Shadow

[David A. Riley]

I was recently scanning some of my copies of David A. Sutton's groundbreaking horror literary fanzine Shadow, from the 60's and 70's, for some of Jim Pitts' early artwork, and wondered whether Vaulters would be interested in seeing scans of some of these, even if some of the first didn't have any artwork on them.


Issue 1, January 1968


Issue 2, August/September 1968


Issue 3, October/November 1968. Artwork: David A. Sutton


Issue 4, December/January 1968/69


Issue 5, February/March 1969. Artwork: Eddy C. Bertin


Issue 6, April/May 1969. Artwork: Brian J. Frost


Issue 7, September 1969. Artwork: Eddy C. Bertin


Issue 8 October/November 1969. Artwork: David A. Sutton


Issue 9 January/February 1970. Artwork: David A. Riley


Issue 10 April/May 1970. Artwork: Brian J. Frost


Issue 11 July/August 1970. Artwork: Brian J. Frost

[ropardoe]

Marvellous - thanks very much.  Fascinating to see the progression of the covers, from typewritten, to drawn directly onto stencil, to electrostencils, and then to litho (a path I followed myself slightly later!).  Some of the last ones are very beautiful, but issue 10 isn't quite all it seems as it's a slightly altered (i.e. the added lady in the water) version of an old art nouveau bookplate which was included in one of the Dover sourcebooks (a fairly lengthy hunt on Google images will come up with it!).  I have a memory of using the bookplate myself as an illustration at some point, but I can't pin it down so if it is a genuine memory then I must have used it on an APAzine in the late '60s/early '70s.  I haven't kept any of those.

[dem]

God, but these are fantastic. Have read so much about Shadow, but never seen copies in the pulpy flesh. This is as good as. It's brilliant that so many of those who participated are still active (and offering encouragement and support to relative newcomers) in the field. "Charles Birkin - Master of Cruelty and Horror" - I love a title that cuts straight to the chase.

Thank you for sharing!

[helrunar]

I loved Brian J. Frost's drawing of the woman/skull seen on the cover of a 1969 issue.  So delicious and reminiscent of some of the art seen on film posters in the period.

These were beautiful to see and I want to look at them again a few times...

Thanks for sharing!  I know nothing about the zine, being in the US and unacquainted with this fascinating world of Brit fandom.

cheers,

H.

[jamesdoig]

Great stuff! Eddy C. Bertin seems to have been a mainstay of the British small press scene in the 60s and 70s - his name pops up everywhere.

[dem]

What an incredible line-up. Eddy C. Bertin, Ramsey Campbell, David A. Riley, Brian J. Frost, Mike Ashley, Richard Davis, Martin Ricketts, Alan J. Hunter, Jim Pitts, David Lloyd - am guessing Adrian Cole featured somewhere along the line? Michel Parry? Reading On The Fringes For Thirty Years: A History Of Horror In The British Small Press it seems that, like Eddy C. Bertin, most if not all of the above contributed articles/ stories/ artwork to just about every 'sixties fantasy 'zine. Re Shadow, according to the editor, "... the first few issues were so awful they warrant little attention ... by issue five I was beginning to learn." I'm thinking Mr. Sutton is his own harshest critic.

[David A. Riley]

Rounding off my scans of covers from David A. Sutton's fanzine Shadow. The only one missing at the moment is issue 18, which I know I have somewhere; I just have to find it.


Issue 12 November/December 1970
Cover art: Brian J. Frost

Issue 13 May/June 1971
Cover art: David Fletcher

Issue 14 September 1971
Cover art: Brian J. Frost

Issue 15 December 1971
Cover art: David Fletcher

Issue 16 March 1972
Cover art: Alan Hunter

Issue 17 June 1972
Cover art: Jim Pitts

Issue 19 April 1973
Cover art: Jim Pitts

Issue 20 October 1973
Cover art: Jim Pitts

Issue 21 August 1974
Cover artwork: David Fletcher
(Final issue)

[David A. Riley]

As well as regularly publishing Shadow during the late 1960's and early 70's, Dave Sutton also produced a couple of other publications, including Weird Window (showcasing original short stories) and Bibliotheca: H. P. Lovecraft.

Cover art: Kevin O'Neill (from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath)

Back Cover: Art by Brian J. Frost

Contents page

[helrunar]

These are really exquisite.  I particularly love the 1972 Jim Pitts drawing of a gargoyle reading a grimoire.  Beautiful.

cheers, H.

[dem]

Nov 16, 2016 17:12:55 GMT helrunar said:

These are really exquisite.  I particularly love the 1972 Jim Pitts drawing of a gargoyle reading a grimoire.  Beautiful.

cheers, H.

Agree, the gargoyle is a beauty. Other personal favourites include Brian J. Frost's skull woman (presumably modelled on Bette Davis in The Anniversary?) and the same artists evil monks for #12 - very shudder pulp. # 16 is Alan Hunter at his very best, and #14, with the nude necromancer, screams of psychedelic pop art circa 1970. I can just imagine it as a poster on the wall of the student's hang-out in Ramsey Campbell's Potential.

[helrunar]

Yes Demonik I also thought the skull woman by Brian J. Frost was exceptional.  It might be based on a poster for Bette's 1964 film DEAD RINGER.  I just realized this when you mentioned THE ANNIVERSARY.  It definitely has a fab Sixties film poster look.

I admired the technique in the nude necromancer cover.  The whole thing looks like a psychedelic send-up of Beardsley.  In the late 60s and 70s a lot of us had Beardsley posters hanging in our rooms.  I don't know if it is at all your cup of tea but in the very amusing early 70s film HORROR HOSPITAL, with Michael Gough, there's a scene of a glam-rock band performing in a pub and lots of dry ice and Beardsley posters provide the decor.  It is very much of the period.  The movie has a lot of very pulpy touches and some delightfully ridiculous thesping from various people on hand.

cheers, H.

[ropardoe]

Nov 15, 2016 18:17:00 GMT ropardoe said:

Marvellous - thanks very much.  Fascinating to see the progression of the covers, from typewritten, to drawn directly onto stencil, to electrostencils, and then to litho (a path I followed myself slightly later!).  Some of the last ones are very beautiful, but issue 10 isn't quite all it seems as it's a slightly altered (i.e. the added lady in the water) version of an old art nouveau bookplate which was included in one of the Dover sourcebooks (a fairly lengthy hunt on Google images will come up with it!).  I have a memory of using the bookplate myself as an illustration at some point, but I can't pin it down so if it is a genuine memory then I must have used it on an APAzine in the late '60s/early '70s.  I haven't kept any of those.

Found it!  Apparently I used the original art nouveau bookplate (the one which was adapted for the Shadow 10 cover) on the cover of Wark 3 (my zine-review zine).  This issue dates from approx 1974 - i.e. after the appearance in Shadow, which makes me think I hadn't seen that issue of Shadow at that point.  Otherwise surely I wouldn't have used it.  The difference between the original which I used and the one is Shadow is mainly that the latter has a lady in the water which replaces a hand rising up out of the water holding a scroll (almost Jamesian, that!).  

[ropardoe]

[Michael Connolly]

Nov 21, 2016 12:24:51 GMT ropardoe said:

This is a bigger version. You can't see the join.

[helrunar]

Exquisitely eldritch.

H.