Thursday, February 27, 2020

"Death's Head" page 11


"Is this urgent?  Because it's dinner-time and I was just whipping up a little dish..."

"And what the hell, anyway.  Some dishes are better if you let them stew for a while"

RIP Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler passed away at the age of 88 on Monday, February 24th.  His wife, Janet Horvath, gave the world the sad news with this statement.

"It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news that my husband Clive passed away Mon. It has been a privilege to share in his life. I want to thank you his fans & friends for all the support. He was the kindest most gentle man I ever met.I know, his adventures will continue."



Cussler's books, especially his earlier work, have been some of my favorites and I always looked forward to reading another adventure (or four) every year.  "Raise the Titanic" hooked me and I've been a devotee ever since.  I know his characters will continue on as he has been using co-authors for many years now and turned the Dirk Pitt series over to his son, Dirk Cussler, a few books back.  A sad day indeed.  Thank you for all the enjoyment your imagination has brought to me, Mr. Cussler.  Rest in Peace.



Wednesday, February 26, 2020

What I'm reading now


Looking forward to spending some time on Terror Island after finishing Dune for the fourth or fifth time.  Love this cover.  Is The Shadow escaping or breaking in?  What strange yellow building of stone could cause our hero to visit Terror Island?!  At this moment, only The Shadow knows...

"Death's Head" page 10


"Oh,  You.  Yes, yes, of course I'm free... that's the arrangement, isn't...?"

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Monday, February 24, 2020

"Death's Head" page 8


"You don't want to see him, honey--
listen to me-- you don't--
you see, it's his head, miss. It's..."

Shadowed Millions comes into the light


"Agent J reports: Streep, missing square on top of building on the left, hats switched on villain on left and villain with red shirt, windows near Shadow's left thumb."

  A few more changes to this one:

a) 1st has been modified

b) CENTS is now SENSE

c) The Shadow's pinky finger has been shortened.

Hope you had fun playing.  We'll have a new modified cover on Friday.

Friday, February 21, 2020

What's the Difference issue 95


Seven (7) changes to this classic early cover.  Good luck and tune in next week for the answers.

"Death's Head" page 7

"Damn straight, Cranston!  Damn straight I have!  Hell, if one of our own is conspiring to those who'd destroy everything we hold dear... what else can a man do?"

Seems rather timely...

Thursday, February 20, 2020

What came out the week of February 15th, 1940 - 1943

1940_Voice of Death

1941_The Chinese Primrose

1942_Blue Face

1943_Wizard of Crime

Only one true classic cover in this batch.  Voice of Death by Graves Gladney is iconic.  Whereas "Wizard of Crime" is a rare "hand" cover that I don't like.  Just awful.  The Shadow Wiki credits Rozen with this but I find that very hard to believe.

"Death's Head" page 6

"...working for that man in the White House and now cozying up to the Soviets.  Spent a year in Moscow, not less.  I've heard..."

Seems like things haven't progressed that far since the '30s.

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

News Alert

https://deadline.com/2020/02/doc-savage-tv-series-in-works-sony-pictures-tv-original-film-conde-nast-1202863245/

Well, if they do this right it could open the doors for The Shadow.  I sure hope it's a period piece.

What came out the week of February 15, 1933-1939

1933_Six Men of Evil

1934_Gray Fist

1935_The Dark Death

1936_The North Woods Mystery

1937_Quetzal

1938_The Murder Master

 
1939_The Lone Tiger

"Death's Head" page 5

"Ho-lee Geez!"
"That's a hell of a nice slice, all right!"

This Joe Cardona is not how I envisioned him when reading Gibson's stories.  However, it seems pretty appropriate for the comic series.  I was very happy to see that Joe was featured much more in this incarnation of The Shadow's adventures as I always thought he got short shrift on the radio and the film.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Fingers of Death points to the answer


"Agent J reports: Match, The Shadow's collar, Darth, Shadow's right sleeve..."

Just missed the pinky finger of death.  Kinda sneaky, I know.  See y'all Friday for another issue of "What's the Difference".  See ya then.

"Death's Head" page 3


"He's dead, Mr. Cranston!  He's dead!"
"I'll wager he is."

Friday, February 14, 2020

What's the Difference #94


Five (5) changes to this pretty cool cover.  Take some time this weekend and find them all.

"Death's Head" page 2

Did Lamont Cranston just lose his head?  This series just began and it may already have ended.  Stay tuned to see if The Shadow survives to strike again.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Time to revisit "The Shadow Strikes"

My favorite comic series of The Shadow.  Loved the art of Eduardo Barreto and loved the stories by Gerard Jones.  It faltered down the stretch (at least for me) but still, this run really captured The Shadow for me.  So bear with me as I repost the 31 issues and two crossovers with Doc Savage over the next, well, however long it takes.  So, without further ado...

Cover art by Stephen F. Hickman

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

What I'm reading now

After finally acquiring "The Isle of Doubt" and getting on track with my self imposed reading order I have moved on to "The Dark Death", a tale with a fun cover showing the machine described nearly right off the bat.  Guinea pigs, vacuum tubes and hand carved elephants holding this deadly contraption up!  How much fun is that?  Looking forward to getting into this one.


Monday, February 10, 2020

The Black Master comes clean


"Agent J reports: Defective, 1923, Shadow's hat brim, face in the crystal ball, the Shadow's cloak collar."

Five for five, Agent J.  I don't know 'bout you, but I love the old covers where our hero has yet to really become the character we know and fear.  This is the 8th published story and the first cover to really give us an idea of what is to come.  For me, the 12th issue, "The Crime Cult", is the first time we truly see our hero as the visage we will associate with Rozen and the classic covers of The Shadow Magazine.

Friday, February 7, 2020

Puzzle #93


Five (5) differences to this early George Rozen cover.  Not a lot to work with so I imagine this won't be a tremendous challenge.  Still, a classic cover in its own way and a classic early adventure of The Shadow.  Don't believe me?  Then check out this review by the master reviewer himself, John Olsen.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

These are lurid in their own way





I feel like this version of The Shadow is based on the cover art from the Belmont paperback,  Return of The Shadow.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

What came out the week of February 1st, 1940 - 1949

1940_The Getaway Ring

1941_The Wasp Returns

1942_Death Diamonds

1943_The Devil Monsters

1944_Syndicate of Death

1945_Merry Mrs. MacBeth

1946_Crime Out of Mind

1947_Murder in White

1948_The Television Murders

1949_The Magigals Mystery

No real classic covers in this run. Maybe "The Wasp Returns" just because of its concept, not the execution.  At least Rozen made an appearance at the end.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

What came out the first week of February, 1932 - 1939

1932_The Silent Seven

1933_The Shadow's Shadow

1934_The Black Falcon

1935_The Plot Master

1936_Death Rides the Skyway

1937_Loot of Death

1938_The Fifth Napoleon

 
1939_Realm of Doom