Reading advocate LeVar Burton is quoted as saying 'If your child is passionate about superheroes then dammit, buy them comic books.' I think that quote is more than apropos of the comic being reviewed today.
Though the cover touted it was 'recommended by educators', Classics Illustrated still got a bad rap. Russian born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter saw the appeal comics had to children and decided to create a line of comic books based on classics of literature. The hope was that child would marvel at the adventures of The Three Musketeers, Ivanhoe and The Count of Monte Cristo (the first 3 subjects in the series) in cartoon form and then head to their local library and search out the real McCoy to read! If LeVar Burton was alive in 1941, I really think he'd be dinging Albert Lewis Kanter's praises.
Despite this bold effort to make learning more accessible for children, some teachers initially frowned upon using comic books as a teaching tool. If you read Jean Shepherd's childhood accounts, there's a great account of him and a friend getting in trouble with sneaking a copy of Robinson Crusoe in class. Even though it was the bane of teachers everywhere, Comics Illustrated thrived from 1941-1969. A total of 169 issues were released along with a sister series devoted to elementary school aged students. Almost every issue was reissued at least twice.
The books were first released as Classic Comics until 1947. With the name change, the book shrunk from 64 to 56 to finally 48 pages. Paper rationing during World War II and rising paper prices were the culprit. 100-page Special issues were released focusing on historical and biographical subjects.
The final change that became probably the most iconic part of the series came in 1951. Instead of simple line-drawn covers, the front page boasted beautiful full color painted covers. Also in 1951, Kanter signed a deal with Curtis Circulation and together they partnership began to directly advertise Classics Illustrated to schools as an educational tool. Beating Clif Notes by 7 years, with the coming of the Atomic Age, Classics Illustrated started to achieve a level of credibility with educators as an introductory tool to works of fine literature.
Over the years, a number of talented artists worked on Classics Illustrated. John Severin (Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos), Dick Ayers (Fantastic Four), Joe Orlando (Creepy), and Reed Crandall (Blackhawk) were among some of the names who illustrated multiple issues of the series. But when it came to the writing, Albert Kanter let the original text speak for themselves!
Actual lines of text and dialogue were taken directly from the original works and placed into the panels of art. With the case of Classics Illustrated #075 The Lady of The Lake, the story was written by Sir Walter Scott. The story is written in verse instead of prose. Being a Scotsman, many of the verses don't really rhyme on paper. But if you remember how Groundskeeper Willie pronounced things differently, the epic poem's rhythm comes more from the inflection than the vocabulary.
Scott's story of chivalry, honor and romance is a fantasized account of historic events. The noble James Fitz-James becomes lost during a stag hunt. Secretly, Fitz-James is King James V. While lost, he encounters a beautiful maiden named Ellen, who is the daughter of a Scottish Clansman named Douglas.
Douglas was once a mentor to James. Now an exiled enemy, Douglas is asked to join the dishonorable Roderick Dhu to wage war against King James. Fighting with Roderick is Malcolm, who owns the heart of Ellen. Hoping to save Malcolm, Douglas seeks King James in an attempt to reconcile. But before he surrenders to the King, Douglas kicks major butt in a number of physical challenges.
Ultimately, King James is victorious. He mortally wounds Roderick. Douglas and Malcolm are imprisoned. But when Ellen comes to advocate for her people's release, James and the Maiden both learn whom each other really are. And a happy ending is achieved as father is released and King James joins the Lady of the Lake and Malcolm in matrimony.
I've never had to use Clif Notes to read a comic book before. But the prose was like reading the King James Bible. (This King James is not the one who authorized that version of the Bible.) There's a bunch of Scottish terms and thankfully, the editors do annotate what some of those words mean. But I was so lost. If not for Wikipedia, I probably wouldn't know what happened or why it did.
I own about a dozen issues of this iconic comic series. Reading a Classic Illustrated is one of my reading challenge tasks. I was going to choose a Western themed issue. But since I had just read a John Wayne Civil War era book, I tried to diversify. I was thinking the Lady in the Lake was the one from Arthurian legend. Gee, was I wrong.
A beautiful selection from one of the most classic comic book series of all-time. This issue is just one of more difficult issues to navigate due to how it's written and the brogue. But beautifully illustrated and that cover is outta-sight. Unfortunately, the visual appeal isn't enough to make my rating that very high.
Not Worth Consuming!
Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.
Completing this review completes Task #5 (Issue of Classics Illustrated) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.
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