The Shadow Knows!

October is the month for scares. And no hero in the history of the genre has been scarier than The Shadow. Created originally for radio as a mysterious voice to narrate stories of mysterious crime and detection, the Shadow in the hands of writer Walter B. Gibson became a gun-blazing sensation in the 30's for pulp publishers Street and Smith. It's the success of The Shadow in both the pulps and on radio that inspired the creation of Doc Savage in an attempt to find a similar kind of audience.

My introduction to The Shadow came when DC adapted the character to comic book form. It wasn't the first time by any means, but these stories written mostly by Denny O'Neil and drawn by Mike Kaluta, Frank Robbins, and E.R. Cruz were terrific. Years later I was able to get hold of most all of the novels and while I've read a passel of them, I have many more to go. I probably should dedicate a year to doing just that, but I get distracted. I'll be looking at all those issues. There's also a great Shadow graphic novel from Marvel which deserves my long overdue attention. 

In addition to The Shadow, DC tried its hand at another pulp hero -- The Avenger. This character proved less successful, lasting a mere four issues, but it does feature some interesting artwork from Jack Kirby who was working off his contract at DC. Expect to see a post on each and every issue. 

And while I doubt I'll have opportunity to post about it, I also want to dig into the earliest Batman stories from the Golden age of DC's Detective Comics and Batman. The Batman's debt to the Shadow is immense and reading these vintage gems might help steep the mood needed for mysteries of the Shadowy kind. 

One of the earlier attempts to adapt The Shadow to comic book form came in the 1960's from the Archie Comics Group. These are utterly oddball efforts sporting typical artwork of the time by Paul Reinman. To say the character deviated from the vintage pulp model is a major understatement. 

More in the spirit of the Shadow is Darkman. This remarkable film by Sam Raimi was a minor hit in the theaters and on VHS and DVD but a major hit with me. This movie is filled with grim danger, bravura filmmaking, and more than a dash of black humor. There are two sequels, both straight to video efforts which are entertaining but don't rise to the level of the original. 

And speaking of the cinema. The Shadow was a hit on the radio, in the pulps but found his footing less secure in the sunny climes of Hollywood. A mysterious, cloudy figure who is hard to see if seen at all is not the ideal cinematic icon. But there were more than a few attempts to bring The Shadow to both the big and the small screen. The results vary in quality significantly. We'll see as we sashay through the various versions in more or less chronological order. 

Another goal for me this month is the listen to as many of the vintage Shadow radio dramas as I can fit into my schedule. Thanks to the glory of the internet these radio plays, once acquired in small parcels for pretty good money can be accessed for free. The Internet Archive will play a big role in his month's proceedings not only in regard to the comics but also in respect to these dramas. This link claims to have all two hundred thirty-nine surviving episodes of the legendary show. You can access this site readily during the month by finding the image above in the sidebar and giving it a click.

Of course, I'll be reading some vintage Shadow adventures as written by Walter B. Gibson as "Maxwell  Grant" for the Street and Smith publishing outfit. I'm starting by reading the first three Shadow yarns first published in 1931. They are The Living Shadow, The Eyes of the Shadow, and The Shadow Laughs. These three tales are somewhat connected in regard to the characters who appear in them and look for my reports on them in a series of special Halloween posts. After that I want to read as many of the Shadow novels as I can in chronological order. With the thanks of Sanctum Books run by Anthony Tollin, I was able to put together a library of Shadow novels. Now's the time to indulge myself, though I likely will not take time to post about on the blog. And needless this project will take quite a while to accomplish. It's neat to have more to read than I have time to read it -- no danger of running out. 

I'll be adding to my Shadow knowledge by reading two tomes by Will Murray about the character. The two are Dark Avenger - The Strange Saga of The Shadow and Master of Mystery - The Rise of The Shadow. The first is an expansion of a book Murray first wrote decades ago about the crimefighter and the latter is a collection of articles and other material about Walter Gibson's dark brainchild. 

Expect other Shadow surprises (if I can fit them in -- it's very full month already) as this spooky crime-ridden Halloween month of October unfolds before our very eyes. 

I should also mention that as I have done in many years past, this blog is joining forces with others by way of Countdown to Halloween Blog which you can check out here and by clicking on the icon in the sidebar. Lots is happening in the sidebars, so don't forget to check them out. 

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