| Parent company | Elliot Publishing Company (1941–1942) Frawley Corporation (from 1967) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1942; 84 years ago (1942) |
| Founder | Albert Lewis Kanter |
| Defunct | 1971; 55 years ago (1971) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Key people | William E. Kanter, Hal Kanter[1] |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Adaptations ofliterary classics |
| Imprints | Many (see below) |
The Gilberton Company, Inc. (/ˈɡɪlbərtən/) was an American publisher best known for thecomic book seriesClassics Illustrated featuring adaptations ofliterary classics. Beginning life as an imprint of theElliot Publishing Company, the company became independent in 1942, Between 1941 and 1962, domestic sales of Gilberton's publications totaled 200 million.[citation needed] Gilberton was sold to theFrawley Corporation in 1967. The company ceased publishing in 1971.
Russian-born publisherAlbert Lewis Kanter (1897–1973)[2] recognizing the appeal of early comic books, believed he could use the new medium to introduce young and reluctant readers to "great literature". In October 1941, with the backing of two business partners,[3] he createdClassic Comics forElliot Publishing Company, its debut issue beingThe Three Musketeers, followed byIvanhoe andThe Count of Monte Cristo. In addition to the literary adaptations, the comics featured author profiles, educational fillers, and ads for the coming titles. In later editions, a catalog of titles and a subscription order form appeared on back covers.
Ruth Roche created the firstMuslimsuperhero,Kismet, Man of Fate, published in Gilberton'sBomber Comics #1-4 (1944).[4]
By the time ofClassics Comics #4, in 1942, the title outgrew the space it shared with Elliot, and Kanter moved the operation to different offices, changing the corporate identity to theGilberton Company, Inc.[3] Reprints of previous titles began in 1943. Wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce the 64-page format to 56 pages, and, in 1948, rising paper costs reduced books to 48 pages. With issue #35 in March 1947 (The Last Days of Pompeii) theClassic Comics series' name was changed toClassics Illustrated.
In 1946, the founder's son William E. "Bill" Kanter (born 1923) became an editor at Gilberton.[1] Kanter was instrumental in gettingClassics Illustrated distributed nationally in the U.S. throughCurtis Circulation, alongside magazines likeThe Saturday Evening Post,Ladies' Home Journal,Holiday,The Atlantic, andEsquire.[1]
Beginning in 1947,Classics Illustrated began to be distributed internationally, in English-speaking countries like Australia (Ayers & James, 1947–1953), Canada (via Gilberton, 1948–1951), and the United Kingdom (Thorpe & Porter, 1951–1963). Translated versions of the series became popular in Brazil (Editora Brasil-América Limitada, 1948–1961), Greece (Ekdóseis Pechlivanídi, the period 1951–1990), Mexico (Editora de Periódicos La Prensa, 1951–1973), and Norway (Serieforlaget, 1954–1956, before being taken over by a Gilberton branch).
Classics Illustrated's success spawned imitators, includingStories by Famous Authors Illustrated, published bySeaboard Publishing. As detailed on theGrand Comics Database:
Seaboard published 5 issues ofFast Fiction, skipped a month[, and] then reprinted them in order asStories by Famous Authors Illustrated, followed by 8 new issues. . . . Their format was identical toClassics Illustrated and [they used] the main Classics artist,Henry C. Kiefer, [for] at least 4 or 5 issues of [the title]. Gilberton . . . acquired Seaboard before the 14th issue was published. Gilberton acquired not only the company name but also the 30 pages drawn forRed Badge of Courage, which they published in the 98th issue ofClassics Illustrated.[5]
In addition toClassics Illustrated, Gilberton published its spin-offsClassics Illustrated Junior (1953–1962),Classics Illustrated Special Issue (1955–1964), andThe World Around Us (1958–1961).
The publication of new titles ceased in 1962 for various reasons. The company lost its second-class mailing permit; and cheap paperbacks,CliffsNotes, and television drew readers away from the series. Gilberton's last new issue wasClassics Illustrated #167Faust (August 1962), although other issues had been planned.
In the period 1956–1957, when the popularity ofClassics Illustrated was at its height, the company createdGilberton World-Wide Publications,[1] establishing a number ofNorthern European branch companies to translateClassics Illustrated into their languages — in Denmark (Illustrerede Klassikere),[6][7] the Netherlands (Classics),[8] Norway (Illustrerte Klassikere),[9] Sweden (Illustrerade Klassiker),[10][11] and West Germany (Illustrierte Klassiker).[12] (The Norwegian branch took over publishingClassics Illustrated from Serieforlaget).[9]
In 1959, Gilberton acquired the British publisher/distributorThorpe & Porter (which had been distributing UK editions ofClassics Illustrated since 1951).[1] In 1962, the production of new issues ofClassics Illustrated shifted from Gilberton's New York offices to Thorpe & Porter, with the publisher's son Bill Kanter overseeing everything beginning in 1963.[1] As a consequence, some of the planned, unpublished issues of the U.S.Classics Illustrated appeared in some foreign editions.
Bill Kanter was very involved with Gilberton World-Wide Productions;[1] in 1965, Gilberton's Swedish branch, Illustrerade Klassiker, was reorganized into Williams Förlag AB[11] — one theory is that the Williams name was derived fromWilliam Kanter.[11]
In 1966, after going bankrupt, Thorpe & Porter was sold off toNational Comics Publications (i.e.,DC Comics);[13] this sale included all the Gilberton World-Wide Productions European branches. A few years later, in 1971, all those branches — now in the hands ofWarner Bros. — were renamed some variation ofWilliams Publishing.
In 1967, Kanter sold Gilberton to Catholic business magnatePatrick Frawley's Twin Circle Publishing Co., which brought out two more issues ofClassics Illustrated but mainly concentrated on foreign sales and reprinting older titles. After four years, Twin Circle discontinued the line because of poor distribution. By the early 1970s,Classics Illustrated andJunior had been discontinued, although theClassics Illustrated branding would be used on a number ofmade-for-television films in the period 1978–1982, includingThe Time Machine,Donner Pass: The Road to Survival, andThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Since the series' demise, various companies have reprinted its titles.