YOU KNOW, FOR KIDS!

Albert Kanter's Classics Illustrated series popped up in 1941, beating Cliff's Notes to the marketplace by 17 years.

No child alive would mistake The Three Musketeers for Fantastic Four, but Kanter knew what he was doing presenting world classics in comic book form. By 1962 (the last year of original material) the series spanned 169 issues and moved 200 million units.

Here's a taste: