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Centaur Comics
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6,168 posts in this topic

Well, on Amazing-Man I'm only missing 2 issues. The rest, I still have a long ways to go. :P

 

 

It is coming along though, little by little. (thumbs u

 

Great pickups!

 

Collecting Centaurs is about the journey, not the destination.

 

Oh, I agree completely. I have to say I get more enjoyment finding Centaurs than any other books I currently collect. (thumbs u

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New acquisitions just in:

 

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Here are the Larson equivalents....This reflects how I got into 'Larsons". My search for Centaurs wound up with early Larsons.....

 

Sweet, JB!

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I know you guys are shy and were reluctant to ask which is my favorite Larson Centaur....

 

well here it is

 

I was too shy, but since you opened the door... what are your favorite Centaurs, Larson or otherwise? Feel free to completely ignore me if the door has shut.

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I know you guys are shy and were reluctant to ask which is my favorite Larson Centaur....

 

well here it is

 

I was too shy, but since you opened the door... what are your favorite Centaurs, Larson or otherwise? Feel free to completely ignore me if the door has shut.

 

:popcorn:

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I know you guys are shy and were reluctant to ask which is my favorite Larson Centaur....

 

well here it is

 

I was too shy, but since you opened the door... what are your favorite Centaurs, Larson or otherwise? Feel free to completely ignore me if the door has shut.

 

:popcorn:

 

How about starting with the non-Centaur/pre Centaurs that were treated as "Centaurs" until they were not (whew!!)

 

Comic Magazine (Funny Pages) is right there as the foundational issue of the eventual merger of three comic companies that titles eventually fell under the Centaur banner.

 

 

 

In the last issue of New Fun that the seed of a character is found that was to cause the comicbook business to erupt into the lucrative industry it was to become in the 1940s. For the sixth issue (October 1935) ran a strip called “Dr. Occult the Ghost Detective” by Leger and Reuths. This was a pen name for two young men from Cleveland Ohio- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. (This pen name was used because Siegel and Shuster had contributed another strip in this sixth issue, “Henri Duval”. It became a common practice among comic companies to use aliases for individuals who contributed more than one strip per title so to make it appear that their staff was large.)

 

Dr. Occult in his first stories was kept busy fighting the vampire master. At this point the development of the character takes a short detour. Early in 1936 William Cook (National’s managing editor and story contributor) and John Mahon (National’s business manager) left National to form their own short-lived comic company, Comic Magazine Co. Their first title was The Comic Magazine. This title contained slight variations of continuing characters that were appearing in National’s titles.

 

It has been hypothesized that these inventory stories served as payment for monies Cook and Mahon were owed by the financially strapped National. Anyway, in the first issue of this title (May 1936), Dr. Occult became, “Dr. Mystic, the Occult Detective”. (Note, in More Fun 11 (July 1936) he was “Dr. Occult, the Mystic Detective”. clever, eh?) In this story, he joins up with the Seven to battle the evil of Koth. This feature did not continue in the second issue of The Comic Magazine. However, the story continued without missing a beat in the fourteenth issue of More Fun (October 1936). As the story continues, Dr. Occult is given a uniform with a triangular chest emblem and a red cape so to fight Koth. After donning the uniform and cape, off he flies.... The elements of costume design were obviously influenced by the character which Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to get off the ground.

 

So in addition to being one of the first titles to print original material, it fits into a historical mythos of the one and only Superguy.

 

jb

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I know you guys are shy and were reluctant to ask which is my favorite Larson Centaur....

 

well here it is

 

I was too shy, but since you opened the door... what are your favorite Centaurs, Larson or otherwise? Feel free to completely ignore me if the door has shut.

 

:popcorn:

 

How about starting with the non-Centaur/pre Centaurs that were treated as "Centaurs" until they were not (whew!!)

 

Comic Magazine (Funny Pages) is right there as the foundational issue of the eventual merger of three comic companies that titles eventually fell under the Centaur banner.

 

 

 

In the last issue of New Fun that the seed of a character is found that was to cause the comicbook business to erupt into the lucrative industry it was to become in the 1940s. For the sixth issue (October 1935) ran a strip called “Dr. Occult the Ghost Detective” by Leger and Reuths. This was a pen name for two young men from Cleveland Ohio- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. (This pen name was used because Siegel and Shuster had contributed another strip in this sixth issue, “Henri Duval”. It became a common practice among comic companies to use aliases for individuals who contributed more than one strip per title so to make it appear that their staff was large.)

 

Dr. Occult in his first stories was kept busy fighting the vampire master. At this point the development of the character takes a short detour. Early in 1936 William Cook (National’s managing editor and story contributor) and John Mahon (National’s business manager) left National to form their own short-lived comic company, Comic Magazine Co. Their first title was The Comic Magazine. This title contained slight variations of continuing characters that were appearing in National’s titles.

 

It has been hypothesized that these inventory stories served as payment for monies Cook and Mahon were owed by the financially strapped National. Anyway, in the first issue of this title (May 1936), Dr. Occult became, “Dr. Mystic, the Occult Detective”. (Note, in More Fun 11 (July 1936) he was “Dr. Occult, the Mystic Detective”. clever, eh?) In this story, he joins up with the Seven to battle the evil of Koth. This feature did not continue in the second issue of The Comic Magazine. However, the story continued without missing a beat in the fourteenth issue of More Fun (October 1936). As the story continues, Dr. Occult is given a uniform with a triangular chest emblem and a red cape so to fight Koth. After donning the uniform and cape, off he flies.... The elements of costume design were obviously influenced by the character which Siegel and Shuster had tried for years to get off the ground.

 

So in addition to being one of the first titles to print original material, it fits into a historical mythos of the one and only Superguy.

 

jb

 

Nice history of the 1st pre-Centaur, and the Dr. Occult/Superman saga Jon.

 

I'd love to own a copy of this book myself, but it's rather expensive now-a-days.

 

It is very important historically and I think it's under-rated.

 

Your copy is a beauty. :headbang:

 

Any more Centaur stories are appreciated!!!! (thumbs u Maybe the Clock???

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jb

 

Nice history of the 1st pre-Centaur, and the Dr. Occult/Superman saga Jon.

 

I'd love to own a copy of this book myself, but it's rather expensive now-a-days.

 

It is very important historically and I think it's under-rated.

 

Your copy is a beauty. :headbang:

 

Any more Centaur stories are appreciated!!!! (thumbs u Maybe the Clock???

 

I paid double guide for my copy.....A total of $400 then...

 

ah the Clock......

 

The Clock was the first masked hero introduced in the fledgling comic book industry. He was a “super detective” who fought the underworld. The Clock first struck in Funny Pages 6 (November 1936) in a story that ran in two page installments through Funny Pages 9 (March 1937). At the time of his debut in November 1936 The Clock shared the newsstands with reprint titles such as Famous Funnies 28, Popular Comics 10, King Comics 8, Tip-Top Comics 7, The Funnies 2 and original titles such as More Fun 15, New Comics 10 and Wow 4.

 

The first complete story of The Clock ran in Funny Picture Stories 1 (also November 1936) on which he was the cover feature, again another first for a masked character. (Despite its name F.P.S. 1 was the first comic dedicated soley to the adventure/detective theme. This title is incredibly significant, yet underrated.) It is clear that the story in Funny Pages was to be his debut. Firstly, the house ad for Funny Pages 6 that appears in Funny Picture Stories 1 has “Oct.-Nov.” on the cover unlike the published version. Secondly, in the Funny Pages story the police have no idea who The Clock is- “Perhaps I am the Big Bad Wolf. Then again maybe I am Little Red Riding Hood”- as opposed to the knowledge of the police in F.P.S. 1.

 

But back to the "issue" of which issues to acquire...The Clock appeared in Funny Pages 6 - 11 (the story begun in issues 10 and 11 being unfinished when the title was picked up by Ultem Publishers in September 1937), Funny Picture Stories 1 and 2, and Detective Picture Stories 2 and 5 (not in issue 1 although advertised on the cover). All these books were published by Comic Magazine Co. in the period of November 1936 to June 1937. This company was owned by DC defectors William Cook (former managing editor) and John Mahon (former business manager). After selling out to I.W. Ullman and Frank Temerson (who published these books for a short time- September 1937 to January 1938- as Ultem Publishers before the line was taken over by Joe Hardie and Centaur Publications in March 1938), Mahon and Cook continued their association with Everett Arnold, who would be the driving force behind Quality Publications, by putting Arnold in touch with individuals associated with their former publications. (Note The Clock stories that appeared in the Centaur publication of Keen Detective Funnies 8 and 9 (July and August 1938) are reprints of the stories from Funny Picture Stories 1 and 2. Also note that the first four pages of the Clock story in Feature Funnies 7 are exactly the same as the story in Funny Picture Stories 2 with the text and plot partially reworked.)

Accordingly, after a short hiatus, the adventures of the Clock continued in the third issue (December 1937) of the first Quality publication, Feature Funnies

The Clock appeared briefly in books produced by the short-lived Comic Magazine Co. before running in the Quality titles of Feature Funnies and Crack Comics.

 

 

The Clock was the creation of George Brenner who penned his adventures for eight years- a more than respectable run for a golden-age character.

The Clock appeared through Feature Comics 31 (April 1940) when he switched over as the cover and lead feature in Crack Comics 1 (May 1940).

The Clock’s initial episodes displayed a certain ruthlessness. For instance, if a crook was reluctant to give him the information that he wished, The Clock would take that individual to his hide-out which was outfitted with all sorts of torture equipment. In one story (Feature Comics 26 November 1939) he convinces one crook to “cooperate” after the following exchange: “See the rat in that cage. Well he hasn’t eaten in over a week-- If I were to tie you down on your back, and place a metal bowl over the rat on your abdomen- then apply heat to the bowl- do you know what would happen? It would be so uncomfortable under there for the rat, that he’d gnaw his way out- and it wouldn’t be through the metal bowl...”.

 

 

But as the series wound to a close in the fall of 1944, The Clock lost his hard edge and took on a girl sidekick named “Butch”. In Crack 21 (February 1942) The Clock finally pushed his luck too far and was shot trying to corral some crooks. He is able to escape. He stumbles into an apartment and falls under the care of Butch who is an orphan. She nurses him back to health and joins him in the series. Butch spoke with the mandatory Brooklyn accent and one-line wisecracks. Her comic relief escapades began to predominate so that the series lost its hard edge and The Clock became secondary in his own strip. Time finally ran out for The Clock in Crack Comics 35. (However, In the revival of the Centaur characters in The Protectors by Malibu, Brian O’Brien appears as President of the United States!)

 

 

 

 

 

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The Clock’s initial episodes displayed a certain ruthlessness. For instance, if a crook was reluctant to give him the information that he wished, The Clock would take that individual to his hide-out which was outfitted with all sorts of torture equipment. In one story (Feature Comics 26 November 1939) he convinces one crook to “cooperate” after the following exchange: “See the rat in that cage. Well he hasn’t eaten in over a week-- If I were to tie you down on your back, and place a metal bowl over the rat on your abdomen- then apply heat to the bowl- do you know what would happen? It would be so uncomfortable under there for the rat, that he’d gnaw his way out- and it wouldn’t be through the metal bowl...”.

...Wow!

 

 

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The Clock’s initial episodes displayed a certain ruthlessness. For instance, if a crook was reluctant to give him the information that he wished, The Clock would take that individual to his hide-out which was outfitted with all sorts of torture equipment. In one story (Feature Comics 26 November 1939) he convinces one crook to “cooperate” after the following exchange: “See the rat in that cage. Well he hasn’t eaten in over a week-- If I were to tie you down on your back, and place a metal bowl over the rat on your abdomen- then apply heat to the bowl- do you know what would happen? It would be so uncomfortable under there for the rat, that he’d gnaw his way out- and it wouldn’t be through the metal bowl...”.

...Wow!

 

 

...and that is the Clock on a "good" day.

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back on the larson centaur point, this cover of KDF (and i still have not figured out why this is #8) and what happened to what has to be continued from Funny Picture Stories from #7 before Ultem resumed publishing this title.

 

this cover was by Gill Fox....it was his first cover ever....

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I have some of those early Clock stories,including a raggedy #7, I always enjoy them. At first I was surprised at how good some of them were. Thanks for providing that background, I had no idea he started in another series. (worship)

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