THE ARROW: BRITISH AGENT B-12 AND JANE

by Paul Gustavson, Thomas Read, Tread Comics

Centaur developed primarily from the Comics Magazine Company, Inc. In 1936, comic-book entrepreneur Everett M. "Busy" Arnold gave financial or other unspecified help to that New York City-based firm, founded by John Mahon and Bill Cook, former employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications (the primary forerunner of DC Comics). The duo published the premiere issue of The Comics Magazine (May 1936), using inventory content from National Allied's submissions. Among the Comics Magazine Company's original features was Dr. Mystic the Occult Detective (not to be confused with Mr. Mystic of newspapers' "The Spirit Section"). This two-page feature was by future Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and was part of their Doctor Occult continuity, with the name changed for trademark consideration. This was the beginning of a serial that introduced the villain Koth, and the Seven, that continued into DC's More Fun Comics #14-17 (issues also designated as vol. 2 #2-5). The company's flagship title, the eponymous Comics Magazine, premiered with a May 1936 cover date. That comic-book series featured the first masked hero in American comics, writer-artist George Brenner's the Clock, in the November 1936 issue. Another entrepreneur, Harry "A" Chesler, published Star Comics and Star Ranger through his own Chesler Publications, each with first issues cover-dated February 1937. These titles were soon bought out by I. W. Ullman and Frank Z. Temerson's Ultem Publications. In September 1937, Ultem acquired the Comics Magazine Company's titles, retaining Chesler as the packager for both his own previous titles and the two that were continued from the Comics Magazine Co. Financial difficulties forced Ultem to sell some of its properties, including the Clock, to "Busy" Arnold's Quality Comics. By January 1938, Ultem was bought out by Joe Hardie, Fred Gardner, and Raymond Kelly's Centaur Publications, Inc., which had been publishing pulp magazines since at least 1933. Hardie, Gardner, and Kelly used this base to create Centaur Comics, which began publishing in March 1938. They also drew on the back inventory of stories to fill out the early issues of their new titles with reprints. Centaur Publications, Inc. ceased production at the end of 1940, but continued to produce comics under the name Comic Corporation of America. Centaur ceased publication four years later, primarily due to poor distribution, but in that period had created several colorful characters, including Bill Everett's Amazing Man. Everett would later go on to comics fame by introducing Namor The Submariner to Timely (later Atlas, then Marvel Comics.) Everett's first nationally published comic work was the cover of Amazing Mystery Funnies #1 (1938.) The Arrow first appeared in Funny Pages #21 under Centaur Comics. Then in 1940, he appeared in his own series named The Arrow. The series only lasted three issues ending in October 1941. In the issues he is referred to as The Arrow as well as The Apron. The Arrow created by Paul Gustavson. The presented is a reprint of The Arrow Issue # 3 from 1940.

66 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2019

About the author

Paul Gustavson (né Karl Paul Gustafson) was an American-immigrant comic-book writer and artist. His most notable creations during the Golden Age of Comic Books were The Human Bomb for Quality Comics, and the Angel, who debuted in Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939), the first publication of Marvel Comics forerunner Timely Comics. The Angel would star in more than 100 stories in the 1940s. The Human Bomb would later be acquired by DC Comics and make sporadic appearances as late as 2005.