This is my first addition of pages from Comics Illustrated. I was always more interested in superhero comics so wasn't really interested in these books. But they do have a historical place in this industry. For those of you that haven't heard for "Comics Illutrated", according to Wikipedia:
Classics Illustrated is an American comic book series featuring adaptations of literatry classics...". "Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1941 and finished its first run in 1969, producing 169 issues."
My two pages are from 147A. Why is there a letter "A" in the number? Very fair quesion. Again from Wikipedia, "Classics Illustrated used the letter "A" on its Special Issues to differentiate them from the main series while fitting them seamlessly into the company's numbering. The publisher, Gilberton, reused existing numbers from the main comic line to designate 100-page semi-annual Specials focused on historical and cultural topics."
And according to Comics Grand Database, "Between 1955 and 1964, Gilberton published 16 of these larger, square-bound specials. To track them alongside the regular monthly comic lineup, they were appended with the letter "A" (e.g., #129A The Story of Jesus, #144A Blazing the Trails West)."
The last thing to explain is what a "Special Issue" is all about. While Classics Illustrated dealt with classic literature in comic form, the Special Issues was focused on telling a historical story. Like in this case, the book told the story of western expasion across the Rockie Mountains.
