Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: bill everett, Carl Burgos, centaur, Lloyd Jacquet

Saving the World of Tomorrow: Amazing Adventure Funnies #1, at Auction

Many comics of this period were inspired by exhibits from the NY World's Fair, but Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 was inspired by the Fair's inner workings.

Published Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:57:06 -0500

by Mark Seifert

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Article Summary

Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 features legends Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Paul Gustavson, and Lloyd Jacquet.
The Fantom of the Fair stories draw from the New York World's Fair's real-life labor conflicts and corruption.
This 1940 Centaur comic is historically significant for exploring the Fair's darker, lesser-known issues.
Only 19 unrestored copies exist, making Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 a truly rare Golden Age collectible.

In the spring of 1940, as the New York World's Fair prepared to open for its second and final season in Flushing Meadows, Queens, by all appearances, it had become a towering success. Exhibits centered around its theme "The World of Tomorrow" inspired numerous pulps and comic books, as we have discussed here extensively. While Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 is considered important because it contains work by four legendary Marvel-connected figures, including Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Paul Gustavson, and Lloyd Jacquet, the Fantom of the Fair stories themselves are perhaps the most fascinating comics inspired by the Fair. Except they're not inspired by the event's triumphs or exhibits, but rather by its dark underbelly. A historically fascinating comic book from some of comics' all-time legends, there's a CGC VG+ 4.5 Off-white to white pages copy of Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 (Centaur, 1940) up for auction in the 2025 October 16 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction III at Heritage Auctions.

A vibrant comic book illustration featuring a superhero in a blue costume and cape, leaping through the air to save a woman with long red hair dressed in green. The background shows a colorful city skyline and a ship on the water, suggesting an action-packed scene. — Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 (Centaur, 1940)

The New York World's Fair's construction and operations were plagued with problems behind the scenes. A project of massive scope, it had been the subject of labor disputes and accusations of racketeering. Two of the three Fantom of the Fair stories have similarities to real-world issues faced by the event. In a reprinted story originally from Amazing Mystery Funnies V2#7, the Fantom battles a crooked contractor named Occo, who uses sabotage and violence to steal construction jobs from a rival, which is similar to the kind of corruption that was a known problem at the real-world Fair. And in the new 10-page Fantom of the Fair story that kicks off this issue, a villain named Relmar launches a campaign of terror against the Fair as part of a million-dollar extortion scheme. While that was not based on some specific event, a terrorist bomb would explode at the Fair around three months later.

There are only 19 unrestored entries for Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 on the CGC census. High grade copies of this comic book rarely seen on the marketplace, but this good-looking CGC VG+ 4.5 Off-white to white pages copy of Amazing Adventure Funnies #1 (Centaur, 1940) is up for auction in the 2025 October 16 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction III at Heritage Auctions.