Conclusion: Classics Illustrated Issue 18 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1949 reprint cover

Compared to the previous reviews, particularly for the 1956 version, my review of Classics Illustrated has been fairly short. And that's mostly because there's not really much to say about it. It's an adaption made entirely to be an adaptation. It succeeds in this goal fairly well.

While some of the writing is a bit too dense for its target demographic, I do appreciate how it doesn't try to dumb things down, even when it only runs 48 pages.

The art is the real highlight here. The level of detail, while fairly typical of the period, is fun to look at and converys the narrative well.

The digital edition is currently priced at $ 4.99, and honestly that's a bit steep. You can find the original comic or one of the dozens of reprints for less than that. If you can find it, I'd recommend it.

Supplemental Material: Classics Illustrated Issue 18 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Biography of Victor Hugo

Besides the comic adaptation, Classics Illustrated also included additional material. The first, and most relevant, is a biography of Victor Hugo. It's pretty standard stuff, and recounts a lot of basic information. For what it is, it works. Informative and brief.

After that, there's a one page article titled "The Wanderers," which details the history and plight of gypsies of the years. Again, it is informative, and it seems credible, for the time anyway.

"The Wanderers"

The final piece is another article. This one discusses the history of drama and theater, how it began with religious tradition and gradually evolved into the then new and exciting world of Broadway.

It's all effective. This was meant to educate more than to entertain.

Next: Conclusion

The Art of Classics Illustrated Issue 18 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Quasimodo kneels before Frollo

Printing quality, for decades, was fairly poor for comic books. Colors would bleed, inking would blend, all sorts of problems. Not to mention the cheapness of the paper, which only made these problems worse.

Gringoire, alarmed

Despite these limitations, the art thrives. It's not something you'd want to hang on your wall, but for the period, this is excellent comic book artwork. Keeping to the serious nature of the story, the art is not very comedic. It's played fairly straight, but there are a few moments of brevity, like when Gringoire discovers his lack of money.

There's a lot of great facial detail, and moody shadows throughout.

The characters are sketched right out of the novel, but it still has its own distinct style. The artist excellently captures moods and expressions. Comparing it to other Classics Illustrated issues, the art, which usually were less visually interesting, it feels even more remarkable.

Next: Supplemental Material 

The Adaptation: Classics Illustrated Issue 18 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Gringoire at the Palace of Justice

Instead of going over the plot, I think it would be better if I examined how well this works as an adaptation. Unlike the other pieces reviewed here, this was meant specifically to be an adaptation, rather than a dramatic or artistic work.

It seems that certain descriptions were ripped straight from the book. Certain sentences feel stiff or awkward, a result, it seems, from basing itself on early translations, which were very inconsistent. As an example, instead of saying men or women, the comic uses words like "male" or "female." It also can be awkward like when, early on, Gringoire remarks that the Parisians are "a pretty pack of boobies." The actual line is meant to be "A fine rabble of asses and dolts, these Parisians," but, likely not wanting to use "offense language," the line was changed. Of course today, this is unintentionally hilarious.

Claude Frollo

Another case is with the use of "old English," such as "thy" "thou" and adding "est" instead of "ed" at the end of words. It's mostly unnecessary, and most contemporary translations remove these things.

As an adaptation, it's fairly basic. There are some subtractions, like the absence of Jehan and the removal of more lude or violent scenes, like the "Key to the Red Door"  chapter.

It works for what it is.

Next: Art

Introduction: Classics Illustrated Issue 18 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Cover of the 1961 reprint

Classics Illustrated was a series of comic books that was intended to promote literacy in children. It was also used to promote the reading of classic literature in a way that was not intimidating or daunting to kids and young adults.

Classics Illustrated lasted for hundreds of issues, and back issues are still being sold digitally today.

Hunchback was adapted in the 18th issue. On top of the comic adaptation, it also included some background information and a
biography of Victor Hugo.







Next: The Adaptation