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Publisher: Centaur
Years in Operation: 1938 - 1942
Disclose Detail
Country: Flag United States Web Site: Brands: 1 Indicia Publishers: 6 Series: 36 Printings: 186 Disclose Notes: Centaur consisted of Centaur Publications, Inc. and the Comics Corporation of America. Comics published by both of these publishers were advertised together and referred to as being published by the "Centaur Group" in those ads. Later comics by Comic Corporation of America were also advertised together, including Amazing Man Comics which had also been part of the "Centaur Group." Centaur almost never put any brand identification on their covers, and instead used internal ads to connect their titles.

The primary people behind Centaur by the time it began publishing comics were Joseph Hardie, who had published Centaur's first offering, a pulp magazine, in 1933, and Raymond Kelly, who joined as business manager in 1936. The two would go on to found the Comic Corporation of America together in 1939.

The Comic Corporation of America also began publishing risqué humor titles aimed at military servicemen in late 1941. These were not advertised with the comics listed here, and can be found under the Hardie-Kelly publisher grouping. Also found under Hardie-Kelly are companies such as Harle Publications and H-K Publications, which were started during Centaur's existence but did not publish comics until much later.

Several additional companies have historically been lumped under "Centaur" on the grounds that the titles they published were later purchased and continued by Centaur Publications, Inc. The earliest of these were the Comics Magazine Company, Inc. and Chesler Publications, Inc., both of which sold titles to Ultem Publications, Inc. Many sources include these predecessors as Centaur issues, but the companies are all distinct, with different ownership.

Ultem in turn sold all four of their titles to Centaur Publications, Inc., which is the proper beginning of this group. Centaur used the former Ultem titles to begin their comic book line, and also drew on the back inventory of stories to fill out the early issues of their new titles with reprints.

By many accounts, Centaur's titles suffered from poor distribution and as the U. S. was drawn into World War II they ceased publication. Some of their final issues were projects for the Chicago Mail Order Co. "C-M-O Comics" was published for them, (but not by the Chicago Mail Order Co., contrary to some sources), while Liberty Guards Comics and (probably) Khaki Komics are reprints that also seem to be CMO giveaways, but without any indicia whatsoever. This led to speculation that Chicago Mail Order published them directly, but there is no evidence for that. The giveaway issues may have been published later in 1942 than the last regularly dated newsstand titles.


Other Hardy-Kelly publishers: https://www.comics.org/publisher/10660/

Publishers who published titles that Centaur later bought:
Ultem: http://www.comics.org/publisher/7631/
Chesler: http://www.comics.org/publisher/112/
Comics Magazine Company: http://www.comics.org/publisher/7628/
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Series Name Years in Print Issues (Printings)
Amazing Adventure Funnies {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Possibly continued from issue #1 as Fantoman #2, but also published its own issue #2 between Fantoman #2 and #3.
1940 - 2
Amazing Man Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Issues #1-4 were not published.
Public Domain
1939 - 1942 22
Amazing Mystery Funnies {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Indicia for 4th issue incorrectly states v1#3 again (with no number on the cover), after which numbering resets with volume 2.
Public Domain
1938 - 1940 24
Amazing Mystery Funnies {Comic Books} 1942 - 1
The Arrow {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Only series known to have issues published by both Centaur Publications, Inc. (#1-2) and Comic Corporation of America (#3), albeit widely separated in time (10 months between #2 and #3).
Public Domain
1940 - 1941 3
Blackout {Comic Books} 1942 - 1
C-M-O Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Published for the Chicago Mail Order Co. by the Comic Corporation of America.
1942 - 2
Comic Pages {Comic Books} 1939 - 3
Cowboy Comics {Comic Books} 1938 - 2
Detective Eye {Comic Books} 1940 - 2
Eek! {Comic Books} 1942 - 1
Fantoman {Comic Books} 1940 - 3
Funny Pages {Comic Books} Public Domain 1938 - 1940 26
Funny Picture Stories {Comic Books} Public Domain 1938 - 1939 9
Funny Picture Stories [Laundromat Giveaway] {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: The available scan is from a promotional copy with no specific laundry name printed, although actual copies would have a specific business name on the shield that usually contained the price. Unknown if any were produced beyond the one copy found in the Estate of Lloyd Jacquet. Contents differ from the regular issue with the same cover.
1938 - 1
G.R.R.! {Comic Books} 1942 - ? 1
Keen Detective Funnies {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: No v1#1-v1#7, v1#8 is first issue; following v3#1 numbering changed to sequential numbers (#18-24). Most stories from the first few issues are reprints from Funny Picture Stories and Detective Picture Stories.
1938 - 1940 24
Keen Komics {Comic Books} 1939 - 3
Khaki Humor {Comic Books} 1942 - ? 1
Khaki Komics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Series found by Frank Motler when this copy was offered for sale on an unremembered site which did not supply any additional information. A purported back cover scan (possibly inside back cover) is a full-page ad by the Chicago Mail Order Co., although not the typical back cover picture of their building as seen on C-M-O Comics #1-2. This would be similar to Liberty Guards Comics, which has full-page Chicago Mail Order Co. ads on the inside front cover and inside and outside back covers, with no indicia of any sort present anywhere. Both are probably some sort of CMO giveaway, but this has never been clearly established in either case. Both this comic and Liberty Guards re-use the cover art of other Comic Corporation of America publications, with a new title banner without any price or numbering. In this case, the cover art comes from Stars and Stripes Comics #2. If the analogy with Liberty Guards holds, the contents are probably a full-issue reprint, although likely not from the same issue as the cover. Only this one issue has ever been seen.
1941 - 1
Liberty Guards Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: According to Howard Keltner's Golden Age Comics Book Index (Second Edition), this was published directly by the Chicago Mail Order Co., unlike C-M-O Comics which was published for the Chicago Mail Order Co. by Comic Corporation of America, one of Centaur's two regular publishing companies. In fact, the comic is a rebinding/reprinting of Man of War Comics #1 with the cover art of Liberty Scouts Comics #3 with a new "Liberty Guards" title banner. The inside front cover, and inside and outside back covers, are Chicago Mail Order ads, and where the indicia would normally be, "THE CHICAGO MAIL ORDER COMPANY...CHICAGO" is printed in large bold letters. However, this is clearly part of the ad and not a minimalist indicia.
1942 - 1
Liberty Scouts Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Becomes Liberty Guards Comics (issue not numbered) when the Boy Scouts of America Corporation forced a name change as explained in a letter from the Liberty Scouts/Guards characters in issue #3. Contents also continue in Man of War Comics #1 and 2. Liberty Guards Comics #[nn] has the same contents as Man of War Comics #1, but the former was published by (or possibly for) the Chicago Mail Order Co., presumably as a giveaway. Man of War Comics, however, was a normal Centaur/Comic Corporation of America publication. Content continues in Man of War Comics (Centaur, 1941 series) #1.
Public Domain
1941 - 2
Little Giant Comics {Comic Books} 1938 - 1939 4
Little Giant Detective Funnies {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: Only issues #1 and #4 seem to exist.
1938 - 1939 2
Little Giant Movie Funnies {Comic Books} 1938 - 2
Man of War Comics {Comic Books} 1941 - 1942 2
Masked Marvel {Comic Books} 1940 - 3
Puzzle Fun {Comic Books} 1938 - ? 1
Star Comics {Comic Books} Public Domain 1938 - 1939 14
Star Ranger {Comic Books} 1938 - 3
Star Ranger Funnies {Comic Books} 1938 - 1939 6
Stars and Stripes Comics {Comic Books} Disclose
Note: No #1.
Public Domain
1941 - 5
Super Spy {Comic Books} 1940 - 2
Uncle Joe's Funnies {Comic Books} 1938 - 1
Wham Comics {Comic Books} 1940 - 2
World Famous Heroes Magazine {Comic Books} 1941 - 1942 4

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