"A Quarter of Eight"

 "There were four interesting-looking pieces of an old Spanish coin - representing undreamed-of riches and undreamed-of danger! Only The Shadow could cope with the fearful legacy to which a couple of innocent victims fell heir." - The Shadow Wiki 

Another mid 40's tale that just doesn't measure up to the tremendous heights that The Shadow Magazine attained in the 1930s.  I read this many years ago when I picked it up at my local library as part of the Doubleday Crime Club hardcover edition that also featured "The Freakshow Murders."  

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 16"

 

"...and that will be The Shadow's undoing."

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Solves the Mystery of the Missing Uranium page 11

 

 

"Rog'!  Let's get out of here!!"

"The Taiwan Joss"

 Nope.  Not into this cover.  Hey, John... is the story any better?  Middle of the road, eh?  Well, it is 1945.  But, c'mon!  This is The Shadow!  Let's have some respect.  The man in black deserves better than this, right?  Sigh, we still have the Bruce Elliott run to endure.  By comparison this is probably a masterpiece.

Do I complain too much lately?  Yes, yes I do.  It comes from being spoiled by all of the great tales of the decade before.  The wonderful covers when the magazine had an actual logo and wasn't this little digest size.  When the darkness of the pulp page was actually darker than the evil that had enveloped the world with the Axis attempt at world domination.  Yep, the world changed and continues to do so.  I just wish this great character hadn't had to change as well.

Avenger Saturday presents: "Tuned for Murder"

 This is the first cover I'm not that impressed with.  It's nice enough but the previous 8 were really top of the line illustrations.  And speaking of the previous covers it appears I mixed up the order of the last two.  "The Glass Mountain" was published in February of 1940 while "Stockholders in Death" came out in April of  '40.  I apologize for not being more observant.

"Murder By Magic"

 Another pretty sweet cover that just doesn't sell The Shadow for me.  Even the masthead is lost in the upper left.  And the story is just okay.  I'm sure Gibson really got into it because it dealt with magic but I remember being disappointed when I read this in the Doubleday Crime Club edition, paired with "The Mask of Mephisto".  It's all coming to an end and it really hurts to see how far this publication and, in turn, this character have fallen.  Lucky for us there are so many really top tier adventures to return to and we have to say that America's tastes were changing.  The inevitability of time...

ON THE AIR: January 11, 1942

 Time to sit back with a hot beverage of your choice and listen to this version of "The Drums of Doom".  This version, you say?  Yep, a couple years later they will recycle the title and put out an unrelated episode.  In the meantime, your hot cocoa is getting cold.

"The Mask of Mephisto"

 This is a fun enough cover.  The only thing fun about this novel.  I was introduced to this via the public library with the Doubleday Crime Club edition.  I remember checking it out a few times but it never got any better.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 15

 

"... his need to kill those whom he considers criminals."

 I could get behind this cover (love the skull ink stamps) if Stein has just dropped the silhouette  of The Shadow across the letters.  Oh well, the story comes in at just 30,000 words so there really ain't that much time to fixate on the little things.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 14

 

"I wanted to be an Emperor.  And I knew the Master's arts could make me one."

"Tear-Drops of Buddha"

 "Come, commissioner, you can't really believe I murdered Grenshaw and Naseby? Talk to Dorgan again, and that chap who operated the cloak room at the Argonne. You'll find them both reliable." - The Shadow

A fantastic smuggling scheme involves The Shadow in his most dangerous assignment - to solve the secret of twelve, glowing tears! 

A bit of foreshadowing from Gibson in this one. 

'Author Walter Gibson inserted a little "inside" joke into this novel. A minor character - the cloak room attendant that Lamont Cranston is accused of binding and gagging - is named Elliott Bruce. This name is a reversal of one of Gibson's closest friends, and fellow magician, Bruce Elliott.

Little did Gibson realize at the time that slightly more than a year hence, he would leave Street & Smith, publishers of The Shadow, and be replaced by Bruce Elliott. Elliott would be the sole author of The Shadow pulps for the two years between 1946 and 1948. How competent a replacement Elliott turned out to be, is a matter for discussion elsewhere. Let's just say his work was uninspired.' - John Olsen

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 13

 

"Denied a share of my father's power, I sought power elsewhere..."

"Death Has Grey Eyes"

 This cover always reminds me of  "Eyes of The Shadow". 

It appears (heh) that this is a pretty fast moving and satisfying tale from 1945.  It must have been since it was reprinted in Britain in 1955.  A slightly modified and amateurish version of the American cover.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 12

 

 

"Oh, but I do know him, Miss Lane.  Better than you."

"Five Keys to Crime"

 A definite favorite cover of mine.  It may not scream "The Shadow" to anyone but it is such a well rendered and intriguing illustration that I have to give it a star for every key!  Even the story gets a thumbs up.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 11

 

"It was enough.  It killed an evening.  Brought the time that much closer that I could hook up with the boss... and go after Margo."

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Solves the Mystery of the Missing Uranium page 10

 

"D.. de Shadow!!.. He vas here 'n' I t'ink maybe he's in dere!!"

"Merry Mrs. MacBeth"

 No indication of The Shadow on this cover.  As John points out in his review there is a microphone that just kinda is there.  Not mentioned in the story so is it standing in for The Shadow as a nod to his radio program?  Who know, probably even The Shadow himself doesn't even know.  An average murder mystery but a below average tale of The Shadow.

Avenger Saturday presents: "The Glass Mountain"

 Okay, this may not be action packed like the previous issues but this is a phenomenal cover.  This just feels epic to me.  So symbolic and powerful.  I'd love to own this one, for sure.  Just a gorgeous piece of pulp era art.

UPDATE:

  This is the issue that should have been shown here.  My mistake...

 BOOM!  Looks like another slam bang edition of The Avenger!  I've only read the first two novels but I've always been intrigued by this character.  I hope to at least read the pulp run of 24 novels someday.  But I still have a really long list of The Shadow adventures still to read so it may be some time...

"Guardian of Death"

 I've always been fond of this odd cover.  The execution of the technique is what appeals to me.  Is it a Shadow cover?  Technically yes but, c'mon, we know this is just the publisher trying to be avant garde.  Sheesh, let's see some indication of the actual character whose name appears at the top of the cover!

As to the story, my sources tell me it's the best of 1945 and feels much more like the 1930's version of The Shadow.  S'all I needs ta know. 

ON THE AIR: January 4, 1942

 Dance Puppet Dance!  Brothers in depravity have devised a macabre show featuring... well, you'll just have to sit back and enjoy "Death Pulls the Strings" from January 4, 1942.

"No Time For Murder"

 Modern shmodern... ugly is ugly.  And this cover is ugly.  However, it seems that this novel (sans Margo Lane) could easily be a 1930s top notch adventure.  It's nice to know that there are still some gems as the series stumbles toward the finish line.  I look forward to reading this one.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 10

 

"And that was my voyage into Shanghai sin."

"Fountain of Death"

 The Shadow visits a... health spa?  Yep, so come drink from the Sapphire Springs and have yourself a relaxing few hours with Margo, Shrevvy and a host of others who need the healing waters to do their thing.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 9

 

"Jeez, how old are you?  Fifteen?"

"The Shadow Meets The Mask"

 "A reign of terror in a series of daring crimes that defied solution... An accusing voice blocked The Shadow's moves toward justice, as a murdered gang-man came back to life threatening death and destruction in a fear-ridden city!" - The Shadow Wiki

Bad cover.  Bad story.  On top of that it shares the same title as a pulp from three years earlier.  Alas, we are winding down and still have to suffer through the 15 issues by Bruce Elliott. 

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 8

 

"Man in... black."

"The Chest of Chu Chan"

 "Mad murder! And a body in a locked chest pierced by the priceless Burmese katar! Can a mere statue of a beautiful Siamese dancer come to life? A pulsing, dramatic climax gives The Shadow his startling answer." - The Shadow Wiki.  The Shadow in Review gives this a thumbs up as a fun & clever little murder mystery.  Good enough for me.

 It was also a story in the same issue of Shadow Comics as the previous month's pulp "Death in the Crystal".

 

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 7

 "Well, I was getting plenty of messages.  Just not the kind the boss would be interested in."

"Death in the Crystal"

 No comment on this cover.  The story?  I'll let John Olsen tell you.

"Putting myself into the role of the purple-robed fakir Mahatma Xanadu, I'll look into my own crystal ball. I see all; I know all; I tell all. And I'm telling you that this Shadow story deserves a grade of a C. I predict that you'd enjoy a 1930's Shadow story more. But, if you don't have one of those available, reading this one will do. Until something better comes along. And now, my crystal grows hazy..."

 

This story also led the July 1946 issue of Shadow Comics.

"The Swords of Shiwan Khan!: The Interior" page 6

 

 

Heart of the jungle...

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Solves the Mystery of the Missing Uranium page 9

 

"Margo!! Margo, are you in here?!"

"MMFF!!..YEFF!!"

"Town of Hate"

Dynamic cover.  Good story.  Do you think Frank Miller may have seen this cover at some point?

Wotta copybat!

Avenger Saturday presents: "Stockholders in Death"

 BOOM!  Looks like another slam bang edition of The Avenger!  I've only read the first two novels but I've always been intrigued by this character.  I hope to at least read the pulp run of 24 novels someday.  But I still have a really long list of The Shadow adventures still to read so it may be some time...

UPDATE:

  This is the issue that should have been shown here.  My mistake...

  Okay, this may not be action packed like the previous issues but this is a phenomenal cover.  This just feels epic to me.  So symbolic and powerful.  I'd love to own this one, for sure.  Just a gorgeous piece of pulp era art.

"Voodoo Death"

 Aaarrrgh!!!  And there we have it, the full scarf treatment.  Curse you, Modest Stein!  And the bright yellow to boot!  Oh well, no use crying over what can, at this point, never be undone.  Still, a scarf?  Anyhow, this is a short novel with a villain named Doctor MacAbre who, among many things, dips his deceased victims in bronze to pass them off as statues.  Sounds like one of the radio scripts, don't it?  This tale was also spun off into a story in the January 1947 issue of Shadow Comics...

...and also had an abridged version appear in the 1966 hardcover edition of "The Weird Adventures of The Shadow".  

ON THE AIR: December 21, 1941

 Well, it appears we have a string of missing episodes between last weeks episode and this one.   (Beggars of Death — November 30, 1941, The Curse of Baldring Heights — December 7, 1941, The Undead — December 14, 1941).  If anyone has an interest in knowing what they are missing then check out the outstanding reference tome, "The Shadow: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930 - 1954" by Martin Grams, Jr..

In the meantime sit back and enjoy "Death Imported" from late 1941 featuring Brett Morrison and Marjorie Anderson.

"The Freak Show Murders"

 A classic tale with a decent cover.  The cover really seems to be from the novel itself with the lightweight statue being carried by the costumed villain.  I like it.

In 1945 it was used as the basis for a story in Shadow Comics titled "The Shadow Uncovers The Harlequin".

Next up was DC Comics 2nd issue by M. W. Kaluta in 1974.  The Shadow was back, baby!

In 1978 it was one of two tales in Double Day Crime Club's hardcover reprint.  Can't tell you how many times I checked that one out of the public library.