Jules Verne, Part 35

(Continued from Jules Verne, Part 34)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH   (Overview)  Part 2

First published in 1864, this has been probably my
FAVORITE Jules Verne story since I was a kid.

Wonderland Records specialized in original "radio-style" dramatic recordings aimed at children.  As usual, their take on JOURNEY had some nice cover art.

WONDERLAND LP  /  cover art by WALLY WOOD   (1973)

Rick Wakeman, the keyboardist for The Strawbs and Yes, did a 45-minute adaptation of ":JOURNEY" as his 2nd solo album.  A mixture of music (both orchestral and rock) and narration (provided by actor David Hemmings), it actually followed the story of the novel closer than most adaptations, despite the narration amounting to no more than 10 minutes' worth of the album.  Due to budget restrictions, it was recorded LIVE, making it an even more impressive achievement!

Rick Wakeman  /  JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH  /
cover by ??   (A&M Records  /  1974)

back cover

Gilberton's CLASSIC ILLUSTRATED line was shut down in 1971.
In 1973, Pendulum Press, Inc. picked up the ball, doing brand-new versions of old stories in hardbound editions.  The line was headed up by Vince Fago, most known for funny-animal comics, and a brief run as Marvel's Editor during WW2.  The entire Pendulum line was illustrated by artists from the Phillipines.  "JOURNEY" was adapted by Naunerle Farr with art by Val Calaquian.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
Now Age Books  64-1352
cover by VAL CALAQUIAN   (Pendulum Press, Inc.  /  1976)

In 1977, Almena Films in Spain produced an adaptation of "JOURNEY" that, while still veering off into its own flights of fantasy, was far more accurate to the book than the 1959 film had been.  Starring Kenneth More, it was released in the US under the title "WHERE TIME BEGAN".  I've seen it several times now, and I have to confess, I've gotten to like it MORE each time I sit through it!

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
(Almena Films  /  1977)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
art by CIACCIARIELLO   (Almena Films  /  1977  /  Spanish poster)

WHERE TIME BEGAN
(Almena Films  /  1977  /  US title)

Academic Industries, the parent company of Pendulum Press, reprinted many of their 1970s "CLASSICS" in the 80s in reduced-size paperback editions.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
cover by VAL CALAQUIAN   (Academic Industries, Inc.  /  1984)

Brilliance Corporation, as one of their "Bookcassette" series, did a 3-tape, 8-hour book-on-tape version of "JOURNEY", read by David Colacci.  I listended to this in October 1996, and it not only allowed me the virtually "read" the orignial novel for a 2nd time, word for word (without actually having to read it), but it even coincided with my getting over a lifelong fear of heights!

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
cover by Colleen Rockey   (Brilliance Corporation  /  1993)

From 1990 to 2001, BOYS' LIFE magazine featured Bank Street Classics,  
25 brand-new adaptations, each clocking in at a mind-boggling 16 pages per novel.  Despite the extreme compression, the results were very impressive!

BOYS' LIFE  /  Bank Street Classics  /  page 12  /
adaptation by Seymour Reit  /  art by ERNIE COLON   (March 1995)

After the stylish new Berkely / First / Dark Horse adaptations, it must have seemed a step backwards when Acclaim Entertainment (the company that bought out Valiant Comics) decided to reprint the original Gilberton versions, once again with NEW covers.  Still, it's fun to compare versions, and this gave younger audiences a chance to read the older ones without going broke on expensive back-issues.

CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED 25  /
cover by LOU HARRISON   (Acclaim Entertainment  /  July 1997)

In 1999, Rick Wakeman, who had recorded multiple live versions of his "JOURNEY" project, managed to do his most high-profile album in decades-- an actual sequel to the Verne story, recorded with an all-star cast of singers and narrated by Patrick Stewart.

Rick Wakeman  /  RETURN TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
cover by ??   (EMI CLASSICS  /  April 1999)

Track listing

Interior photo

In 2008, a far-more "cartoony" adaptation was done, in a style apparently inspired by Japanese comic-books ("manga").

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
cover by GREG REBIS
(Capstone Publishers / Stone Arch Books / Graphic Resolve  /  January 2008)

In 2010, Saddleback Publishing, Inc. reprinted Pendulum Press's version as part of their "Illustrated Classics" series.  I'm not sure if the new cover painting was done specifically for this edition, or if it was done 20 years earlier for the intended (but never published) 1990 reprint. 

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  SP-9146  /
cover by ??   (Saddleback Publishing, Inc.  /  2010)

Campfire Classics is yet ANOTHER publisher getting into the market of doing graphic novels based on "classic" novels, doing an entire series of books based on the SAME stories (how many versions does the world really need, anyway?).  This one appears to be based in India, and while their cover artists are good on the technical side, their depictions of people seem strangely "off" to me. Also odd is that I've found 2 completely different covers for their version of this story.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
cover by VINOD KUMAR   (Campfire Classics  /  2010)

Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. did an abridged version as part of their "Classic Starts" series.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
cover by ??   (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.  /  2011)

Finally, a few odds and ends...

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
illustration by DON PUNCHATZ   (20??)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
illustration by FRANK BRUNNER   (20??)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
illustration by VALENTINA BARIC   (2013)

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  /
illustration by LAURENT DURIEUX   (Nautilus Art Prints  /  2014)

(Continued in Jules Verne, Part 36)

Copyright (C) the various artists & publishers

Scan of 1973 Wonderland LP from the Masterworks message board
Scans of 1974 Rick Walkeman LP from my collection
Scan of 1976 Pendulum Press edition from the My Comics Shop site
Scans of 1977 Almena Films posters from the Ain't It Cool,
     and Wrong Side Of The Art sites
Scan of 1984 Academic Industries editions from the GCD site
Scan of 1993 Brilliance Corporation Bookcassette from my collection
Scan of 1995 Bank Street Classics version from the Boys' Life site
Scan of 1996 Acclaim Entertainment edition from the My Comics Shop site
Scans of 1999 Rick Wakeman CD from my collection
Scan of 2008 Stone Arch edition from the Capstone Publishing site
Scan of 2010 Saddleback edition from the Saddleback site
Scan of 2010 Campfire Classics edition from the ?? site
Scan of Don Punchatz illo from the Heritage Auctions site
Scan of Frank Brunner illo from the Heritage Auctions site
Scan of 2013 Valentina Baric illo from the Deviant Art site
Scan of 2014 Nautilus Art Print from theOMG Posters site

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa

For more:
Read about the book at the Wikipedia site!
Visit the Jules Verne website
     to see various editions of the novel over the years!
Read about the history of Gilberton & Classics Illustrated at Wikipedia
Read about the 1959 20th Century Fox movie at Wikipedia!
Read about the music of the 1959 film at A Lost Film.com!
Read Perspective magazine's article on Dell Movie Classics.
Read about the "JOURNEY" theme park ride at Laff In The Dark.com
Read about the 1967 Filmation "JOURNEY" TV series at Wikipedia!
Read about Vincent Fago's Pendulum Press at the Kleefeld On Comics blog
Read more about Pendulum Press at Wikipedia!
Read a bit more about Pendulum Press at the Illustration Facebook blog

See Edouard Riou's illustrations for "JOURNEY" at the Tom's Place site!
Read the Norman Nodel JOURNEY adaptation at the Tom's Place site!
Watch the 1st episode of Filmation's JOURNEY cartoon!
Read the Ernie Colon JOURNEY adaptation!

See the 20,000 LEAGUES overview!
See the JOURNEY overview!
See the MYSTERIOUS ISLAND overview!