The Sign Of The Four

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED was a series of comics that was produced with the intention of getting children to become interested in real literature. The only problem was this: once you'd read the comic version, why would you go and read the real book? I know I'm not the only one who actually used a Classics Illustrated comic for a book report at school (and got a passing grade, too).
This adaptation is by Louis Zansky, whose name may not be familiar to you, but I'm sure you've heard of one of his assistants.
from CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #21, April 1945


click on the first page to start reading the story (28 pages)

Maybe it's just me, but doesn't John Watson look a lot like James Gordon in this comic?
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The Tunnel Scheme

In this adventure, by Frank Giacoia, Holmes and Watson uncover a scheme by their nemesis James Moriarty.

from DELL FOUR COLOR #1169, March 1961

















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The Case Of The Anemic Heir

This non-canonical tale by Will Richardson, Kevin Duane, and the late Anton Caravana would probably upset a lot of the more hardcore Sherlock Holmes fans because it involves the supernatural. But if it didn't, it probably wouldn't have been published by Warren, since they specialized in horror and sci-fi comics.
Genre aside, they do a fairly good job of capturing the spirit of the shorter stories in the original Holmes series right up until the very end. In my opinion, that last panel is somewhat out of character for our heroes. But you can judge for yourself...

from THE ROOK #10, August 1981










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The Final Curtain

Just about every comic publisher has tried to adapt Sherlock Holmes at one time or another, with various degrees of success. This particular story comes from Charlton Comics, who put out an unauthorized series (I guess they thought the character was public domain) that lasted all of two issues. What you'll notice as far as oddities is that Holmes now lives in the modern era, in the United States, and is not accompanied by John H. Watson. You'd might think they would have seen the failure in this series before they published it.

from SHERLOCK HOLMES #1, October 1955:



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THE JOKER

The Joker is another one of those characters that needs little or nothing in the way of an introduction. Even people who don't read comics have seen him on TV, in movies and cartoons, and at toy stores. Although people generally associate the character as Batman's villain, in this story he matches wits with another famous detective.

from THE JOKER #6,April 1975

Click on the first page to read the whole story.


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KID ETERNITY vs MR ZERO

Kid Eternity was basically Quality Comics' attempt to cash in on the rampant success of Fawcett's Captain Marvel franchise in the '40s. Even a casual reader will notice the similarities; by using his magic word,"ETERNITY", he's able utilize the the powers of other heroes from the past. Yet, the kid himself doesn't undergo any transformation, instead, the hero of his choosing appears to help him. Doesn't sound like the greatest of super powers, but he was popular enough to last for seven years (1942-'49) and keep two comic series going (HIT COMICS and his own solo title).
This particular tale of a midget who vows to get even with taller people was illustrated by Al Bryant.

from KID ETERNITY #8, Winter 1947:












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The Black Market

You can definitely see the signs of the times in this story, illustrated by Al Carreno.In it, Junior fights his nemesis Captain Nazi, who is involved in a scheme to steal rations from the British. When else but during World War II have comics ever been as involved in any patriotic propaganda? Today all the comics seem to be more concerned with selling at least one issue of every single title that they publish by including the characters in some overly long crossover event. Not that I agree with propaganda, or that I support any wars, but today's comics seem to put a lot of emphasis on realism without having any real connection with reality.
Regardless, this is a fun story with a surprising costar. Enjoy!

from CAPTAIN MARVEL JUNIOR #2, December 1942















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