I grew up in the era of Classics Illustrated and they have meant so much to me my entire life. In fact I still have my collection and I am only missing 4 or 5 of the entire collection. My interest developed through my older brother who had a number of the original 10 cent CI's. with the original line drawn covers. These are about the only things from my childhood that I have retained.
Where I grew up on Long Island you could not tell where one town ended and the next one began. Although it was a different time then and most parents would not allow it now, at the age of 7 or 8 I would ride my bike for miles to each candy or department store searching for the latest editions to my collection. I could have clipped the coupon on the back of the comic and subscribed but I didn't want to damage my treasures. Finding the latest edition or a back issue that I didn't have was pure bliss.
Because I started school at age 4 I was always the youngest student in the class. As a result I was behind my class in my reading abilities. I was assigned an after school reading instructor for 2 years who brought me up to par and beyond and opened up the life long love of reading and collecting books. With Classics Illustrated I was introduced to great literature at an early age and in a form that I could comprehend and enjoy. The first novel that I can remember ever reading was Huckleberry Finn. Actually it was beyond my reading ability then but I would follow along with the CI version and the story would come alive with the illustrations and fill in the parts that I may not have be comprehending. Through my childhood years I did this with many of the books in the collection.
Through Classics Illustrated I thrilled to the adventure stories of G.A. Henty, travelled around the moon and back with Jules Verne and travelled the Oregon Trail with Francis Parkman. I chased windmills with Don Quixote, fought duels with Cyrano de Bergerac and learned of courage and the civil war through the Red Badge of Courage. I read of famous people through the biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Buffalo Bill, Daniel Boone and Julius Caesar. I was also introduced to adult novels such as Jane Eyre, the Leatherstocking tales of James Fennimore Cooper and the Bounty trilogy. My what a treasure trove of literature these comics contained!
Classics Illustrated has evolved 4 or 5 times since the 1940's with different publishers and prices ranging from 10 cents, 15 cents, 25 cents to the graphic novel form of $4.95 and beyond. Irregardless or the various publishers or prices the editions contained in the CI collection opened up worlds beyond my door step, introduced me to great literature lead me onto the path of incessant reading and collecting of books.
Below are a few covers from various editions
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