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Post by frightengale on Feb 27, 2018 2:07:29 GMT
The Thriller Library featured U.K. releases of at least six Shadow novels during the first half of 1938. Reports indicate they were heavily abridged and rewritten, and all but two bore altered titles: "Enter the Shadow" - Thriller #477 (March 25, 1938) - originally "The Death Triangle" (October 15, 1933) "The House of Mox" - Thriller #479 (April 9, 1938) - originally "Mox" (November 15, 1933) "The Hush-Money Expert" - Thriller #481 (April 23, 1938) - originally "The Wealth Seeker" (January 15, 1934) "The Black Falcon" - Thriller #483 (May 7, 1938) - original printing February 1, 1934 "Murder Marsh" - Thriller #486 (May 28, 1938) - original printing October 1, 1934 "Gas!" - Thriller #487 (June 4, 1938) - originally "The Death Sleep" (October 15, 1934) I own a few issues of The Thriller but, sadly, none of The Shadow's appearances. I picked up the handful in my collection for the publication's reboot of the Raffles series.
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Post by dem bones on Feb 27, 2018 8:16:25 GMT
I am a big fan of some of the Spider novels, but I could never work up much enthusiasm for The Shadow. I read the comics, even saw the much maligned movie, but the original novels left me rather cold. Or maybe I got a few real dull ones. That "much-maligned" movie inspired a novelization which I somehow wound up with a copy of. Am with you - liked what little I've read of The Spider's adventures, could never quite muster the same enthusiasm for The Spider. that said, several of the books featured on this thread look well interesting. James Luceno - The Shadow (Arrow, 1994) Blurb: Lamont Cranston is The Shadow, once a brutal Tibetan drug lord, now an unseen defender of justice. He is mysterious and powerful, a man of many names, many faces and dark secrets. Shiwan Khan is the most menacing and powerful criminal in the world. He will not rest until he can count The Shadow as his own, or destroy him in the process. Fighting his own dark heart and the mysteries of his power, The Shadow must battle to the end, to save not only his own life but the whole future of mankind as Shiwan Khan unleashes his terrible plot which will hold the world to ransom.
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Post by andydecker on Feb 27, 2018 11:20:37 GMT
I may be way off, since I only read a few of the Gibson's , but I have the impression that the comics brought the background on the stage, which in the novels never was that important. I am speaking of the whole far east pseudo-mysticism, the hypnotism, the 45er, the capes and so on.
The last Shadow comic I read was one from Dynamite, a publisher I avoid normally because of its low quality content packaged with great cover-art. But it was Garth Ennis, which is always a dependable writer, and the art was at least okay. As a period piece it was a nice read. The following writers were okay.
You can't really compare The Spider with The Shadow. Page was writing one disaster epic after the other, Gibson worked in the traditional murder mystery setting. I doubt that all Shadows combined have the bodycount of one Spider.
But I fing it interesting how much the novels and the radio-shows influenced the other. It is kind of amusing that a character like Margo Lane, the only woman in the cast, was first introduced in the radio.
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Post by frightengale on Feb 27, 2018 23:31:14 GMT
The Shadow's cape, .45s and slouch hat definitely date back to the character's original appearances in pulp magazines. But you're correct that most (if not all) of the mystical aspects associated with the character originated with the radio series. It only occurred to me now as I'm typing this that there's an interesting duality to the pulp Shadow vs. the radio / comic book Shadow. The radio version presented a crimefighter with a mystical power (invisibility thru hypnotism) that most would deem magical. The pulp novels were written by a magician, who presented a human (though extraordinary) crimebuster with no mystical powers, but the ability to use the principals of stage magic to frighten and awe his opponents.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Feb 28, 2018 12:18:07 GMT
I’ve just received, in excellent condition, Book and Magazine Collector # 135 (June 1995) which contains “The ‘Shadow’ Novels of Maxwell Grant” by David Whitehead and one Link Hullar (sic). I think that’ll do me for The Shadow for now.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Feb 22, 2019 12:45:42 GMT
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