Classics Illustrated Notes:

Editions and publication dates for Classics Illustrated can be confusing.

Many auctions claim to present first editions, or those from the '40s or '50s when they are really offering much later editions, usually worth substantially less.

The HRN (high reorder number) appears on the order form, on either the back cover, or one of the inside covers. The last issue listed is the HRN. It provides the exact dating for Classics Illustrated (The date listed inside the front cover isn't reliable, since it didn't change every time a new edition came out. Some comics from the 1950s and 60s still have a 1940s date of publication).To determine the exact date after establishing the HRN you need a catalog such as Overstreet that lists all the editions, but even without that, the HRN will let you know whether you have a first edition or not.

The original Classic Comics / Classics Illustrated were published by Gilberton in the 1940- 1960s. There were several later reprints by Berkeley, First and others but those are not as collectible as the original series.

For the World Around Us [WAU] and Classics Illustrated Special series, it's simpler since there was only one edition. Some of the Specials did have different covers.

See our other auctions for dozens more Classics Illustrated in wholesale lots