Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: centaur
Created by the “powders of patriotism” at Boston Commons in 1941, The Sentinel debuted in Centaur’s Liberty Scouts Comics #3.
Article Summary
The Sentinel debuts in Liberty Scouts Comics #3, embodying Revolutionary War spirit against 1941 fascism.
Hitting newsstands in June 1941, this scarce Centaur issue reflects America on the edge of entering World War II.
Features by Myron Strauss and Sam Gilman address wartime fears through inventive, patriotic storylines.
Controversy with the Boy Scouts may have contributed to a short print run, making this comic rare even among Centaur titles.
Liberty Scouts Comics #3 from Centaur is one of those Golden Age books where the timing is everything. With a June 1941 on-sale window and an August 1941 cover date, it lands in the narrow range of months when the United States was still officially at peace while also bracing for the possibility of all-out war. It also landed as Centaur was sliding towards the end of its lifespan. It is technically the final issue of the title, because according to an announcement made in this issue, the Boy Scouts of America complained that “Liberty Scouts” might make readers think that the title was published by them. But even after a reboot to change the title to Liberty Guards Comics, the title lasted only one more issue, which would seem to help account for the scarcity of this one, even in the context of how tough comics from Centaur are in general.
The most fascinating element of Liberty Scouts Comics #3 is the first appearance and origin of the Sentinel. His story fuses Revolutionary War history with the looming fight against fascism in a way that could only have been done in 1941. The Sentinel is literally created from the smoke of a Revolutionary War cannon and the “powders of patriotism” at Boston Commons, animated by the Spirit of America. Artist Myron Strauss and an unknown scriptwriter have created a hero who is the physical embodiment of 1776, returning to take on a new generation of would-be dictators.
The lead Liberty Scouts story, “The Red Gas,” ventures in a completely different direction, but one that also seems unique in the context of its time. Smokey, the scientist of the team, develops a “mercy gas” that knocks people out for 36 hours instead of killing them. In the wake of World War I, chemical weapons had a deservedly horrible reputation, and pulps and other popular fiction of the 1930s often treated gas as a looming fear for the next global conflict. Liberty Scouts Comics #3 sidesteps that issue by presenting an American gas that is designed to be humane and comes with antidote at that.
The other features of the issue also aimed to address the looming problems of a world on the verge of global war. The Man of War story, “Sabotage in the Canal Zone,” involves a wealthy traitor who plans to block the Panama Canal by sinking a yacht in the locks. Vapo-Man’s “Purple Plague” story by Sam Gilman centers around a strange gas that is killing defense workers at plants in San Diego and elsewhere, as workers talk about walking out, and the nation’s production capacity threatens to grind to a halt. The Fire-Man story revolves around hypnotized gasoline truck drivers and a threat to critical fuel supply lines.
The looming fears of a world tipping towards global war are very palpable in Liberty Scouts Comics #3, and the issue is notably more rare than many other release of this particular period. Only 15 entries of this issue appear on the CGC Census, with 13 of those unrestored/Universal copies. An unusual release even by Centaur standards, there’s a Liberty Scouts Comics #3 (Centaur, 1941) CGC VG- 3.5 Brittle pages copy up for auction at the 2025 December 11 Golden Age Comics Century Showcase Auction IV.
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