Classics Illustrated #92

To find this comic book in the wild on the eve of Thanksgiving seemed like destiny to me. While the cover story doesn't occur during the first Thanksgiving, many of the important figures that sat in on that important event in colonial American history appear and play active roles. Also, the Mayflower as it rests in Provincetown Harbor, bound to return to England, is in this adaptation of the epic Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. Though I really take umbrage with it's title.

It's called The Courtship of Miles Standish; the military governor of the Plymouth Colony. Yet, in reality, it should be called 'The Courtship of John Alden' because he's the one that gets the girl. 

When Miles Standish arrived in the new world, he had a wife. Unfortunately, she was one of the many who did not survive that first wicked winter in New England. Now feeling it is time again for a bride, Standish has his eyes on the maiden Priscilla. He sends John Alden to propose marriage in his stead. But it's a rather dick move if you ask me because Alden is in Standish's house, writing a love letter to Priscilla.

Alden, being a loyal friend, does as he asks. But Priscilla is only interested in Alden. She eventually coaxes him to confess his love to the maiden and they become betrothed. 

Some think that Standish knew that his friend loved Priscilla. But that John Alden was too much of a wuss to ever do anything about it. So Standish shows interest in Priscilla in order to prompt Alden to act. I'd be totally okay with this story if that was the case. However, when news comes out that Alden and Priscilla are to be married, instead of acting like some impish matchmaker like those found in many a work of Shakespeare, Standish accused his friend of treachery. Thus instead of bringing Alden and Priscilla closer together, the guilt of the broken friendship almost prompts John to leave the new world altogether on the Mayflower. 

Spoiler; if it wasn't for the reported death of Miles Standish by Indians John Alden would never jumped the broom with fair Priscilla. Then Standish returns after the wedding and all is okay between the two. So are you telling me that Miles Standish goes to war with the Native Americans and fakes his own death in order to get Alden hitched? This really all seems far fetched! An enjoyable read. But really, really far fetched!

Longfellow claimed that this poem was based on family tradition. Apparently, an ancestor of Alden and Priscilla, Longfellow reported that the poem was based on the legend his parents and grandparents would tell of how those two early colonists wed. There's sure to be a lot of conjecture and twisting of narrative in order to make Alden look good, passed down over the years. As for Standish getting all bent out of shape over Alden 'stealing his girl ', that would seem to be more like real life as opposed to the plot of a Hallmark movie. Although the whole back from the dead twist at the end seems like something that would happen in a movie. Only it would convince Priscilla to marry Miles instead of John. So who knows how real and how made up this story really is...

The second story is another retelling of a historical epic by Longfellow. Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie tells the 'you just missed him by 5 minutes' tragic romance of the title heroine and her beloved Gabriel. Set against the backdrop of the British expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in mid-1800s, Evangeline and Gabriel are to be married. However, the lovers are separated by the British, with Gabriel's family sent ahead to his exile on a ship days before Evangeline is evacuated. 

For the next several decades, Evangeline follows after Gabriel down the Mississippi, through the swamps of Louisiana and the untamed prairies of the West, always missing her beloved by only a few days. Spoiler; old and gray, Evangeline gives up; eventually becoming a nun in the Boston area. There she cares for the sick and infirmed where fate finally allows Evangeline and Gabriel to reunite right before he dies of plague, foretold in passing towards the beginning of this tale 

The second story was in my opinion, a much better read. I did cheat and had to look ahead because I felt like surely, these two lovers aren't going to met at the end just to die?! Alas, that was the case! Still, it was a better read despite the tragically sad ending. 

My like and dislike should not be held against the writers and artists of this adaptation. Alex Blum illustrated Evangeline. Extensive search couldn't pop up any hits for it's writer and I got absolutely bupkis for the Courtship of Miles Standish credits. Extra articles, which have always been a bonus delight to read include a biography of Longfellow, plus the history of Cyrus McCormick's grain reaper, the lesser known New Jersey Tea Party and the history of the Apache. Not sure why those articles were never topical in relation to the main stories. This would have been an appropriate place for the life of Miles Standish, the historical plight of the Acadians and a look at the Wampanoag people from the first Thanksgiving. Regardless of this, Classics Illustrated #92 was an enjoyable read and set the tone for my very small but much looked forward to Thanksgiving reading list for 2025.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars