For years, CliffsNotes has been helping students avoid the classics with bumblebee-toned summary pamphlets. Now the company has found a more stylish way to rob fine literature of its nuances, descriptions, and complexities. The Manga Editions make a Montague and Capulet brawl look like a Gandalf/Saruman clash, while fulfilling the dreams of people who've always wanted to read The Scarlet Letter "the action-packed manga way." Unlike traditional manga, these versions read front to back and left to right: These books simultaneously bastardize two literary forms.

- Andrew "Garbage Day" Miller (@DarbageGay)