The Crime Oracle

Okay, I'm getting a little out of control doing this Shadow art thing. But I'm having a ball. Hope anyone who stops by enjoys it.

By the way, if you found this site looking for anything to do with The Shadow I suggest you stop by the Cobalt Club at: http://cobaltclub.ning.com/ and join up to connect with a lot of like minded people.

A couple of images

One is mine, one is E. Mayan's (with a little Rozen for good measure). Just having a little fun.

NPL

The National Protective League. This would eventually become The Shadow Club but started as a sincere way to bring civic minded people together to clean up their streets. Here is the oath:

"I, as a member of the National Protective League, pledge to give my aid to the forces of law and order to help bring about the just punishment of all criminals in this country. I pledge, by my own act, by example and encouragement of others, to do all in my power to abide by the laws of the Nation; to teach others to obey them; and to fulfill my duty in preventing the miscarriage of justice."

A different sign off

Let no man tempt you into crime

For crime is like a strangling serpent

It crushes him who feeds it most

Beware, lest the serpent of crime ensnares you in his hold

Remember, crime does not pay

The Shadow knows

Title change

This is more like the room I envisioned. I felt that the old title was indicative of being another member of a web ring. This is more of the weird Sanctum Sanctorum of that denizen of evil, the master... The Shadow.

The Shadow's stamp of approval

"This is to certify that I have made careful examination of the manuscript known as 'The Living Shadow', as set down by my raconteur, Mr. Maxwell Grant, and do find it a true account of my activities upon that occasion. I have therefore arranged that Mr. Grant shall have exclusive privilege to such further of my exploits as may be considered of interest to the American people."

I recount this familiar statement to delve a bit deeper into a discussion I have going on over at The Cobalt Club. MC Williams stated "As for myself, I always considered Mr. Maxwell Grant as a kind like Dr. John H. Watson. Or....., Perhaps Grant is an actual peudonym and Walter Gibson actually knew The Shadow well enough to be trusted to 'ghost' his exploits."

I feel the same way, however the good doctor was in the stories themselves. Mr. Grant was not. Or was he? Thus my question remains, could M. Grant be Burbank, R. Mann or another recurring character with inside information. I find it hard to believe that The Shadow would sit back after an adventure and recount the details.

Correct Deductions of the Clews Given

Detective Story Magazine July 25, 1931

"By the mark of the cobra on my chest."(The Shadow has a cobra tattooed on his chest.)

"Prison bars? Ha! Ha! A tight squeeze perhaps, but it can be done."(The Shadow is slender.)

"Artistic hands, have I, and at my will, a pack of cards is twain."(The Shadow has long, slender hands, with tapering fingers, and strong ones.)

"Tis hard for me to disguise features akin to those of the winged terror of the feathered tenants of the barnyard. An inky dye must I apply to hide my Nordic forbears."(The Shadow has hawklike features, and is blond, and light complexioned.)

"As the unrelenting hound is to the fox, so am I to malefactors. But a whippet gait I take when on the scent."("Hound" is another name for detective. The Shadow is a detective and "unrelenting". Also fast when on the trail.)

"A dove to those I love; a jungle thing that cannot change its spots to those whose wicked hand I'd stay; and oft like a bird, I take the air when seeking out a lair."(The Shadow is gentle with those he loves, but treats those who have wronged himself and others as a leopard; and he uses an airplane when seeking out a lair.)

"8 triple A," the salesmen say, and Beau Brummel's tastes are mine. But forty ways I look, and for forty persons am mistook."(The Shadow has a slim foot, is a fastidious dresser, and wears fort different disguises.)

"Twenty years ago, for me, precocious youth 'B. A.,' and let those form any clime converse near by, and their secrets will be mine."(The Shadow, being precocious, got his B. A. when he was twenty. Thus, he's now forty. He knows all languages.)

"Low doorways please me not, and in college I stroked my crew."(The Shadow is tall, an athlete.)

"Many have I brought to durance vile, and made to sit where chained lightning strikes."(The Shadow has sent many men to jail and to the electric chair.)

A postulation

Could Burbank be Maxwell Grant, the mysterious author who pens the stories as told to him by the Shadow himself? Thoughts?

To me this makes sense. Although it never crossed my mind before it seems a natural. I was so fixated on the Shadow himself that I gave no consideration to who he may have trusted enough to relate his tales. Just an idea.

On the auction block

Heritage Auctions has this little piece of Shadow memorabilia up for bid.

The sun is shining...

but the ice is slippery. I love codes and secret passwords, but I have to say this one was too cartoony, not even worthy of the Archie Comics version of our hero. I hope to present some codes and such in the future.