The War Of The Worlds is an amazing novel that can conjure up all manner of imagery in the mind of the reader, so naturally there have been any number of comic books inspired by it. Some have adapted the original novel to various degrees of accuracy and success, others have choosen to re-invent the story or spin off entirely fresh tales, but all provide different and intriguing ways of looking at a well known tale.

The earliest example of a comic book version of The War Of The Worlds was created for the Classics Illustrated series, a particularly renowned and long running collection that took great pains to present well crafted adaptations of famous literary properties. The series was published between 1941 and 1971 by the Gilberton Company and The War Of The Worlds was adapted in issue 124 (January of 1955). Written by Harry Miller and with illustrations by Lou Cameron, his amazing cover painting of advancing Tripods must certainly rate as one of the most iconic ever War Of The Worlds illustrations.

Certainly the oddest War Of The Worlds comic was published in issue 62 (Jan/Feb 1950) of Superman. This quirky tale saw the man of steel go up against a Martian invasion with the help of none other than Orson Welles, who of course had terrified American in 1938 with his radio broadcast of The War Of The Worlds.

Superman publisher DC Comics never attempted an adapation of The War Of The Worlds, but in 1973 their biggest competitor Marvel spun off an entirely new story, set in the aftermath of a 2nd successful Martian invasion of Earth in the year 2001. The adventures of the freedom fighter Killraven began in the pages of Amazing Adventures issue 18, a title designed to showcase new stories. The character never really took off but has been revived a few more times, in a graphic novel, a one-off issue, and most recently, a 6 issue limited series.

Bizarrely, in the UK, the Killraven comic was doctored into a new version called Apeslayer, where it was used as filler material in a weekly Planet Of The Apes comic book.

A new adapatation came in 1974, one of many books in a series made for schools by Pendulum Press. Their "Now Age" book version was a rather fast and loose retelling of the story that boasted impressive art by the renowned artist Alex Nino.

The third straight forward adaptation of the novel came in 1976 from Marvel Comics. Their version of The War Of The Worlds appeared in the pages of their very own Classic Comics series and is a more faithful (and uninhibited) version than that attempted previously by Clasics Illustrated or Pendulum Press.

After something of a long lull, with nothing new created in The War Of The Worlds universe since 1976, the burgening small press scene of the late 1980's took an interest. Eternity Comics produced two series, one of which rather shamelessly rode the coat-tails of the TV series that was in production at time, (reference was made to it on the covers) even though there was no apparent connection.The 1988 Eternity War Of The Worlds series stands as perhaps the oddest and most off-the-wall version of the story yet created, with a setting on a Scottish island and the invaders coming from underground in a rather odd precursor to the Spielberg War Of The Worlds movie.

Their second War Of The Worlds comic released in 1990 was the intriguing Sherlock Holmes In The Case Of The Missing Martian, a very well realised sequel to the War Of The Worlds set in 1908 that pitches Holmes and Watson into a race against time to discover the meaning of a bizarre theft from the British museum.

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Reviews

1955 Classics Illustrated 124. The most famous and enduring comic book adaptation of The War Of The Worlds.	1950 Superman 62: Black Magic on Mars. What on Earth (or Mars) is Orson Welles doing battling Martians alongside the Man Of Steel?
1974 Now Age Illustrated: War Of The Worlds. A very obscure comic book version with art by renowned artist Alex Nino.	1973 Killraven. A bold attempt to show a war of resistance against a conquering second Martian Invasion in the year 2001.
1976 Marvel Classic Comics: The War Of The Worlds. The novel gets a more extreme and faithful comic book makeover from Marvel.	1988 War Of The Worlds. Eternity Comics offer a very unusual re-imagining of The War Of The Worlds.
2005 The War Of The Worlds. The Dark Horse Comics version of the War Of The Worlds is one of the most faithful adapatations of the original novel.	1990 Sherlock Holmes in the case of the missing Martian. The Martians were defeated as Wells recorded, but in post war England, Sherlock Holmes must once more face their power.
2005 Little Book Of Horror. A different take on the War Of The Worlds, with lavish illustrations.	1996 The Haven and the Hellweed. A gritty vision of a modern day Earth under the heel of the Martians. A more realistic counterpoint to the Killraven series.
2005 Best Sellers Illustrated. The Martians invade in the early years of the 21st century in this post 9-11 re-imagining of The War Of The Worlds.	1996 The Searchers. Literary characters including H.G. Wells, come together on a strange quest.
2005 Graphic Classics: H.G. Wells. A nicely illustrated collection of stories including a graphic retelling of the 1938 radio broadcast.	1998 War Of The Worlds: The Memphis Front. A prequel to The Haven And The Hellwood that focuses on the battle for Memphis.