While any comics adaptation of a prose work could be considered an illustrated prose adaptation, the term usually refers to works that condense or adapt a longer work by substituting some passages with artwork, while retaining large sections of the original prose.
In the 1970s, publishers such as Byron Preiss pioneered the form with books like "The Illustrated Harlan Ellison," adapting stories by acclaimed writers with artwork from respected artists. First Comics' "Classics Illustrated" series of the 1980s often incorporated long passages of the original works, unlike previous attempts at "classic comics."
The "Graphic Classics" series includes illustrated prose adaptations from authors such as Poe and Bram Stoker alongside straightforward comics adaptations. In 1995, Dark Horse Comics published an illustrated prose adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan: The Lost Adventure," with drawings by artists such as Michael Kaluta and Charles Vess.