Let's finish the year, the decade, with another puzzle

I'm gonna have to come up with a new series to challenge the agents out there.  In the meantime, here is the last puzzle of the 2010s.

There are six (6) changes to this 1934 cover.  Find all of them and get some self satisfaction.

This nearly 80 year old comic borrowed this classic cover...

from 83 years ago.  Man, how cool would it have been to have been living in that awesome time.  Just sayin'...

The Dark Eagle has seen fit to give me some time off so...

we will return Monday, December 30th.  Have a great holiday season, agents.

The "Messenger of Death" delivers the answers

"Agent J reports: 1934, hammer missing on lady's gun, Buy war bonds and stamps for victory, man's ring color, missing hole on phone dial - that's all I can find."

Almost got it.  Missed "The" from the masthead. Well done, Agent J.

89th edition of "What's The Difference"

The second to last one for the year, nay, the decade!  Can you find the six (6) differences in this Modest Stein cover?  Good luck agents, have a great weekend.

That Christmas glow

What a surprise and a joy to get this in the mail from John Olsen, The Shadow and pulp superfan.  He just comes up with the best stuff.

Voodoo Death comes clean

"Agent J reports: K, gun barrel in Shadow's right hand, villain's left eye. That's all I can find!"

The other two changes are the pinky finger and the length of The Shadow's cloak. Glad I could kinda stump you.

What's wrong with Voodoo Death?

It's that time of the week again.  There are five (5) changes to this decent if not classic cover.  Can you find them all?  Have a great weekend agents and good luck.

The Shadow Strikes revisited

Great Barretto art in this series.  As terrific as the Kaluta run was this is the one I gravitate to.

No guesses? Okay, The London Crimes... solved!

The Lion has a new tooth
The gaslamp has been modified
The helmet badge says 105
The collar number is now 105
The billyclub has some extra lines
A new button and buttonhole
An additional stripe on the left sleeve

We'll put a new one up this Friday.  Have a better one, agents.

What's the Difference edition #87

It would be a crime not to give this one a go.  Seven (7) changes to this Rozen cover.  Good luck.

Something different... revealed

This change of pace seems to have stumped the agents.

Here is a transition image...

And here is the actual cover.   King of the Black Market.

Not a classic for sure but I wanted a challenge.  Thanks for playing.

December calendar page to end 2019

I hope everyone enjoyed this little throwback to the pre cellphone days.  Days when you could take the time to look at a calendar rather than have a little app ding in your face 20 times a day to remind you to do, well, everything.

Something different

Can anyone identify this cover? 

Just another game to occupy your time.

City of Crime

Way to swing in and snag the right answer, Agent J.  A fun cover, for sure.  Brooks Brothers must have loved this guy. The number of suits he had to have gone through with all of his crazy stunts.  And his oxfords (or are they loafers?  Perhaps brogues?) must take a beating when he lands on them.  Not too mention his arches... Ouch!  A good thing he has the Cranston millions to keep him well suited to his mission.

The crystal ball says...

"Agent J reports: IRS, The Shadow's ring, two buttons on clown, The Shadow's turban (missing yellow stripe), white dot on Shadow's left eye, The Shadow's cloak collar, tattoo on left chest, red tie on man w/top hat - that's all I can find"

  Pretty good, Agent J.  The last change is pretty sneaky.  Some veins on The Swami/Shadow have been added. 

What's the Difference part 86

This one has nine (9) modifications.  Look into your crystal balls and find the answers you seek.  Good luck, agents.

The Shadow Now... thoughts?

This series did pretty much nothing for me but now that time has passed I think I shall give it another try.  Colton put so much into it that it is only fair that I give it another go.

It's been awhile so...

here's a new little puzzle clew. 

"Agent J reports: Poblication, 1939, Twice a Mouth, 3 toes on parrot's right foot, parrot's eye, nostril on beak, green tail feathers, Shadow's back hat brim longer, yellow on 2nd feather from left on right wing - that's all I can find."

9 out of 10 ain't bad.  Gotta admit that the last one is a little harder to see.  The NRA logo has been slightly modified.  Good job with this one.  Thought I might trip you up on the yellow feather of the beak.  Well done.

TEN, count 'em, TEN...

changes to this cover.  Have fun, y'all.

What I want for Christmas

Well, it's what I want right now and I don't believe it exists.  I would love a coffee table book of all the pulp covers from the historic run of The Shadow Magazine.  High quality reproductions either printed to size or larger.  Full color!  None of this one page full color and then three pages with smaller repros and in black and white.  That always infuriated me when I'd find books back in the 70's. 
 
And I also want to see a book that collects all of the interior illustrations from all of the novels.  Some of those drawings deserve to be in museums.  At least we get them in the Sanctum books but I'd love to have them all in one place to just page through and enjoy.

We need The Phantom to make a comeback

A legitimate comeback.  Not a Dynamite version, but one where the creative team loves and honors the vast history of the character.  One that, like The Shadow, should remain in the 1930's.  Mr. Ross loves these characters and treats them with the respect they deserve.  Let's see what he could do with a team that he gets to direct.

The Blank, er, Black Falcon revealed

"Agent J reports: Streeb, 1943, NRA, Daily Stat, Blank Falcon, back hat brim and red collar of cloak."

  Well done, Agent J!  Got 'em all.  This was fun to do and I hope the next one is a bit more challenging.

A feather in your cap if you can find all six differences

Spend a couple of minutes to find the six (6) changes to the classic cover.  Are you up to it?  Or does only The Shadow know?!

Ah, Supergraphics

Before the internet became our lifeline to everything (and I do mean everything) fans had to rely on awesome publications like MediaScene.  Supergraphics was a publishing company that Jim Steranko formed in 1969.  He formed The Shadow Secret Society as well as the Doc Savage "Brotherhood of Bronze".  Unfortunately they didn't last long as far as updated mailers and such.  Still, this stuff was as cool as it got for a young Shadowphile. 

The Shadow takes a flying leap

Gotta love Cartier illustrations!

The Case of Congressman Coyd revealed

Agent J reports: "1955, the victim's eyes, 3 buttons on sleeve, Defective, top of knob on roulette wheel, gun barrel, that's all I can find!"

Well done, sir.  The diamond on the roulette wheel has been enlarged.  Very subtle and not very nice but I had to make it a challenge. Thanks for playing and we'll meet again Friday.

And since it's Friday it's "What's The Difference" time

Seven (7) changes to this weeks cover choice.  Don't lose your head over this one, agents.  But definitely give it a whirl.

November Calendar

2019 is winding down.  I don't know where you are living but the snow has already blown in a couple of different times this past month and still hangs around in my neck of the woods.  It seems Autumn has chosen to skip 2019 and is letting Winter hold sway.  I hold out hope that my favorite time of year asserts itself knocks Old Man Winter back to the end of December or mid January.

Happy Halloween

boo

Well, no guesses

So I guess I'll have to publish the answers to "The Sledge-Hammer Crimes".

1) The cloak on The Shadow's right arm shows a bit more crimson lining
2) V. in place of A.
3) A purple tie in place of a green tie
4) Barrel of .45 is longer
5) the top of the sledge-hammer's handle is longer

Until next time, Shadowphiles, be good.

It's Friday so it must be time for...

Drum roll please...

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE: EPISODE 82

Five (5) changes to this smashing cover.  Find them all and avoid The Shadow's apparent amped up version of the classic nun punishment of using a ruler to crack a students knuckles.  Ouch.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I just returned from my comics shop, The Splash Page, crushed to my core!  I had so looked forward to picking up issue #145 of The Shadow reprint only to find that Diamond Distributing had shipped my copy so poorly that they had to order another.  I'm very depressed as I must wait another week to throw myself into the pulpilisious world of The Dark Eagle.  If only I could get in touch with Burbank I could set one of the agents, or even the master himself, on the trail of those villains who could defile a copy of The Shadow's adventures. 

What I hope to be reading tonight

I've been waiting for quite some time to have this arrive and I think today's the day my comic shop, The Splash Page, will have it for me.  Very excited to get to this.  Love the early stuff!  Love this cover!

Agent J strikes again

... and got them all correct!  Well done.

"Agent J reports: Extra tooth, one star in W, purple and green pieces changed places, Crime Master's tie (extra stripe near top), Crime Master's left eye."

I really thought I had you with the extra stripe.  I must try harder.

What's wrong with this cover?

Five (5) differences between these covers.  Find them all and feel superior to The Crime Master!

Sad update to Ron Ely tragedy

It turns out that the woman stabbed to death in "Doc Savage" actor Ron Ely's home was his wife, Valerie,  and the killer was none other than their son Cameron.  He was later found on the property and shot to death by deputies.  Here is a link to the story.

Okay, not quite done with Doc...

It looks as though something unfortunate has touched Doc Savage actor Ron Ely.  Here is a link to the story.  Appears to be a breaking story with little actual information.  I'll update as I run across more.

Update:

The incident took place after 10 p.m. in the 4100 block of Mariposa Drive in Hope Ranch.

Deputies with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office shot and killed a homicide suspect in the home of Tarzan actor Ron Ely on Tuesday night.
Authorities received a call for help after 10 p.m. in the 4100 block of Mariposa Drive in Hope Ranch, according to Lt. Erik Raney, spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
When they arrived, deputies located an elderly woman who had been stabbed to death, Raney said.
Neighbors were told to stay in their homes and lock doors while authorities searched for the suspect.
Shortly thereafter, the suspect was found hiding in the same home as the victim. And when deputies approached the unidentified man, he allegedly threatened them with a weapon and was fatally shot, Raney said.
Ely, who played the lead character in the 1960s television series Tarzan, was not injured, Raney noted.
The homicide victim was not identified. The investigation is ongoing.

Finally calling it a day on Doc Savage

The infamous unpublished Cold War novel.  Can't say I enjoyed it but the post script by Will Murray sure shined a light on how this tale reflected the editorial influences that shaped these pulp characters.  The same can be said about any character that isn't controlled by a single creative mind.  Take Batman.  In the comics he is nigh unto unrecognizable as the hero I grew up idolizing.  Even Star Trek has "evolved" away, in some cases, from the world (or universe) I let consume me for 50 or so years.
So this marks the end of my journey with Doc Savage and his Fabulous Five.  I'm glad I took the trek if only to say I gave it the old college try.  The Shadow is easily the better fit for me.  So I now delve back into the massive backlog of pulp adventures that await me, to transport me to the back alleys of 1930's NYC, or perhaps the hop houses of Chinatown in either San Francisco or NYC.  Not the crazed, vengeance fueled killer that the recent comics have turned him into (again with the editorial influence) but the brilliant detective with the unerring aim and fierce loyalty to those that share his mission.  To once again find out what evil lurks in the hearts of men!