Cartoon Nation

Yes, I know there are legions of geeks out there who love cartoons, comics, and graphic novels. (I admit I like comics: Nancy, Zippy, Art Spiegelman, Peanuts pre-1972.) But please leave literature the bloody hell alone. In honor of its 60th anniversary, Penguin Classics decided to deface some of its books, a Dorothy Parker collection and Sinclair Lewis's "Jungle" among them. This mutilation is all a symptom of the cartooning of America. Adults read "Harry Potter" and wait in line to see "Ice Age." This move by Penguin really got my goat, though. I love the line: "Masterpieces. Inside and out." Out? Bull. Somewhere Dorothy Parker is saying something wildly clever about how inane you are.