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| - thumb|left|Three Musketeers, Issue #1, Classic Comics, published 1941 Russian-born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (1897–1973) created Classic Comics for Elliot Publishing Company in 1941 with its debut issues being The Three Musketeers, followed by Ivanhoe and The Count of Monte Cristo. In addition to the literary adaptations, books featured author profiles, educational fillers, and an ad for the coming title. In later editions, a catalog of titles and a subscription order form appeared on back covers. Recognizing the appeal of early comic books, Albert Lewis Kanter believed he could use the new medium to introduce young and reluctant readers to "great literature".
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| - thumb|left|Three Musketeers, Issue #1, Classic Comics, published 1941 Russian-born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (1897–1973) created Classic Comics for Elliot Publishing Company in 1941 with its debut issues being The Three Musketeers, followed by Ivanhoe and The Count of Monte Cristo. In addition to the literary adaptations, books featured author profiles, educational fillers, and an ad for the coming title. In later editions, a catalog of titles and a subscription order form appeared on back covers. Recognizing the appeal of early comic books, Albert Lewis Kanter believed he could use the new medium to introduce young and reluctant readers to "great literature". The first five titles were published irregularly under the banner "Classic Comics Presents" while issues six and seven were published under the banner "Classic Comics Library" with a ten-cent cover price. Arabian Nights (issue 8), illustrated by Lillian Chestney, is the first issue to use the "Classics Comics" banner. With the fourth issue, The Last of the Mohicans, in 1942, Kanter moved the operation to different offices and the corporate identity was changed to the Gilberton Company. Reprints of previous titles began in 1943. Wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce the 64-page format to 56 pages. Classic Comics is marked by varying quality in art and is celebrated today for its often garish but highly collectible line-drawn covers. Artists include Lillian Chestney (Arabian Nights, issue 8, and Gulliver's Travels, issue 16), Webb and Brewster (Frankenstein, issue 26), Matt Baker (Lorna Doone, issue 32), and Henry Carl Kiefer (second cover for The Prince and the Pauper, issue 29, cover for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, issue 33, and the first Classics Illustrated issue The Last Days of Pompeii, issue 35). Oliver Twist (issue 23) was the first title produced by the Eisner & Iger shop. Some titles were packaged in gift boxes of threes or fours during the period with specific themes such as adventure or mystery. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (issue 13) and Uncle Tom's Cabin (issue 15) were both cited in Dr. Fredric Wertham's infamous 1954 condemnation of comic books Seduction of the Innocent. Original edition Classic Comics in Near Mint condition command prices in the thousands of dollars. File:CC No 02 Ivanhoe 2.jpg|Issue #2. File:CC No 03 Count of Monte Cristo.jpg|Issue #3. File:CC No 04 Last of the Mohicans.JPG|Issue #4. File:CC No 05 Moby Dick.JPG|Issue #5. File:CC No 06 A Tale of Two Cities.jpg|Issue #6. File:CC No 07 Robin Hood.jpg|Issue #7. File:CC No 08 Arabian Nights.jpg|Issue #8. File:CC No 09 Les Miserables.JPG|Issue #9. File:CC No 10 Robinson Crusoe.JPG|Issue #10. File:CC No 11 Don Quixote.jpg|Issue #11. File:CC No 12 Rip Van Winkle.JPG|Issue #12. File:CC No 13 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.jpg|Issue #13. File:CC No 14 Westward Ho.JPG|Westward Ho!Issue #14 File:CC No 15 Uncle Toms Cabin.jpg|Uncle Tom's CabinIssue #15 File:CC No 16 Gullivers Travels.jpg|Issue #16. File:CC No 17 Deerslayer 2.jpg|Issue #17. File:CC No 18 Hunchback of Notre Dame.JPG|Issue #18. File:CC No 19 Huckleberry Finn.JPG|Issue #19. File:CC No 20 Corsican Brothers.jpg|Issue #20. File:CC No 21 Three Famous Mysteries.JPG|Three Famous MysteriesIssue #21. File:CC No 22 Pathfinder.jpg|PathfinderIssue #22. File:CC No 23 Oliver Twist.jpg|Issue #23. File:CC No 24 Connecticut Yankee.jpg|Issue #24. File:CC No 25 Two Years Before the Mast.JPG|Issue #25. File:CC No 26 Frankenstein 2.JPG|Issue #26. File:CC No 27 Marco Polo.jpg|Issue #27. File:CC No 28 Michael Strogoff.jpg|Issue #28. File:CC No 29 Prince and the Pauper.JPG|Issue #29. File:CC No 30 Moonstone.JPG|Issue #30. File:CC No 31 Black Arrow.jpg|The Black ArrowIssue #31. File:CC No 32 Lorna Doone.jpg|Issue #32. File:CC No 33 Sherlock Holmes.JPG|Issue #33. File:CC No 34 Mysterious Island.JPG|Issue #34. File:The Call of the Wild (Classic comics).jpg|Issue #91. File:Invisible Man.png|Issue #153.
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