JOYAS LITERARIAS JUVENILES 88 / KING CLASSICS 14
"EL ESCARABAJO DE ORO" / "THE GOLD BUG"
Editorial Bruguera in Barcelona, Spain, from 1970-1983 published 270 issues of JOYAS LITERARIAS JUVENILES (LITERARY YOUTH JEWELS), and were clearly following in the same path as Gilberton's more famous CLASSIC COMICS / CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED. One big difference was, most of their adaptations of classic stories were never translated into English.
When I first ran across KING CLASSICS (while working on my Jules Verne project) I had no idea if the series contained new originals, or reprints-- and if the latter, of what. Well, it turns out, not only were they English reprints of JLJ, they were actually published and printed by them!! I'm sure this must have given them much more quality control over the finished product (unlike what happens when most American publishers license out reprints to overseas companies). Unfortunately, only 24 of the 270 issues were turned into English versions. To me, this means there is a HUGE number of wonderful comics just waiting for some ambitious publisher (or blogger) to translate into English!
Fortunately for my POE project, one that was, was the ONLY story of Poe's that was done by JLJ...
"THE GOLD BUG".
I've been very lucky while working on this project, in that it was more than 5 months in before I had to dig out comics from my own collection to scan anything in. The bulk of the project has come from existing blogs and websites, or other fans who supplied me with scans from their own collections. Well, 6 months in, and the JLJ version of this story simply had not turned up anywhere.
But fortune was with me, as I not only located a copy for sale online, but was actually able to afford to BUY it. This makes it not only the 1st time in this entire huge project that I've gone ahead and BOUGHT a comic for it, but it's also the first time in more than 4 YEARS that I've bought any new comic for my collection, PERIOD!! And judging from what I read the other day at Amazon.com's site, apparently what I got ahold of (CHEAP!!) was the ONLY copy to be found in their entire database, among the countless "Marketplace" stores they're affiliated with!! Clearly, it was a "meant to be" moment.
This was the 10th comics version of this story, following...
Manuel Lainez' TIT-BITS #1991 (Aug'47),
David C. Cook's SUNDAY PIX #1-14 (May 1-July 31, 1949),
Gilberton's CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #84 (Jun'51),
Boy Scouts Of America's BOYS' LIFE (Jul'54),
Empresa Nacional's CAVALEIRO ANDANTE #453 (Sep'60),
Sea/Novaro's TESORO DE CUENTOS CLASICOS #51 (Nov'61),
Thorpe & Porter's CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #84 (Jul'62),
Serg's 3 HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES (1968), and
Corriere Della Sera's CORRIERE DEI PICCOLI 1971 #12 (Mar 21, 1971).
Unlike the previous adaptations of this story I've read, this one was greatly expanded, in the same fashion many episodes of "THE SAINT" with Roger Moore were when they turned existing short stories into hour-long TV episodes. There's a major sub-plot, involving another man living on the island, that was added just for this version.
I'll say one thing. After spending several days creating an English-language version from the 1960 Portuguese comic, I'm really glad I was able to get this 1977 English reprint!
JOYAS LITERARIAS JUVENILES 88
cover by ANTONIO BERNAL (Editorial Bruguera / Spain / 1973)
cover by ANTONIO BERNAL
(Editorial Bruguera & King Features Syndicate / 1977)
Adaptation by Ramon Bacardit / Art by ANTONIO CALMEIRO TOMAS
English Translation by Dr. Marion Kimberly
Copyright (C) 1977 Editorial Bruguera, S.A., Barcelona, Spain
Copyright (C) 1977 King Features Syndicate, New York, U.S.A.
Scan of JOYAS LITERARIAS JUVENILES #88 from the Lalecturaderamon site.
Scans of KING CLASSICS #14 from my collection.
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa.
For more:
Read about Edgar Allen Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Editorial Bruguera, S.A. at Wikipedia.
Read about Joyas Literarias Juveniles at The Mystic Bubble blog.
Read about Anthony Bernal at The Mystic Bubble blog.
Read about THE GOLD BUG at the Bookriot site.
Read the complete story at the Poe Stories site.
See the GOLD BUG Gallery of Illustrations.
Audio:
Hear the FAMILY THEATER episode!
Hear the Vincent Price GOLD BUG recording!
Comics:
Read the Amadio GOLD BUG adaptation! (coming soon)
Read the Joseph Wirt Tillotson GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Alex A. Blum GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Henry Sharp GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Fernando Bento GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Editorial Sea/Novaro GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Mick Anglo GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Alexis-Thomas Hinsberger GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Dino Battaglia GOLD BUG adaptation! (coming soon)
Read the Antonio Calmerio Tomas GOLD BUG adaptation!
(Coming soon:)
Read the Alfonso Font GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Guido Del Carpio Rivera GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Arturo Arnau GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Pablo Marcos GOLD BUG illustrated story!
Read the Novedades Editores GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Silvio Camboni GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Jorge Hardmeier GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Niesa Editores GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Jean-Louis Thouard GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the Miguel Serratosa GOLD BUG adaptation!
Read the NBM / Papercutz GOLD BUG adaptation!
See my Edgar Allan Poe overview at this very blog!
Don't miss the 2nd PART of this... coming up next!!!
(Continued in Poe 1973, Pt. 6)
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