Edition #66 of "What's The Difference?"

There are six (6) subtle differences to Racket Town and I think this might be a bit of a challenge. (Of course once I put that out there it'll turn out to be the easiest puzzle of the series...)  Good luck and have a relaxing summer weekend.

A puzzling clew

This is a bit of a gimme.  Hey, I'm feelin' generous today.  What cover is this from?

The Shadow comic #1s

Which do you prefer?

Michael W. Kaluta, 1973

Howard Chaykin, 1986

 

Bill Sienkiewicz, 1987

Stephen Hickman, 1989

Alex Ross, 2012

The Shadow shills for Colt

What if The Shadow decided to make a little extra money.  (and yes, I know that the hand being flipped puts the ring on the right hand.  But hey, it's just advertising...)

I actually wanted to do a parody with Smith & Wesson and rebrand it "Street & Smith & Wesson", just not a lot of period advertising for a 1911 .45 auto from them to work with.  I'll probably do a deeper dive into this idea and see what I can come up with.

Death Jewels revealed

"Agent J reports: Eye in skull, Shadow's hat brim, missing spear, Street & Smith, The Shadow's nose - that's all I can find!"

I have to admit that the sixth change is pretty sneaky so I will give Agent J a perfect score.  I added a bit of mortar to the green wall.  Pretty faint, at that.  Well done.

Issue #65 of "What's the Difference"

No guesses last week.  We'll try again with "Death Jewels" (a cover with no jewels on it).  There are six (6) differences with this, some blatant and some fairly subtle.  Good luck and have a happy first day of Summer 2019.  Here it will only get to 62 degrees.  My kind of summer day!

A bit of fun...

Found on Facebook, I believe.  Loved this cartoon.

I'd love to give the artist credit, but I can't read his signature.

And the answers are...

Upside down ampersand, 80 is now 88, black box extended behind crypt, extra rivets on knights armour, ring moved on The Shadow's hand, extra slots added to crypt.

We'll try a new one Friday.

No guesses yet?

Well, here's a little hint.  One of the really obvious ones.  No answers by tomorrow then I'll just have to post the answer.

And, as has become the norm, we present...

The Sixty Fourth edition of "What's the Difference"

Below you will find a semi classic cover (that has always reminded me of J. C. Lyendecker's work) that now has six (6) changes to it.  Try to find all six before the Curse of Tutencranston takes hold and ruins your weekend.  Good luck agents.

Clive Cussler's new one... sort of

I know, this is off topic.  But, hey... it's my blog and I'll stray if I wanna.

I've been a Cussler fan since I first read "Raise the Titanic" back in junior high.  I have every novel of each series he has published.  Lately (for the last 20 years or so) he has been working with co-authors including his son, Dirk.  At 87 he's still churning them out.  His latest is "The Oracle", a series built around Sam & Remi Fargo.  I wasn't really a fan of this series until he switched writing partners and now I have to say I enjoy the books more.  I'm gonna take a break from "The Silent Death" and delve into the newest adventure by a true adventure master, Clive Cussler!

And as just a personal aside, I really miss real art on the covers.  This Photoshop mishmash is hard for me to stomach.  This is the stuff that caught my attention when I was cruising the bookstore aisles.

What could have been

Every so often I think of what a lost opportunity Dynamite's run on The Shadow was.

The Alex Ross covers were, truly, the best part of what was a very poor attempt at such a well rounded character.  Gibson & Tinsley laid out such a rich mother lode from which to mine and it all went for naught under the horrible direction of Dynamite.  Sure, they got a few things to work.  Matt Wagner's "The Shadow: Year One" stands out.  Even "Shadow Now" had a chance as Colton Worley's art was beautiful.  Too bad the story didn't support it.

Indeed, a true opportunity lost.  Not only for us, the fans who have pined for another great run like Kaluta's or "The Shadow Strikes", but for the fans that could have been forged if the product lived up to its potential.

What I'm reading now

The Silent Death!  Classic adventure with a truly classic and iconic cover.  Just starting it but I have read it before when it was published as a paperback.

Double Z by Steranko revealed

"Agent J reports: Upside down pyramid, ZZ, Shadow's hat brim, gun barrel"

Okay, I was a little tricky with the gullet and the cloak in the corner.  Hope it was too frustrating.  Thanks for playing and The Shadow "What's the Difference" will return.

The Shadow in June

A little late but better than never, eh? 

Apparently Vincent got waylaid on his mission to report to Burbank and I never got the message that June had arrived.

Our 63rd edition of "What's the Difference?"

Okay, agents.  In keeping with what I am (just about done) reading, I present a puzzle with six (6) differences for your hawk eyes to discern.  Some are obvious, some aren't.  Just a little something to occupy you for a couple of moments over the weekend.  Have fun and stay vigilante!

Who did it better?

Since I'm finishing up this tale I thought I'd ask the question, "Who Did It Better?".  George Rozen painted the original but Steranko stepped it up a notch (or two) with the Pyramid paperback cover.  (It's interesting that the color palettes are completely opposite of one another.)  I'll always be partial to the pulp covers but I think Steranko did a great job.  So... whodunnit better?

Green Eyes revealed

"Agent J reports: green eye shadow, 1632, Pacific (on globe), Shadow's cape collar, dragon's eyes, missing dragon scales on back near Shadow, red star in W - that's all I can find."

Pretty good, Agent J.  Look at the masthead and see that Shiwan Khan removed a bit of the logo.  That guy has got to go! 

Thanks for playing and I'll have another ready to go at the end of the week.

What I'm reading at the moment...

Well, when I'm not at work at least.

 I read this long ago when it came out in paperback.  Thanks to Anthony Tollin's herculean effort I now am reading it as it was back in the day.  And.... loving it!