The World Around Us #29
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe World Around Us #29 — subtitled Vikings — stands as a fine representative example of Gilberton's ambitious educational comics program, deploying some of the sharpest draftsmanship in the entire 36-issue series. At a moment when the medium was still fighting accusations of cultural worthlessness in the wake of the Senate anti-comics hearings, Gilberton's non-fiction line demonstrated that sequential art could function as a legitimate vehicle for historical scholarship aimed at young readers. This issue's coverage of Norse expansion — from the first raid on Lindisfarne in 793 C.E. through the assimilation of Vikings into English culture — gave mid-century American schoolchildren a comics-format survey of a subject rarely treated so rigorously in popular print, and it did so through the pens of artists better known to genre fans for their EC and Marvel work.
In "The Dragon Ships," Sam Glanzman’s vivid artwork brings to life the sweeping reach of Viking expansion across the North Atlantic in 1961. From the Faeroes to Iceland, the Hebrides to Greenland, the story traces their voyages, settlements, and the founding of the Althing—among the world’s oldest governing bodies—while exploring their encounters with Slavic tribes and the eventual establishment of Normandy under Rollo. Gerald McCann’s striking cover captures the era’s adventurous spirit, framing a tale of exploration and influence across ancient seas.
In the early 10th century, Norse explorers like Naddod, Ingolfur Arnarson, and Eric the Red push westward, claiming the Faeroes, Shetlands, and Orkneys before settling Iceland, where they establish the Althing—a landmark in early governance. Meanwhile, Rurik is invited by Slavic tribes to lead them, and Rollo’s Viking forces carve out a foothold in Normandy, eventually binding their fate to the French crown through Charles the Simple. Across the North Atlantic, Gunbjorn and Ulfjot lay the foundations of a fragile colony in Greenland, marking the farthest reach of Viking ambition.
In the rugged halls of Viking lore, Palna Toki’s iron rule forged the Jomsvikings into a fearsome force, their strength unmatched. But when Sigvald takes the helm, their discipline wanes—until a crushing defeat tests their spirit, and even in the face of execution, they stand unbroken.
In the tense hours before dawn on June 6, 1944, Dwight D. Eisenhower weighs the fate of a million lives as he authorizes the Allied invasion of Normandy, knowing the weather is far from ideal. With the first waves of allied soldiers pushing toward the beaches and French underground fighters preparing their resistance, the outcome hangs on a single, desperate decision.
Astronomer Percival Lowell, convinced by his observations, passionately argues that the canals he sees on Mars are evidence of an advanced civilization. By 1961, scientific consensus has shifted—Mars is now believed unlikely to support animal life, casting doubt on his long-held theories.
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The World Around Us launched in 1958 as one of several spin-offs Albert Lewis Kanter developed alongside his flagship Classics Illustrated line; the series ran 36 issues before ceasing publication in 1961, the same period Gilberton began losing its second-class mailing permit and facing competition from cheap paperbacks and television. Issue #29 was edited by Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht, with Alfred Sundel as associate editor and Leonard Cole as art director — a tight editorial team that maintained a European Advisory Board spanning Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, reflecting Gilberton's global distribution ambitions. The issue was formally listed as on-sale in late 1960 by the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, carrying a January 1961 cover date.
Trivia · 7 facts
- Publisher and date: Gilberton World-Wide Publications Inc., cover-dated January 1961 (on-sale late 1960 per Library of Congress records).
- Title: The World Around Us #29 — 'Vikings' (also referred to in some listings as 'The Illustrated Story of Vikings').
- Lead story 'The Dragon Ships' covers the 793 C.E. Viking raid on Lindisfarne — the traditional opening event of the Viking Age — with pencils by Reed Crandall and inks by George Evans.
- 'Rivers of Blood,' depicting Viking raids into the Frankish kingdom and as far inland as Paris, was illustrated by Gray Morrow.
- The painted cover is by Gerald McCann, the series' most prolific cover artist.
- Editorial staff included editor Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht, associate editor Alfred Sundel, and a multinational European Advisory Board — evidence of Gilberton's international publishing reach at the time.
- The World Around Us ran 36 issues total (1958–1961) as a non-fiction companion to Classics Illustrated, a line whose domestic sales across all titles totaled 200 million copies between 1941 and 1962.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Wereld in beeld #18 (1961), Alt i bilder #18 (1961), World Illustrated #518 (1962), The World Around Us #W29 (2011), Unsere Welt Illustrierte #18
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