The Shadow #1 "The Doom Puzzle" page 1

 

  Ah, the beauty that is old newsprint and four color printing.  Perfectly suited for The Shadow.  Over time I have come to appreciate M W Kaluta's art more and more.  It felt crude and less than stellar when I came across this 50+ years ago, but I was comparing it to superhero comics.  Aparo, Adams, Kane, Romita and Buscema.  I didn't appreciate the need for the period and the genre to have a different look and feel.  Kaluta was that look and feel.  There have been others who have tackled this historic character, but I don't know that any of them made it feel like they actually loved The Shadow and the world he inhabited.  Kaluta most definitely did!

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow "The Menace of Radiation Rogue!" pages 19 - 21

 

Saturday's random pulp cover: Dime Detective Magazine : "Shadow of the Vulture"_November, 1931

 Okay, I have no real love for this cover but found it interesting as it relates to The Shadow.  What struck me first of the cast shadow and the, ugh, red scarf.  Then the title, "Shadow of the Vulture" and finally, the fact that it was published just months after "The Living Shadow".  Fun series of coincidences (at least to the way my mind works).  BTW, the story was written after the author saw the cover.

Happy 250th Independence Day

 Let Freedom ring, this 4th.  Never take for granted what those who came before us fought so hard to achieve.  Have a safe and wonderful Independence Day, agents.

ON THE AIR: April 10, 1945

 

Ep_23_When Killers Meet

Time to go back to where my comics ties to The Shadow began... The Shadow #1 "The Doom Puzzle"

I appreciate what Kaluta accomplished more as time goes by.  The detail he put into this book is astounding.  Especially at a time when reference was not available via a simple Google search and there was no easy fix with Photoshop.  All done with paper, pen, brush and ink.  All by hand.  Enjoy this trip back to the past that was already a trip back to the past.

Midnight in Moscow #6 page 20

 

The End