Friday, September 8, 2017

FORGOTTEN BOOKS: Forgotten Comics and the Forgotten Record they Spawned


Classics Illustrated comics, I was surprised to discover, have made a comeback. The four issues shown here are now available both in paperback and for kindle. Are all CI comics back in print? I don't know, but I think it's pretty cool. 

Meanwhile, I recently picked up a $35 turntable that plugs into my computer to convert records into wav files. So I've been merrily playing some of my old platters and sharing them on YouTube. WESTERN PLAYHOUSE is one of those. It was issued in Canada in 1959, and claims to be adapted from Classics Illustrated. Actually, that's possible with only the issues shown here (and on the album cover). CI never got around to featuring Jim Bowie, Bat Masterson or Wyatt Earp. But you'll find their stories here too, with cheesy renditions of classic cowboy tunes between each tale. 

The narrated stories, too, are pretty lame, but they have redeeming historical and pop culture value. Try them and see. There are worse things you could be listening to. I think.





5 comments:

  1. I loved CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED as a kid!

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  2. And they are only fifteen cents? That's a deal!

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  3. Fifteen cents would be great. Sadly, the paperbacks run between seven and ten bucks, and the kindle editions are between five and eight. The price of education.

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  4. The Davy Crockett Classics Illustrated 129 is available on Archive.org for free!!! https://archive.org/details/ClassicsIllustrated129DavyCrockett

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