ABSTRACT
Th e idea of using comic books as an educational tool has been around for some time. Beginning in 1941, the Gilberton Company produced Classic Comics, a series of literature-based comic books designed to attract children to the likes of Shakespeare and Melville. Th e series lasted until 1971, but it never gained the same popularity as the Spider-man and Superman comics beloved by so many children, particularly boys. Classic Comics dwindled because the characters were staid, the writing was uninspiring, and the art was bulky. A student in the 1950s might have referred to them as “squaresville.” Early eff orts to bring comic books into the classroom were certainly not aided by Congressional hearings into the suspected relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency (see U.S. Congress, 1955).
