Review of "Classics Illustrated: From the Earth to the Moon," by Jules Verne

 Review of

Classics Illustrated: From the Earth to the Moon, by Jules Verne, ISBN 157840035x

Four out of five stars

A classic story visually retold

 Jules Verne is considered by many to be the father of science fiction; sound arguments can be made for this position. While there were other stories about traveling to the moon that predated this one, Verne was the first to put forward a less than nonsensical manner of the travel. Yet, the method of propulsion of what is in fact a large cannon shell would have literally plastered the men inside to the wall.

 Like many of the adventure stories of the middle of the nineteenth century, the personalities are strong and significantly antagonistic. There is a duel where two men hunt each other with long rifles and old soldiers lamenting the lack of wars in the world. There is also not a single mention of a human female.

 Yet, this story was one of the many pacesetters in an area of literature that would only expand dramatically as the wonders of new technologies emerged. In the early days, the science had to come before the fiction, but it wasn’t long before the fiction began to come before the science. A classic story, the comic version is a great primer of what is a story that should be read and appreciated by modern readers.