Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStories by Famous Authors Illustrated #6 belongs to one of the earliest American comic-book series dedicated entirely to adapting real literary and biographical figures for young readers, placing it squarely in the tradition of educational sequential art that Classics Illustrated pioneered. Its subject — Theodore Roosevelt — made this among the first comic-book treatments of a sitting-era U.S. president drawn directly from that figure's own writings and historical record, extending the medium's reach into biography and civic education at a moment when comics were still widely seen as pure escapism. The series as a whole was significant enough that Albert Kanter, publisher of Classics Illustrated, purchased the entire Seaboard line in 1951 — a tacit acknowledgment that Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated was genuine competition. Issue #6 thus sits at the intersection of two formative impulses in Golden Age comics: the drive to legitimize the medium through literature, and the impulse to make American history vivid and accessible to postwar youth.
"Macbeth [Part 1]" adapts Shakespeare’s tragedy in a striking 1950s comic format, with the haunting prophecy of three witches setting Macbeth on a fateful path. Illustrated by H. C. Kiefer and lettered by H. G. Ferguson, this first installment captures the chilling ambition that begins to take hold, as Macbeth confides in his wife and the seeds of regicide are sown. The cover by Henry Kiefer sets a dramatic tone, perfectly framing the dark turn ahead.
In this gripping adaptation from *Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated #6* (1950), Macbeth is thrust into a storm of ambition after a chilling prophecy from three witches foretells his rise to kingship. With his wife’s relentless urging, he sets a dark path in motion, driven by fate and desire.
Macbeth, now king of Scotland after Duncan's death, grows consumed by the witches' prophecy that Banquo's children will inherit the throne—so he hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance before they can threaten his rule. When Banquo is struck down but Fleance escapes, Macbeth's paranoia reaches a breaking point at his royal feast, where the ghost of the murdered thane appears to him alone, driving him to suspect treachery among his own nobles and vow revenge on those who won't bend to his will. As suspicion spreads through Scotland and exiled lords plot against him, Macbeth resolves to seek the Weird Sisters once more, desperate to learn what fate the dark powers have in store.
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Seaboard Publishing launched the series in 1950 as a direct competitor to Gilberton's Classics Illustrated, with the first five numbers being repackaged editions of Seaboard's earlier Fast Fiction imprint given new covers. Beginning with issue #6, the series moved into fresh material, with the bulk of the line's interior artwork produced by Henry Carl Kiefer, a prolific Golden Age illustrator who simultaneously contributed to Classics Illustrated — a dual association that reportedly angered Kanter and ultimately motivated him to acquire the Seaboard line outright in 1951. The standard series format ran approximately 52 full-color pages at a ten-cent cover price, with literary or biographical adaptations scripted by adaptor Dana Dutch anchored by a biographical article on the subject author or figure.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published in 1950 by Seaboard Publishing under its Famous Authors Illustrated imprint — one of 13 total issues in the series.
- Indexed subject is Theodore Roosevelt, making this an early comic-book biographical treatment of the 26th U.S. President, adapted from his life and writings.
- The series ran issues #1–5 as repackaged reprints of the earlier Fast Fiction imprint; issue #6 onward represented new, original content for the line.
- Henry Carl Kiefer was the primary artist for the series; Dana Dutch served as the primary story adaptor across most issues in the run.
- The series directly competed with Classics Illustrated, using some of the same artistic talent — a conflict that led Classics Illustrated publisher Albert Kanter to purchase the entire Seaboard/Famous Authors Illustrated line in 1951.
- Upon Kanter's acquisition, at least one planned but unpublished Seaboard issue (The Red Badge of Courage) was absorbed into the Classics Illustrated line as issue #98.
- The standard issue format was approximately 52 full-color pages at a ten-cent cover price, typically including the main comic adaptation, a biographical article on the subject, and supplementary text pieces.
- The series sits within the broader Golden Age trend of educational comics aimed at young readers, a format that also included Classics Illustrated Special Issues — one of which, 'The Rough Rider' (1957), would revisit Roosevelt as a subject for Gilberton years later.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Illustrerte Klassikere #56 (2015), Un Faux Livre #[nn] (2017)
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