Classical Comics

• Name — Classical Comics Enterprises • Founded — 2007 • Founder — Clive Bryant • Country — United Kingdom • Headquarters — Birmingham • Distribution — Combined Book Services (UK) Publishers Group West (US) Cengage (Australia) • Keypeople — Gary Bryant • Publications — Graphic novels • Genre — literary adaptations • Numemployees — 240

All of the volumes will be published as graphic novels. Art is being provided by British artists, most of whom have a long history of working in British comics. Some of the releases, in particular the Shakespeare, will come in three different versions: the original text, plain text and quick text, designed to allow readers with different needs to pick the version that bests suits them. Classical Comics chairman, Clive Bryant has stated "We want to make Shakespeare as energetic and colourful as Spider-man" The aim is not just to aid in English literature classes but also in other areas: Karen Wenborn, the managing director, has said "We, and the teachers we’ve consulted, can visualize huge benefits within the education process using the books, not only for literacy and literature, but also drama, art and history." In April 2008 Classical Comics signed a distribution deal with book&volume to cover Australia and New Zealand. In June 2008 they announced two further distributions deals. Publishers Group West will be releasing British English and American English versions of Classical Comics' titles in the US and Canada and Ittosha are going to be translating the books into Japanese. Classical Comics are also adapting their comics into other media and have turned their Macbeth graphic novel into an interactive motion comic with actors like Derek Jacobi and Juliet Stevenson voicing the roles. Jon Haward, the artist on Macbeth and The Tempest, moved into the role of art direction for the Hamlet adaptation, providing character designs and rough page outlines for pencilled David Lorenzo to work with.

• Henry V (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald, with pencils by Neill Cameron and inks by Bambos, 144 pages, November 2007, Original Text) • Macbeth (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Jon Haward, 144 pages, February 2008, Original Text) • Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Will Volley and Jim Devlin, 160 pages, September 2009, Original Text) • The Tempest (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Jon Haward, 144 pages, September 2009 Original Text, • A Midsummer Night's Dream (by William Shakespeare and adapted by John McDonald with artwork by Jason Cardy & Kat Nicholson, 144 pages, September 2010 Original Text) • Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë and adapted by Amy Corzine with artwork by John Burns, 144 pages, Spring 2008, Original Text) • Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley and adapted by Jason Cobley with artwork by Declan Shalvey, 144 pages, September 2008 Original Text) • A Christmas Carol (by Charles Dickens and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with pencils by Mike Collins and inks by David Roach, 160 pages, October 2008, Original Text) • Great Expectations (by Charles Dickens and adapted by Jen Green and artwork by John Stokes, 160 pages, March 2009, Original Text) • The Canterville Ghost (by Oscar Wilde and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by Steve Bryant and Jason Millet, 136 pages, February 2010, Original Text) • Sweeney Todd (by anonymous and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by Declan Shalvey, 168 pages, November 2010, Original Text) • Wuthering Heights (by Emily Brontë and adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, with art by John M. Burns, 160 pages, August 2010, Original Text) • Dracula (by Bram Stoker and adapted by Jason Cobley with artwork by Staz Johnson, colours by James Offredi and lettering by Jim Campbell, 152 pages, Original Text) • An Inspector Calls (by J. B. Priestley and adapted by Jason Cobley with artwork by Will Volley, colours by Alejandro Sanchez and lettering by Jim Campbell, 144 pages, Original Text) • The Importance of Being Earnest (by Oscar Wilde. Script adaptation, characters and artwork by John Stokes, 144 pages, Original Text, Quick Text)

The following is established of the heading itself. The register further records that classical Comics is associated with United Kingdom. Institutional cataloguing adds that classical Comics is recorded from 2006.