Comments on: More Diamond cuts: WARLORD OF IO, Classics Illustrated

by: Matt Tauber

Sun, 03 May 2009 11:56:53 +0000

It’s a shame Jarve has to denigrate another genre to promote his own.

by: Raffaele Ienco

Sun, 03 May 2009 01:42:09 +0000

That’s a shame about WarLord of IO. I’ve read the online preview and it’s quite entertaining. Definitly has potential.

by: Kat Kan

Sat, 02 May 2009 20:42:40 +0000

There are actually two lines of Classics Illustrated books from Papercutz, one is reprinting the First/Berkeley CI; these are library bound, sturdy hardcovers that can stand up to a lot of check-outs and being stuffed into backpack after backpack that happens in libraries. The other line is Classics Illustrated Deluxe, which are 144-page adaptations that seem to have been originally published in countries such as France; these come in both library bound hardcovers (which are much sturdier than trade hardcovers) and trade paperbacks.

An individual buyer such as Josh might think the price point is out of line, but libraries appreciate reasonably-priced library bound copies that will stand up to years of abuse by people who check out books and don’t take very good care of them. The price point is VERY reasonable for a library bound book.

by: Lee Hester

Sat, 02 May 2009 13:29:36 +0000

We generally have a good selection of original Gilberton Classics Illustrated comics on sale for $5 each, so reprints for $10 each does not sound too appealing.

by: Josh

Sat, 02 May 2009 12:08:45 +0000

Looking at some of the offerings on the Papercutz site, I believe at least the Jeckyl and Mr Hyde, and Through the Looking Glass are reprints of the First/CI material. If memory serves they were 4 or 5 bucks a piece back then. There is some merit to these titles, but the price point for in some cases reprinted material is completely unjustified. Not that Marvel and DC aren’t currently guilty of the same transgressions.

by: Torsten Adair

Fri, 01 May 2009 20:09:02 +0000

RE: Classics Illustrated. The First/Berkeley versions did it right. Match classic tales with talented artists who could adapt the text and make it interesting to look at.

Classics Illustrated reprints? Blah. The art is sloppy, and actually makes it harder to enjoy the story. MAYBE it would work better as black-and-white newsprint copies, maybe a big “Essentials” volume by genre or subject.

Unfortunately, CI does not control the classic adaptation market anymore. Marvel, Sterling, Image, IDW, Rosebud, Papercutz are all producing handsome and engaging editions. Add to this the growing number of educational publishers which are publishing crude or clumsy adaptations, and Classics Illustrated doesn’t have much chance of success in the U.S.

by: Brian Hibbs

Fri, 01 May 2009 19:49:36 +0000

Yeah, we’ve carried like 4 or 6 of their releases, and haven’t sold a single copy at that price point, so I dropped the line. I imagine other stores are having similar experiences…

-B

by: The Beat

Fri, 01 May 2009 18:46:20 +0000

$10 and they still couldn’t make the minimum?

Time for a wake up call I think.

by: Brian Hibbs

Fri, 01 May 2009 18:39:42 +0000

I’d say the bigger problem with the CLASSIC ILLUSTRATED line is that they’re $10 each… for a single comic book.

-B