American comics magazine
| Marvel Classics Comics |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
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| Schedule | monthly |
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| Format | Ongoing series |
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| Genre | science fiction, horror, suspense, adventure |
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| Publication date | Jan. 1976 – Dec. 1978 |
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| No. of issues | 36 |
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| Written by | Otto Binder, Kin Platt, Irwin Shapiro, Doug Moench, John Warner |
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| Artist(s) | Alex Niño, Rudy Nebres, E. R. Cruz, Dino Castrillo, Jess Jodloman, Yong Montaño, Rudy Mesina |
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| Editor(s) | Vincent Fago (issues #1-12)
John Warner (issues #13-24)
Roger Slifer (issues #25–30)
David Anthony Kraft
Ralph Macchio |
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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 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.
