Classics Illustrated Issues #1-169 Complete

Classics Illustrated were comic book adaptations from classic literature, a series that Russian-born Albert Lewis Kanter (1897-1973) began in 1941 for Elliot Publishing. Introduced under the heading Classic Comics, the series started October, 1941, with a 64-page adaptation of Alexandre Dumas‘ , followed by and . With the fourth issue, The Last of the Mohicans, Kanter began his own Gilberton Publications. The first 12 issues had 64 pages, but wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce each issue to 56 pages. In 1947, after the first 34 issues, Kanter changed the title from Classic Comics to Classics Illustrated, a logo with a high visibility over the next 15 years because Kanter, unlike other comic book publishers, kept his titles in print, going back to press with occasional reprintings. --

Classics Illustrated is a comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as , , and . Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1971, producing 169 issues. Following the series' demise, various companies reprinted its titles. This series is different from the Great Illustrated Classics, which is an adaptation of the classics for young readers that includes illustrations, but is not in the comic book form. Russian-born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (1897–1973) created Classic Comics for Elliot Publishing Company in 1941 with its debut issues being , followed by Ivanhoe and . In addition to the literary adaptations, books featured author profiles, educational fillers, and an ad for the coming title. In later editions, a catalog of titles and a subscription order form appeared on back covers. Albert Lewis Kanter recognizing the appeal of early comic books, believed he could use the new medium to introduce young and reluctant readers to "great literature". The first five titles were published irregularly under the banner "Classic Comics Presents" while issues six and seven were published under the banner "Classic Comics Library" with a ten-cent cover price. (issue 8) is the first issue to use the "Classics Comics" banner. With the fourth issue, , in 1942, Kanter moved the operation to different offices and the corporate identity was changed to the Gilberton Company, Inc.. Reprints of previous titles began in 1943. Wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce the 64-page format to 56 pages. Classic Comics is marked by varying quality in art and is celebrated today for its often garish but highly collectible line-drawn covers. Artists include Lillian Chesney (, issue 8, and , issue 16), Webb and Brewster (, issue 26), Matt Baker (, issue 32), and (second cover for , issue 29, cover for , issue 33, and the first Classics Illustrated issue , issue 35). (issue 23) was the first title produced by the Eisner & Iger shop. Some titles were packaged in gift boxes of threes or fours during the period with specific themes such as adventure or mystery. (issue 13) and (issue 15) were both cited in Dr. Fredric Wertham's infamous 1954 condemnation of comic books . Original edition Classic Comics in Near Mint condition command prices in the thousands of dollars. The series name-changed in March 1947 to Classics Illustrated with issue 35 . In 1948, rising paper costs reduced books to 48 pages. In 1951, line-drawn covers were replaced with painted covers (issue 81), and the price was raised from 10 cents to 15 cents, (and, at a later date, to 25 cents). In addition to Classics Illustrated, Kanter presided over its spin-offs Classics Illustrated Junior (1953), Specials, and The World Around Us. Between 1941 and 1962, sales totaled 200 million. The publication of new titles ceased in 1962 for various reasons. The company lost its 2nd-class mailing permit and cheap paperbacks, Cliff's Notes, and television drew readers away from the series. Kanter's last new title was issue 167 (August 1962) though other titles had been planned. These titles appeared in the company's foreign editions. In 1967, Kanter sold his company to Catholic publication Twin Circle and its publisher Patrick Frawley, whose Frawley Corporation brought out two more titles (which were the latter two issues, 168 and 169 -- WEATHERMAX) but mainly concentrated on foreign sales and reprinting older titles. After four years, Twin Circle discontinued the line because of poor distribution. Since the series' demise, various companies have reprinted its titles. By the early 1970s, Classics Illustrated and Junior had been discontinued, although the Classics Illustrated branding would be used on a series of telemovies produced by Schick Sunn Classics: 1977's ; 1978's , and ; 1980's and 1981's and .--

This compilation that I took off a torrent last year comprises the complete original 169-issue U.S. run of what is now collectively known as Classics Illustrated. There were several special issues published through the years such as which was a tie-in to the Cecil B. De Mille movie and , which was specially prepared in cooperation with the Commision for U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt's Centennial. These have the upper case letter A appended to the number of the issue immediately preceding as its issue number. Unfortunately these were not included in the torrent files. If I could manage to get my hands on them, I'll update this compilation accordingly. Note that [either the scanner(s) or uploader(s)] have placed the v1 (for volume 1) in the filename, which I assume is for the purpose of distinguishing the compilation from later reprints that did not follow the original sequence and even introduced new titles. The compilation consists of the following, in ordinal sequence (issue number, title and author):
1. THE THREE MUSKETEERS – Alexandre Dumas
2. IVANHOE – Walter Scott
3. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO – Alexandre Dumas
4. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS – James Fennimore Cooper
5. MOBY DICK – Herman Melville
6. TALE OF TWO CITIES – Charles Dickens
7. ROBIN HOOD
8. ARABIAN NIGHTS
9. LES MISERABLES – Victor Hugo
10. ROBINSON CRUSOE – Daniel Defoe
11. DON QUIXOTE – Miguel DeCervantes
12. RIP VAN WINKLE & HEADLESS HORSEMAN – Washington Irving
13. DR JEKYLL & MR. HYDE – Robert Louis Stevenson
14. WESTWARD HO! – Charles Kingsley
15. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN – Harriet Beecher Stowe
16. GULLIVER'S TRAVELS – Jonathan Swift
17. THE DEERSLAYER – James Fennimore Cooper
18. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME – Victor Hugo
19. HUCKLEBERRY FINN – Mark Twain
20. THE CORSICAN BROTHERS – Alexandre Dumas
21. THREE FAMOUS MYSTERIES – Doyle-Poe-Maupassant
22. THE PATHFINDER – James Fennimore Cooper
23. OLIVER TWIST – Charles Dickens
24. A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT – Mark Twain
25. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST – R H Dana Jr.
26. FRANKENSTEIN – Mary W Shelley
27. THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO
28. MICHAEL STROGOFF – Jules Verne
29. THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER – Mark Twain
30. THE MOONSTONE – William Wilkie Collins
31. THE BLACK ARROW – Robert Louis Stevenson
32. LORNA DOONE – R D Blackmore
33. THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES – Arthur Conan Doyle
34. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND – Jules Verne
35. THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII – Edward Bulwer-Lytton
36. TYPEE – Herman Melville
37. THE PIONEERS – James Fennimore Cooper
38. THE ADVENTURES OF CELLINI
39. JANE EYRE – Charlotte Bronte
40. MYSTERIES – Edger Allan Poe
41. TWENTY YEARS AFTER – Alexandre Dumas
42. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON – Jonathan Wyss
43. GREAT EXPECTATIONS – Charles Dickens
44. MYSTERIES OF PARIS – Eugene Sue
45. TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS – Thomas Hughes
46. KIDNAPPED – Robert Louis Stevenson
47. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA – Jules Verne
48. DAVID COPPERFIELD – Charles Dickens
49. ALICE IN WONDERLAND – Lewis Carroll
50. TOM SAWYER – Mark Twain
51. THE SPY – James Fennimore Cooper
52. THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES – Nathaniel Hawthorne
53. A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Charles Dickens
54. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK – Alexandre Dumas
55. SILAS MARNER – George Eliot
56. TOILERS OF THE SEA – Victor Hugo
57. SONG OF HIAWATHA – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
58. THE PRAIRIE – James Fennimore Cooper
59. WUTHERING HEIGHTS – Emily Bronte
60. BLACK BEAUTY – Anna Sewell
61. THE WOMAN IN WHITE – Wilkie Collins
62. WESTERN STORIES – Bret Harte
63. THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY – Edward Everett Hale
64. TREASURE ISLAND – Robert Louis Stevenson
65. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN–AUTOBIOGRAPHY
66. CLOISTER AND THE HEARTH – Charles Reade
67. THE SCOTTISH CHIEFS – Jane Porter
68. JULIUS CAESAR – William Shakespeare
69. AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS – Jules Verne
70. THE PILOT – James Fennimore Cooper
71. THE MAN WHO LAUGHS – Victor Hugo
72. THE OREGON TRAIL – Francis Parkman
73. THE BLACK TULIP – Alexandre Dumas
74. MR. MIDSHIPMAN EASY – Frederick Marryat
75. THE LADY OF THE LAKE – Walter Scott
76. THE PRISONER OF ZENDA – Anthony Hope
77. THE ILIAD – Homer
78. JOAN OF ARC
79. CYRANO DE BERGERAC – Edmond Rostand
80. WHITE FANG – Jack London
81. THE ODYSSEY – Homer
82. THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE – Robert Louis Stevenson
83. THE JUNGLE BOOK – Rudyard Kipling
84. THE GOLD BUG ETC – Edgar Allan Poe
85. THE SEA WOLF – Jack London
86. UNDER TWO FLAGS – Ouida
87. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM – William Shakespeare
88. MEN OF IRON – Howard Pyle
89. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT – Dostoyevsky
90. GREEN MANSIONS – W H Hudson
91. THE CALL OF THE WILD – Jack London
92. MILES STANDISH – Longfellow
93. PUDD'NHEAD WILSON – Samuel L Clemens
94. DAVID BALFOUR – Robert Louis Stevenson
95. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT – Erich Maria Remarque
96. DANIEL BOONE – John Bakeless
97. KING SOLOMON'S MINES – H Rider Haggard
98. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE – Stephen Crane
99. HAMLET – William Shakespeare
100. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY – Nordhoff & Hall
101. WILLIAM TELL – Frederick Schiller
102. THE WHITE COMPANY – Arthur Conan Doyle
103. MEN AGAINST THE SEA – Nordhoff & Hall
104. BRING 'EM BACK ALIVE – Frank Buck
105. FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON – Jules Verne
106. BUFFALO BILL
107. KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES – Talbot Mundy
108. KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
109. PITCAIRN'S ISLAND – Nordhoff & Hall
110. A STUDY IN SCARLET – Arthur Conan Doyle
111. THE TALISMAN – Walter Scott
112. THE ADVENTURES OF KIT CARSON
113. THE FORTY FIVE GUARDSMEN – Alexandre Dumas
114. THE RED ROVER – James Fennimore Cooper
115. HOW I FOUND LIVINGSTONE – Henry M Stanley
116. THE BOTTLE IMP – Robert Louis Stevenson
117. CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS – Rudyard Kipling
118. ROB ROY – Walter Scott
119. SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE – Richard Harding Davis
120. HURRICANE – Nordhoff & Hall
121. WILD BILL HICKOK
122. THE MUTINEERS – Charles Boardman Hawes
123. FANG AND CLAW – Frank Buck
124. THE WAR OF THE WORLDS – H G Wells
125. THE OX–BOW INCIDENT – Walter Van Tilburg Clark
126. THE DOWNFALL – Emile Zola
127. THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS – Edmond About
128. MACBETH – William Shakespeare
129. DAVY CROCKETT
130. CAESAR'S CONQUESTS – Julius Caesar
131. THE COVERED WAGON – Emerson Hough
132. THE DARK FRIGATE – Charles Boardman Hawes
133. THE TIME MACHINE – H G Wells
134. ROMEO AND JULIET – William Shakespeare
135. WATERLOO – Chatrian Erckmann
136. LORD JIM – Joseph Conrad
137. THE LITTLE SAVAGE – Frederick Marryat
138. A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH – Jules Verne
139. REIGN OF TERROR – G A Henty
140. ON JUNGLE TRAILS – Frank Buck
141. CASTLE DANGEROUS – Walter Scott
142. ABRAHAM LINCOLN
143. KIM – Rudyard Kipling
144. FIRST MEN IN THE MOON – H G Wells
145. THE CRISIS – Winston Churchill
146. WITH FIRE AND SWORD – Henry K Sienkiewicz
147. BEN HUR – Lew Wallace
148. BUCCANEER
149. OFF ON A COMET – Jules Verne
150. THE VIRGINIAN – Owen Wister
151. WON BY THE SWORD – G A Henty
152. WILD ANIMALS I HAVE KNOWN – Ernest Thompson Seton
153. THE INVISIBLE MAN – H G Wells
154. THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC – Francis Parkman
155. THE LION OF THE NORTH – G A Henty
156. THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO – Bernal Diaz Del Castillo
157. THE LIVES OF THE HUNTED – Ernest Thompson Seton
158. THE CONSPIRATORS – Alexandre Dumas
159. THE OCTOPUS – Frank Norris
160. THE FOOD OF THE GODS – H G Wells
161. CLEOPATRA – H Rider Haggard
162. ROBUR THE CONQUEROR – Jules Verne
163. THE MASTER OF THE WORLD – Jules Verne
164. THE COSSACK CHIEF – Nikolai Gogol
165. THE QUEEN'S NECKLACE – Alexandre Dumas
166. TIGERS AND TRAITORS – Jules Verne
167. FAUST – Goethe
168. IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE – G A Henty
169. NEGRO AMERICANS - THE EARLY YEARS -

For further reference:
Reading Room Index to the Comi...: Classics Illustrated (1-100)
Reading Room Index to the Comi...Classics Illustrated (101-169)
Comic Book DB: Classics Illustrated (1941)
Complete list of Classics Illustrated

Full credits and appreciation go to all the nameless scanners and uploaders.

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