Friday, August 31, 2012

Partners of Peril

One of my favorite covers.  The simple white background works well for this image although I wouldn't mind seeing how this looked like with our hero caught in a spotlight with an alley wall behind him.  But I'm sure this jumped out at the buyer from the newsstands.  Powerful protagonist smiting the villains and showing that crime does not pay.  Great stuff and I'm sure the tale is pure pulp since it is by Theodore Tinsley. 

"Meat Hooks" part one page 18


Thursday, August 30, 2012

A dangerous clew

I'm really surprised I haven't used this cover before now.  Just goes to show that trying to spread the good with the bad lets certain ones fall through the cracks.  And yes, I did make this purposely generic since it is such an oft used image when it comes to The Shadow.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 17


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Room of Doom

Back to the classics.  Yes, it's 1942 but this is one of the more memorable covers after the great iconic covers from the mid to late 30's.  I still don't like the banner at the bottom of the page for the title but that was common.  This sounds like a good story and I look forward to reading it, despite the fact that Margo is in it.  I have a bit of a problem with Margo outside of the radio show.  I don't like when creators are told what they have to do and Margo was foisted off on Mr. Gibson since the radio programme was so popular.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the radio version of The Shadow, just not nearly as much as the printed version.  They are so very different as to not even be the same character. 

"Meat Hooks" part one page 16

The Shadow will make an appearance before this tale is over... I promise.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Death From Nowhere

A rather dull cover.  Rendered well enough but just nothing great about it.  At least The Shadow's garb isn't green like some of those image where he is caught in the light.  You can read all about this one here.  Sounds like a fun read and I look forward to getting to this one.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 14


Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Three Brothers

The Shadow should never be seen by his agents, in my opinion.  I agree with Bill, my hero should not be depicted as injured and vulnerable.  Just not that great of a cover illustration.  The story is something that I can't attest to since I have yet to read it.  But here is a summary of this tale from 1939. 
As a side note, I think I prefer the submission title to the published one... "Crime Among Three".

"Meat Hooks" part one page 12


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Hydra

Not a very well rendered illustration but the concept is great.  And the multiple Shadows are actually part of the tale, according to this review.  Maybe I will recreate this cover in my own style someday using the famous logo and a bit more flair.  I look forward to reading this one.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 10


Friday, August 17, 2012

The Shadow, The Hawk and The Skull

Very weak illustration in terms of execution (pardon the pun).  I think a better sense of drama would have been achieved if the damsel looked more frightened and there were some kind of background rather than a large splotch of purple.  The one thing that appeals to me is The Skull since he reminds me of the Jim Carrey character "The Mask".  All things lead back to The Shadow.
I have not read the story but it would be interesting to find out who The Hawk is in this triumvirate of pulp.  It almost seems that it could have been a crossover event along the lines of The Shadow, Doc Savage and The Avenger.  Now that would have been fun.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 8


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Wasp Returns

This was just recently published as part of a double issue from Sanctum Books alongside The Devil's Paymaster.  I haven't read either tale but I've always been a fan of this cover for the simple fact that it shows The Shadow crouching behind one of his own magazines.  Funny how this cover has a cast shadow that isn't that of The Shadow's.  As you can surmise, this was a sequel to a previous story, the one that got away as it were.  Check out a review of this one here.  There is a small hypothesis in the review postulating that this may mark the first appearance of Margo Lane.  Interesting.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 6


Monday, August 13, 2012

In place of a clew...



I want to express my sadness at the passing of Joe Kubert, one of my teachers and a great influence in my life.  I hope that he is at peace alongside his wife Muriel who passed away four years previous.  He helped me as well as many others in our quest to be better artists.  God speed, Joseph.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 4


Friday, August 10, 2012

The Scent of Death

One of my favorite covers.  This just reaches out and grabs my attention, probably since it is realistically rendered, giving it more impact for me.  I'm not sure what the story is about but I like the fact that they changed the title to something more provocative than "Golden Death", although that makes more sense for the cover art.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 3


Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Midweek clew

I'd give a Lynyrd Skynyrd clew here but I think this is easy as it is.

"Meat Hooks" part one page 1

The start of a four part adventure that takes The Shadow to Chicago to fight the mob.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Death Ship

I love this cover.  It just seems like a captured moment and a peek into the small but important moments of The Shadow's life.  Where it's not iconic it is "real".  As to the story it seems it's a good one.  Formerly titled "Ship of Doom" it is a pre WWII tale dealing with a Z boat submersible.  Sounds like fun.

"Meat Hooks" part one

Another adventure begins...

Monday, August 6, 2012

Back to the clews

What do you think?  Too easy?

"Out of the Past" page 25

And so the tale of Margo ends.  It does continue in bits and pieces throughout some of the continuing issues.  I personally liked seeing this side of her since she is far down on my list of characters in the world of The Shadow.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Freak Show Murders

So so cover.  Definitely not a true Shadow cover.  I did read this some time ago when I found it at the library as part of a Dover reprint in hardcover.  I know I was thrilled at the time because I was still in the early throws of my infatuation with the character.  Now my infatuation has only grown and matured over the years but I'm sure that this tale doesn't hold up as well as the early, vengeance ridden novels of the 30's, my favorites.  Here is the ever present link to a review, should you wish to learn more.

"Out of the Past" page 23