Pendulum Press
| Parent company | Academic Industries, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Status | Defunct (1994) |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | David Oliphant |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Headquarters location | West Haven, Connecticut |
| Key people | Vincent Fago, Nestor Redondo, Alex Niño, Gerry Talaoc, Naunerle Farr, John Norwood Fago, Kin Platt |
| Publication types | Comics, Books |
| Fiction genres | adaptations of literary classics |
| Imprints | Pendulum Now Age Classics Series Pendulum Illustrated Original |
Pendulum Press was a publishing company most well known for their comic book adaptations of literary classics such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The War of the Worlds, and Moby-Dick. Founded by David Oliphant and based in West Haven, Connecticut, the company operated from 1970 to 1994, producing the bulk of their material in the 1970s. A division of Academic Industries, Inc., the company received Title One funds from the U.S. government to produce comics with an educational focus.
In 1970, former Timely Comics editor-in-chief Vincent Fago was hired by Pendulum to produce the Pendulum Now Age Classics series, which were black-and-white paperback adaptations of literary classics. Specifically designed for classroom use, they used typeset instead of hand lettering, vocabulary appropriate for grade levels, and included word lists and questions at the back.
From his studio in Bethel, Vermont, Fago edited and handled production on the nearly one hundred titles in the series. Adaptations were handled by writers like Otto Binder, Naunerle Farr, Kin Platt, Irwin Shapiro, and Fago's son John Norwood Fago.
After having difficulty finding American artists to illustrate the comics, Fago turned to Filipino artist Nestor Redondo, who offered to help recruit some of his fellow Filipino comics artists — these artists ended up illustrating almost every comic Pendulum produced. In addition to the work of Redondo, who illustrated more than 20 books in the series, the Pendulum Illustrated Classics featured the artwork of Alex Niño,Gerry Talaoc,Vicatan, Rudy Nebres, Jun Lofamia, Nestor Leonidez, and E. R. Cruz. (Redondo's brothers Virgilio and Frank also illustrated books in the series.)
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