Amazing-Man Comics #16 turns anxious wartime history into a high-stakes thriller, featuring a fictional $50 million plot to drag the United States into World War II by sinking an ocean liner. Published by Centaur with an October 1940 cover date, the issue heads to auction this November.
The Bottom Line
- Centaur published Amazing-Man Comics #16 with an October 1940 cover date and an August 2 release, pairing a Lew Glanzman cover with a lead feature penciled by Allen L. Kirby and inked by Sam Decker.
- The issue features a Mighty Man story by Martin Filchock where conspirators plot to collect $50 million in insurance while sparking an international incident that pulls America into the war.
- A CGC Universal VG/FN 5.0 copy with off-white pages is scheduled to cross the auction block at the November 5, 2026 Golden Age Century Comics Showcase Auction VI #40378.
The Sixth Avenue Recruitment and the Liner Conspiracy
The fictional scheme begins at a Sixth Avenue employment office, where unemployed American men are offered $200 a week to work aboard a foreign liner and told to report to the docks at two in the morning. Once underway, a submarine appears 100 miles from New York, setting the stage for disaster. A wounded conspirator reveals the dual-purpose plot: sinking the liner brings in $50 million in insurance money, while the deaths of American sailors are intended to force the United States into the war on the conspirators’ side.
Martin Filchock’s Mighty Man adventure uses the hero’s size-changing powers for espionage and rescue, letting him operate as a tiny spy or a massive figure capable of carrying huge ships. The story directly references actual war-era policies, invoking the President’s Neutrality Act by name and reflecting the geopolitical anxieties of the era.
Real-World Policies and the 1939 Precedents
The comic’s plot closely mirrors real headlines from late 1939 regarding threats to American vessels. On October 5, 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a public warning about German naval commander Erich Raeder’s statement that the American-chartered S.S. Iroquois might be sunk near the east coast while bringing Americans home from Ireland. Filchock’s story remixes those exact elements, combining a liner carrying Americans with a planned disaster near the coast.
| Policy or Event | Historical Context | Comic Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Neutrality Act of November 1939 | Restricted American ships from carrying passengers or goods to belligerent states. | Cited by name as submarines confront the recruited crew 100 miles out. |
| Declaration of Panama (1939) | Created a 300-nautical-mile security zone to keep belligerent acts away from the Americas. | Reflected in the conspirators’ plan to execute the sinking within a 300-mile coastal radius. |
| S.S. Iroquois Warning (October 1939) | FDR warned of potential attacks on American-chartered ships returning citizens home. | Mirrored by placing an American crew onto a doomed liner to provoke a national crisis. |
The story’s 300-mile disaster zone aligns with the explanatory map note detailing the security boundary established by the 1939 Declaration of Panama. Meanwhile, the November 1939 Neutrality Act separately restricted American ships from carrying goods or passengers to belligerent nations. The comic effectively conflates these two major legislative and diplomatic pillars into a single narrative trap.
Census Rarity and the November Auction
The Certified Guaranty Company (CGC) census records 20 Universal entries for Amazing-Man Comics #16, with four copies graded at 5.0 and eight graded higher. Other listings indicate vintage Centaur books from the same run—such as issue #15 and issue #19—at varying price points depending on their CGC grades.
The specific CGC Universal VG/FN 5.0 copy featuring off-white pages will test collector demand when it goes under the hammer at the November 5, 2026 Golden Age Century Comics Showcase Auction VI #40378.
