Centaur Comics 19 19

[october]

the interior art is pretty cool. The stories though read like they were written by an autistic twelve year old.

 

Proving definitively that Centaurs are the direct predecessor to Marvel's Clone Saga.

 

By the way, do you know if Mad Ming's "saga" continues into issue 39? I want to finish reading it. It does have a sort of retarded charm.

[Scrooge]

Scrooge - do you really have to ask what the appeal of Air Fighters #2 is to any GA fan? I think your avatar pretty much explains it. I'd love a copy myself, but admittedly I don't really look for it.

 

Trust me, I understand the attraction; otherwise, as noted, it woudn't be in my avatar. I was just pointing out it seemed like a departure from October's recent chasing habits. Boy, do I get into trouble this a.m.!

 

In an effort to redeem myself, I tried to look up info about Harold Delay, the cover artist but little can be found.

 

There is this mention book illustrations in 1922 - Bailey, Roy Rutherford. Romance and History of Time: a Series of World-Wide Adventures on the Road From Long Ago to Now (Two Volumes). ill. Reproduced Paintings of Hugh Rankin and Harold Delay. Chicago: Elgin National Watch Company, 1922. Size: Approx. 7 1/2" x 10". Wraps. Watches. Very Good+ "The Story of Time - the absorbing romance of the eternal seconds and minutes, hours and years -" Numerous stories relating to "Old Father Times". Illustrated with beautiful colored plates. Vol. I, 63 pp; Vol. 2, 59. Decorative wraps.

 

But the timing may seem off.

 

The Delay from above is almost certainly though the one mentioned here with regards to Howard illustrations:

 

"Some of “The Eyrie's” contributors did not agree with the "soft" approach Brundage took to illustrating Howard's stories. It is unfortunate that Virgil Finlay did not start working for the magazine until the year Howard died. In all, Howard stories made the cover a total of 13 times, 9 of them being by Brundage. Artists doing interior illustrations for Howard stories include Hugh Rankin, Vincent Napoli, Virgil Finlay, J. Allen St. John, Harold Delay, and C. C. Senf. Delay and Finlay did some of the best illustrations in the magazines history, and Finlay and St. John are responsible for some of the magazines finest covers. Brundage did some wonderful, stylish work for the magazine, but was not particularly the right choice for a Howard cover."

 

That Delay was also illustrating Baum's adult novel, Daughters of Destiny (who he published using the pseudonym Schuyler Staunton) along with Thomas Mitchell Pierce in 1906.

 

So he may have been an older artist but somehow I don't see how he would get involved with Centaur? Was Centaur based out of Chicago or NY?

 

If you haven't seen the solicitation yet, I am excited about Alter Ego 64 as "JIM AMASH interviews MARTIN FILCHOCK, Golden Age artist for Centaur comics (Mighty Man, Fire-Man, Owl, Electric Ray, et al.)!"

[CentaurMan]

Wow, those covers are just insane, CM! Never seen any of them before.

 

That's part of the curse of collecting Centaurs. Some of the issues are so rare that, despite cool covers, they're almost uncollectible because people are barely aware of their existence. These books are from April, May, and June of 1940, right in the sweet spot of early GA superhero books, and yet thanks to horrific distribution they are far less known than, say, Fantastic Comics #5-7 published in the same months (despite covers of comparable quality, in my mind).

 

You certainly put this in terms I can understand! (Still need #5 & #7 myself...maybe someday...)

 

There's a lot of overlap between Centaur and Fox collectors, so I figured comparing the publishers from the same month would help the scarcity perspective.

 

If I ever get the final 65 issues I need to finish my full Centaur collection, I'll likely move on to Fox.

[CentaurMan]

the interior art is pretty cool. The stories though read like they were written by an autistic twelve year old.

 

Proving definitively that Centaurs are the direct predecessor to Marvel's Clone Saga.

 

By the way, do you know if Mad Ming's "saga" continues into issue 39? I want to finish reading it. It does have a sort of retarded charm.

 

I'm missing issue #39.

[october]

the interior art is pretty cool. The stories though read like they were written by an autistic twelve year old.

 

Proving definitively that Centaurs are the direct predecessor to Marvel's Clone Saga.

 

By the way, do you know if Mad Ming's "saga" continues into issue 39? I want to finish reading it. It does have a sort of retarded charm.

 

I'm missing issue #39.

 

Oh man!

[sacentaur]

I'm missing issue #39.

 

I've never owned a FP 39 either....that puppy is very HTF.

 

STEVE

 

Got Larson?

[TheEyeSees]

Well done CentaurMan!! Thank you for posting those... they are on my short list of "must haves". Love those Asian Menace covers (like the Wu Fang pulps). I bid on a Mystery Men #10 form Comic Heaven (with a great Asian menace Blue Beetle cover), but lost (anyone get it?) . I DID, however end up winning the FUNNY PAGES Tarpe Mills jungle cover-issue , which i am actually more happy with anyways. Will post it here when it arrives (CentaurMan has already put his up on this thread, and its a sweet one).

 

I have been watching for the Centaurs all over the place, but man, they really are scarce. At least the ones i want (Everett covers, Gustavson covers).

[CentaurMan]

I have been watching for the Centaurs all over the place, but man, they really are scarce. At least the ones i want (Everett covers, Gustavson covers).

 

Yeah, it's funny, there are two types of Centaur covers. This kind:

 

 

and this kind:

 

 

Obviously, the latter kind is highly sought by both Centaur completionists and GA cover aficionados, and there clearly aren't enough copies to go around. The former kind, however, are also ridiculously scarce but have no real demand behind them, and as such can be picked up cheap (if they can be found).

 

As a Centaur completionist, I'd say that GA cover aficionados like yourself bug the hell out of me.

[TheEyeSees]

As a Centaur completionist, I'd say that GA cover aficionados like yourself bug the hell out of me.

 

 

While the "funny" covers do have appeal, I just don't have the unlimited funds to go after them, so I tend to put my money on the money covers. I'm sure alot of collectors of Centaurs feel that way, unfortunately for us.

 

When Centaur covers were good, they were WAY good...

[rjpb]

I'd say that GA cover aficionados like yourself bug the hell out of me.

 

Just imagine what it must be like for a Shield fan who couldn't care less about Archie appearances. Or a Hulk fan who's not that interested in Wolverine.

[CentaurMan]

While the "funny" covers do have appeal, I just don't have the unlimited funds

 

Well, DUH, you just solved your own problem! As I stated above, the funny covers are cheap as hell compared to the awesome covers. Quit competing with me for the awesome ones and build out your collection of funny Centaurs. For instance, I know you're dying for one of these:

 

 

and lucky you, I have two.

[adamstrange]

While the "funny" covers do have appeal, I just don't have the unlimited funds

 

Well, DUH, you just solved your own problem! As I stated above, the funny covers are cheap as hell compared to the awesome covers. Quit competing with me for the awesome ones and build out your collection of funny Centaurs. For instance, I know you're dying for one of these:

 

 

and lucky you, I have two.

 

After seeing this, all I can say is...

 

Love those Mings!

[october]

[CentaurMan]

It's funny because it's true.

[Point Five]

Still, that cover is absolutely the nuts.

[CentaurMan]

Here's a pretty obscure Centaur, although of the three issues of Comic Pages it's clearly the most common:

 

[sacentaur]

Another Centaur not seen very often (not that any of them are...)

 

 

STEVE

 

Got Larson?

[RareHighGrade]

Another Centaur not seen very often (not that any of them are...)

 

 

STEVE

 

Got Larson?

 

You're right, I have not seen that one before. Very nice.

[sacentaur]

And the next to last issue of FP (classic cover, IMHO)...

 

 

STEVE

 

Got Larson?

[sacentaur]

Finally, the elusive last issue of FP...

 

 

STEVE

 

Got Larson?