Alan Class Comics was a British comics publishing company that operated between 1959 and 1989. The company produced anthology titles, reprinting comics stories from many U.S. publishers of the 1940s to 1960s in a black and white digest size format for a UK audience. During the 1960s and 1970s, these reprints were the main medium through which British children were introduced to American monster and mystery comics, as well as most non-DC or Marvel superheroes. The various Alan Class titles contained reprints of stories originally from such U.S. comics publishers as Timely, Atlas (and their later incarnation, Marvel Comics) American Comics Group (ACG), Charlton Comics, Archie Comics (and their Red Circle Comics and MLJ imprints), Fawcett Comics, Lev Gleason Publications, and , as well as King Features comics and newspaper strips. Included in these reprints were many early mystery, superhero, and monster stories by artists such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby that are now regarded as classics of the 1950s and early 1960s. Although Alan Class put out more than 25 titles in all, the company's six core titles — Astounding Stories, Creepy Worlds, Secrets of the Unknown, Sinister Tales, Suspense Stories, and Uncanny Tales — lasted almost the entire publishing history of the company. (en)