Classics Illustrated

As a lifelong Classics Illustrated collector and the author of a work-in-progress on the series, I enjoyed Donna Richardson’s article in the May/June issue. I was disappointed, however, to find none of the original line-drawing covers reproduced. A comparison of the 1943 Classic Comics cover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the 1949 Classics Illustrated substitute and the 1953 painted-cover replacement dramatically reveals how far the series evolved in terms of “respectability.”

Not a bad record, I’d say.