ''

'', adapted by Naunerle Farr and Nestor Redondo # '' The Red Badge of Courage'', adapted by

and

# '' The Mysterious Island'', adapted by Otto Binder and

# '' The Three Musketeers'', adapted by Naunerle Farr and

# '' The Last of the Mohicans'' # '' The War of the Worlds'' # '' Treasure Island'', adapted by Bill Mantlo and Dino Castrillo # ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

'' # ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', adapted by Chris Claremont and Dino Castrillo # '' The Odyssey'' # '' Robinson Crusoe'' # '' Frankenstein'' # '' Master of the World'', adapted by Doug Moench and Dino Castrillo # '' Food of the Gods'', adapted by Doug Moench and

Sonny Trinidad Celso L. "Sonny" Trinidad (died November 23, 2009) was a Filipino comics artist who worked in the Filipino and American comic book industries. In the U.S., he is mostly known for his work for Marvel Comics in the mid–1970s. Career Trinidad b ...

# '' The Moonstone'', adapted by Don McGregor and Dino Castrillo # ''

'', adapted by John Warner, Dino Castrillo & Rod Santiago # '' The Invisible Man'' # '' Iliad'', adapted by Elliot S. Maggin and Yong Montano # '' Kidnapped'', adapted by Doug Moench, Pete Ijauco and Sonny Trinidad # '' The Pit and the Pendulum'', adapted by Doug Moench, Rudy Mesina, Yong Montano, Rod Santiago and Michael Golden # '' The Prisoner of Zenda'', adapted by Doug Moench and Rico Rival # ''

Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', adapted by Doug Moench and Yong Montano # '' The First Men in the Moon'' — cover mistakenly attributes authorship of the original novel to

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

# '' White Fang'' # '' The Prince and the Pauper'' # '' Robin Hood'' # ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' # ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

Fisher-Price re-issue (1984)

* ''

'' * '' The Arabian Nights'' * '' Frankenstein'' * '' Robin Hood'' * '' Robinson Crusoe'' * '' Treasure Island''

References

* *{{comicbookdb, type=title, id=8244, title=''Marvel Classics Comics'' 1976 comics debuts 1978 comics endings Works based on The Count of Monte Cristo Adaptations of works by H. G. Wells Comics based on works by Jules Verne Works based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Adaptations of works by Robert Louis Stevenson Adventure comics Comics magazines published in the United States Comics based on Dracula Comics based on fiction Comics based on novels Comics based on poems Comics by Don McGregor Comics by Doug Moench Defunct American comics Fantasy comics Horror comics Magazines disestablished in 1978 Magazines established in 1976 Marvel Comics titles Science fiction comics Works based on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Monthly magazines published in the United States Works based on the Iliad Works based on the Odyssey Comics based on works by Charles Dickens Works based on A Christmas Carol

Overview

Issue list

Original run (1976-1978)

Fisher-Price re-issue (1984)

See also

References