The Beatles in Comics

23 AUGUST, 2012 - by Maria Popova  - Brain Pickings

A graphic history of the Fab Four.

The Beatles were only together for a decade, yet they remain the most massive and enduring phenomenon in music culture some four decades after their breakup. On the heels of the Fab Four’s final photo shoot comes Beatles in Comic Strips (public library), edited by journalist and music critic Enzo Gentile — a fantastic collection of more than 200 rare cartoon strips dedicated to John, Paul, George, and Ringo, released this week on the fiftieth anniversary of their first single, “Love Me Do,” and joining the ranks of other fine graphic nonfiction.

'Beatles Story No. 4' (1974)
Image: Marvel Comics Group

'Beatles Story No. 26' (1974)
Image: Artima Color Marvel

'Beatles Story No. 30' (1974)
Image: Artima Color Marvel

'Girls' Romances' (1965)
Image: DC Comics

'Beatles Story No. 1' (1974)
Image: Artima Color Marvel

'The Invisibles No. 1' (1994)
Image: DC Comics

'Beatles Story No. 36' (1974)
Image: Artima Color Marvel

Beatles in Comic Strips is the grown-up Beatle geek’s counterpart to the lovely vintage children’s book We Love You Beatles, and is guaranteed to delight in innumerable ways.

↬ Whitney Matheson

You might also enjoy other Beatles features from Brain Pickings:

August 22, 1969: The Beatles' Final Photo Shoot

We Love You, Beatles: Vintage Children's Illustration Circa 1971

Harry Benson's Luminous Black-and-White Photographs of The Beatles, 1964-1966