Classics as Graphic Novels

The June 1997 Education Reporter provided a list of 167 "classics that endure", called The Ultimate Reading List. These weren't just any classic tales, however, but really comic books based on famous literary writings.

Since the end of World War II, illustrated comics of literary classics have captured the imaginations of children and introduced them to Western civilization's most enduring stories. Beginning in 1941 with Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers and ending in 1962, 167 titles were published. The first 34 were called Classic Comics, and subsequent issues (including reprints of earlier titles) were known as Classics Illustrated.

The titles span the range of genres and centuries. I spotted Caesar's Conquests (51 B.C.) by Julius Caesar and several of Shakespeare's works from the 1600s. The most recent ones I noticed were dated in the early 1900s. It's fun to wander through this listing and see how many you've read. Do you have any of them in illustrated form? If so, they may be worth something! See Classics Central for more information.