Blind Owl Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 This is suppose to be the hardest to find of the 3 but this is the one I got first. #1 which is suppose to be the easiest to find is the only one I don't have. Arrow #3 is a tough book. I had it as one of the "tough" Centaurs, and removed it so as not to draw much attention to it. It is easily the hardest of the three Arrow books to acquire.Thanks for posting. (thumbs u By the way, I don't know if you know it Bo_Hogg, but a couple of years ago you outbid me on a Star Ranger #2 that was on e-bay....it looked very nice...could you post a scan of that book please...Thanks in advance. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) Being a Centuar collector myself I have saved Win's WINdex ratings whenever possible. Here are the KDF & FP WINdex lists. The higher the number, the harder to find that issue. The toughest issues of KDF are, in approximate order: v1#10 (the toughest) v1#9 (brutal as well) -gap- v2#1 v1#11 v1#8 #22 v2#4 v2#7 #21 -gap- v2#8 v2#2 v2#6 #20 #19 #18 #23 There are 6 others that are tricky to varying degrees, depending on your luck at the time -gap- #24 v2#9 (these are the only two that I would consider easy) Here are the scarcity numbers that go with the KDF's. v1#8......23 v1#9......27 v1#10....27 v1#11....26 v2#1......21 v2#2......19 v2#3......19 v2#4......26 v2#5......18 v2#6......21 v2#7......26 v2#8......23 v2#9......9 v2#10....16 v2#11....15 v2#12....18 v3#1......17 18.........17 19.........22 20.........20 21.........26 22.........26 23.........21 24.........10 I just picked up a copy of KDF 2/7 from Rick....and wanted to add that although Win has it as a 26 on his Windex...I think it would be more like a 22/24 now, since a couple of copies have come up for sale since Win did his scarcity index. The latest being the Billy Wright which is a CGC 9.4. Did any "Board members" win this copy??? Edited February 29, 2012 by Blind Owl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Point Five Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 That is a beauty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 That is a beauty! Yeah, but it's not mine.... I was wondering if any "Board Members" won this in the Heritage auction??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 This is suppose to be the hardest to find of the 3 but this is the one I got first. #1 which is suppose to be the easiest to find is the only one I don't have. Great Gustavson cover... he is really underrated. Does this book have Gustavson interiors as well? Do these Arrow books reprint Funny Pages stories, or are they all new material? Good question Ryan. I know some are Funny Page reprints and also other centaur stuff is reprinted as well. I don't know actually if all the Arrow stories are reprints since I haven't read every Arrow story. So, they could be entirely reprints, just not sure. Maybe JB would like to chime in on that question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbcomicbox Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 This is suppose to be the hardest to find of the 3 but this is the one I got first. #1 which is suppose to be the easiest to find is the only one I don't have. Great Gustavson cover... he is really underrated. Does this book have Gustavson interiors as well? Do these Arrow books reprint Funny Pages stories, or are they all new material? Good question Ryan. I know some are Funny Page reprints and also other centaur stuff is reprinted as well. I don't know actually if all the Arrow stories are reprints since I haven't read every Arrow story. So, they could be entirely reprints, just not sure. Maybe JB would like to chime in on that question. THE ARCHERS OF PAUL GUSTAVSON[from a CBM article I did] With the advent of Superman in Action Comics, publishers were scrambling to jump on the costume hero bandwagon. From 1938-1941 there was an explosion of comicbook titles with a consequential explosion of brightly clad crimefighters. These took on various forms, as the search for another “Superman” was on. As one reviews this period of the “goldenage”, the road is strewn with also-rans. Occasionally, although a particular hero would not last more than a few years, his particular shtick would. Thus was it the case with “The Arrow” and “The Spider”, who were the first in a long list of arrow-toting heroes that have graced the pages of the comics. Both, as it turns out, were the creations of Paul Gustavson who provided work for some of the earliest comicbook companies such as Centaur, Timely, and Quality. Paul Gustavson was one of the more enduring artists of the golden age. Born in Finland, Gustavson immigrated with his family to the United States at an early age. After working for the Chesler shop in the late 1930s, he worked for Funnies Inc. where he created a number of characters such as The Arrow, The Fantom of the Fair and Man of War for Centaur Publications. For Timely he created The Angel which appeared in the earliest issues of Marvel Mystery. Finally he went to work at Quality Publications where he created a number of characters such as The Human Bomb, The Jester and others. He also did work on Jack Cole’s Midnight. The Arrow first appeared in Funny Pages Vol. 2/10 cover dated September 1938, a mere three months after the appearance of Superman. At this time Funny Pages was published by Centaur Publications. Centaur had consolidated the titles of Comic Magazine, Inc. and Chesler Publications, two of the earliest companies producing original material. As of March 1938 all the titles were published under the Centaur banner. The Arrow was the first foray of Centaur into the world of costume heroes. Other Centaur heroes would soon join The Arrow, including Amazing Man, The Iron Skull, The Shark, The Masked Marvel, The Fantom of the Fair and Man of War. Much of the early work was performed by Funnies Inc. which was run by Lloyd Jacquet. This shop also produced comics for Timely which accounts for the overlap of artists such as Burgos and Everett who would gain greater fame for the creation of the Human Torch and the Submariner. Centaur itself died in 1942 despite the fact that the comic marketplace continued to grow. To say The Arrow was a mysterious character would be an understatement. It was not until Funny Pages #38 (June 1940) that the reader actually obtains a glimpse of his face which is perpetually hidden by his monk-like hooded top. It is not until his final apperarance in The Arrow #3 (October 1941) that it is revealed (by subsequent artist Bob Lubbers) that The Arrow’s secret idenity is Ralph Payne. His own man servant remarks (Funny Pages 3/2 March 1939) as The Arrow takes off after escaped convicts: “ ‘e’s a strange man- comes an’ goes in the night- never saying when or where he’s going! I’ve worked for ‘im for fifteen years an’ I know nothing about him”. The Arrow is described as a “modern ‘Robin Hood’ who fights crime with all his might--and a bow and arrow”. The plots generally were thin. Most of the early adventures involved encounters with criminals (every crime boss seemed to be named “Dutch”), escaped convicts, threatened heirs, etc. The Arrow was a little hard to warm up to. He was a sullen and taciturn character that dealt with wrong-doers in a straightforward and, often, deadly fashion. When he did speak, his words were as cold as his shafts of steel: “Don’t anyone move or I’ll seal your doom forever”. (Funny Pages 3/3 April 1939) When you are nearly seven feet tall and can tear manacles out of walls with your bare hands people tended to listen. He had no compunction to pin his adversary’s wrist to the wall with one of his steel-shafted arrows. These were his lucky foes. Often the end for his unlucky foes was a quick arrow in their chest or a severe beating. As one police officer observed (Funny Pages 3/1 February 1939): The Arrow is the “only guy that can straighten things out that we can’t touch! The underworld fears him more than they do us.” One simply did not mess with The Arrow. The Arrow, beside the deadly accuracy of his shafts of “flying death”, was incredibly strong. One story has him take on a whole mob of thugs by himself, another has him climbing up a rugged wall with his bare hands, diving out of a building, hooking onto a powerboat and breaking the steering chain with his hands. In one story (Funny Pages #39 July 1940) he stops a submarine from blowing up shipping by jumping from a plane and redirecting a torpedo shot from the sub! In Funny Pages 37 (May 1940) The Arrow commences to take on terrorists that began to invade the American shores. In this issue after foiling the terrorists he accepts the offer of U.S. Intelligence to fight for Uncle Sam. Interestingly, the thrust of these stories is to avoid having the United States dragged into the war. (Remember this is still eighteen months before Pearl Habor.) Certainly stories such as this reflect the split of public opinion on the U.S. getting involved in the European conflict. (Compare the stories in the Timely publications which had its heroes fighting Nazis months before the U.S. entry into the war.) The Arrow appeared in Funny Pages from September 1938 until October 1940. (The final issue of this title). At this time The Arrow appeared in his own short-lived title, The Arrow, in October and November 1940 and October 1941. The first issue reprinted the Funny Pages stories appearing in issue 3/1 (February 1939) and issue 3/3 (April 1939). The second issue contained one new Arrow story by Bob Lubbers and reprinted stories from Funny Pages 3/4 (June 1939) and 3/5 (July 1939). The final issue contained two all new Arrow stories. Before turning to the other archer of Gustavson, it should be noted that while some of the interior art for The Arrow was uninspired, the covers which featured The Arrow were impressive. All were quietly dramatic. The cover to 4/1 (January 1940), with its simple but dynamic composition, is one of the most underrated classic covers of the golden age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Jon....you have come through for us again. I knew some were reprints, just wasn't sure about all of them. Also appreciate the history on one of Centaurs earliest heroes. Maybe you should write a centaur book. I'd buy a copy. (thumbs u Thanks.... Edited March 2, 2012 by Blind Owl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 ...it should be noted that while some of the interior art for The Arrow was uninspired... The earliest Arrow stories have a raw - almost Carl Burgos-like - quality to them. It's very interesting to take note how Gustavson's art steadily improved from story-to-story. Agreed that Arrow 3 is the most difficult to find. Here's the Jack Cole splash from the (probably not) rare Funny Pages 4/1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Surfer Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Jon thanks for posting that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 ...it should be noted that while some of the interior art for The Arrow was uninspired... The earliest Arrow stories have a raw - almost Carl Burgos-like - quality to them. It's very interesting to take note how Gustavson's art steadily improved from story-to-story. Agreed that Arrow 3 is the most difficult to find. Here's the Jack Cole splash from the (probably not) rare Funny Pages 4/1: Thanks for posting that splash page. I do not own a copy!!! It may not be rare (FP 4/1), but it is certainly "scarce" and one of the top ten Centaur comics. Hmmm....thread idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I'm with you Joe (and Jon)... FP 4/1 is one of my top Centaurs! This copy is from the estate of artist Claire Moe ('The Circus and Sue'): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Owl Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 All I can say is... "I gotta get to California" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 There's only 3 of these unrestored on the census. Not sure how tough it is outside of CGC graded copies. I love this book and got it for a price I am very happy with. What a cool cover! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Roberts Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I don't know if Tim Cottrill is still posting here or not (pulpguide), but he had one of the most extensive Centaur collections of anyone at one time. He has a vast knowledge of the issues and should also have alot of knowledge about which ones are really tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Very cool (and scarce) book, Roy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacentaur Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Here's my Star Comics #6: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Very cool (and scarce) book, Roy! Thanks, Steve! It looks (and feels) even better in hand now that I've cracked that puppy out. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronty Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 There's only 3 of these unrestored on the census. Not sure how tough it is outside of CGC graded copies. I love this book and got it for a price I am very happy with. What a cool cover! awesome. I have never ever seen that book before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PreHero Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Here's my Star Comics #6: Lots of rare Centaurs posted - seems most are scarce to rare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbcomicbox Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Here's my Star Comics #6: "Does this count....???" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
