Marvel Classics Comics

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Marvel Classics Comics
MarvelClassicsComics01.jpg
Cover, issue #1 ( Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ).
Art by Gil Kane and Dan Adkins.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Schedulemonthly
Format Ongoing series
Genrescience fiction, horror, suspense, adventure
Publication dateJan. 1976 – Dec. 1978
No. of issues36
Creative team
Written by Otto Binder, Kin Platt, Irwin Shapiro, Doug Moench, John Warner
Artist(s) Alex Niño, Rudy Nebres, E. R. Cruz, Dino Castrillo, Jess Jodloman, Yong Montaño, Rudy Mesina
Editor(s) Vincent Fago (issues #1-12)
John Warner (issues #13-24)
Roger Slifer (issues #25–30)
David Anthony Kraft
Ralph Macchio

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.

Contents

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 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 (#9, a Pendulum Press reprint) and H. Rider Haggard's She (#24).

After the first 12 reprint issues, adaptations were handled by writers like Doug Moench and John Warner (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 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. [1]

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 , adapted by Bill Mantlo and Dino Castrillo
  16. Ivanhoe
  17. The Count of Monte Cristo , adapted by Chris Claremont and Dino Castrillo
  18. The Odyssey
  19. Robinson Crusoe
  20. Frankenstein
  21. Master of the World , adapted by Doug Moench and Dino Castrillo
  22. Food of the Gods , adapted by Doug Moench and Sonny Trinidad
  23. The Moonstone , adapted by Don McGregor and Dino Castrillo
  24. She , adapted by John Warner, Dino Castrillo & Rod Santiago
  25. The Invisible Man
  26. Iliad , adapted by Elliot S. Maggin and Yong Montano
  27. Kidnapped , adapted by Doug Moench, Pete Ijauco and Sonny Trinidad
  28. The Pit and the Pendulum , adapted by Doug Moench, Rudy Mesina, Yong Montano, Rod Santiago and Michael Golden
  29. The Prisoner of Zenda , adapted by Doug Moench and Rico Rival
  30. Arabian Nights , adapted by Doug Moench and Yong Montano
  31. The First Men in the Moon — 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)

See also

Related Research Articles

Douglas Moench is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, Electric Warrior and Six from Sirius. He is also known for his critically acclaimed eight year run on Master of Kung Fu.

Paul Gulacy American comics artist (born 1953)

Paul Gulacy is an American comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and for drawing one of the first graphic novels, Eclipse Enterprises' 1978 Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, with writer Don McGregor. He is most associated with Marvel's 1970s martial-arts and espionage series Master of Kung Fu.

Otto Binder American writer

Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for Captain Marvel Adventures and other stories involving the entire superhero Marvel Family. He was prolific in the comic book field and is credited with writing over 4,400 stories across a variety of publishers under his own name, as well as more than 160 stories under the pen-name Eando Binder.

James Bond (comics)

James Bond's success after the start of the film franchise in 1962 spawned a number of comic books around the world. Initially, these were adaptations of various movies. In the late 1980s and continuing through to the mid-1990s, however, a series of original stories were also published. After a hiatus in 1996, the Bond comic book publishing license was picked up again and made a revival debut in 2015. The comics were published by various past and present companies including DC Comics, Marvel, Eclipse Comics, Dark Horse and Dynamite Entertainment.

Vincent Fago American comic artist

Vincenzo Francisco Gennaro Di Fago, known professionally as Vince Fago, was an American comic-book artist and writer who served as interim editor of Timely Comics, the Golden Age predecessor of Marvel Comics, during editor Stan Lee's World War II service.

Comics in the Philippines have been widespread and popular throughout the country from the 1920s to the present. Komiks were partially inspired by American mainstream comic strips and comic books during the early 20th century. The medium first became widely popular after World War II. Its mainstream appeal subsided somewhat during the latter part of the 20th century with the advent of other mass-media forms such as telenovelas, but experienced a renaissance in the mid-2010s with the increasing popularity of artists such as Gerry Alanguilan, Arnold Arre, Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo, and the rise of fan communities through comic book conventions such as komikon. Webcomics produced by independent Filipino web-based artists have caught the attention of local and foreign readers.

<i>Tales of the Zombie</i>

Tales of the Zombie was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 10 issues and one Super Annual from 1973 to 1975, many featuring stories of the Zombie by writer Steve Gerber and artist Pablo Marcos.

<i>Weirdworld</i>

Weirdworld was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled Weirdworld debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the Secret Wars storyline, followed by a six-issue series as a part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel branding.

Kelley Jones American comics artist (born 1962)

Kelley Jones is an American comics artist best known for his work on Batman with writer Doug Moench and on The Sandman with writer Neil Gaiman.

Marvel Illustrated was a Marvel Comics publishing imprint specializing in comic book adaptations of classic literature. Each novel's story is told in the form of a limited series, the issues of which are later collected as a trade paperback. Writer Roy Thomas has adapted many of the titles; the imprint is also known for its six adaptations of books from the Land of Oz series, all done by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young; and its four adaptations of Jane Austen novels by writer Nancy Butler.

Alex Niño Filipino comics artist (born 1940)

Alex Niño 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.

Nestor Redondo

Nestor P. Redondo was a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and other American publishers in the 1970s and early 1980s. In his native Philippines, he is known for co-creating the superheroine Darna.

<i>Chamber of Chills</i>

Chamber of Chills is the name of two anthology horror comic books, one published by Harvey Publications in the early 1950s, the other by Marvel Comics in the 1970s.

<i>The Rampaging Hulk</i>

The Rampaging Hulk is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The first volume was a black and white magazine published by Curtis Magazines from 1977–1978. With issue #10, it changed its format to color and its title to The Hulk!, and ran another 17 issues before it was canceled in 1981. It was a rare attempt by Marvel to mix their superhero characters with the "mature readers" black-and-white magazine format.

<i>Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction</i>

Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction was a 1970s American black-and-white, science fiction comics magazine published by Marvel Comics' parent company, Magazine Management.

Irwin Shapiro (1911–1981) was an American writer and translator of over 40 books, mostly for children and about Americana.

Virgilio "Virgil" Redondo y Purugganan was a Filipino comic book writer and artist.

Pendulum Press was a publishing company based in West Haven, Connecticut, that operated from 1970 to 1994, producing the bulk of their material in the 1970s. The company is most well known for their comic book adaptations of literary classics. The Pendulum Now Age Classics series published black-and-white paperback adaptations of more than 70 literary classics, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The War of the Worlds, and Moby-Dick. These stories were later widely reprinted by other publishers well into the 2000s. Pendulum also published a line of historical comics, a line of comic book biographies, and a line of comic book adaptations of inspiring stories and morality tales.

<i>Graphic Classics</i>

Graphic Classics is a comic book anthology series published by Eureka Productions of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Graphic Classics features adaptations of literary classics by authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allan Poe, with art by top professionals, many of whom hail from the underground or alternative comics world. Created and edited by Tom Pomplun, the series began publication in 2002.

Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea has been adapted and referenced in popular culture on numerous occasions.

References

  1. Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2007). Modern Masters Volume 12: Michael Golden. TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 8–9. ISBN   978-1893905740.