A review of "The Shadowed Circle"

 I will start this spoiler free review with a high recommendation to get your hands (flesh or digital) on a copy of "The Shadowed Circle".  Steve Donoso has spearheaded a great addition to the world of The Shadow with this 50 page journal chock full of diverse articles & artwork from some highly recognizable and some unknown (to me) names.  Also, a caveat before I begin.  I am not a writer or journalist, I just like to keep the blue light on in the Sanctum with my little blog.  If this review rambles or doesn't quite paint a cohesive picture blame it on a lack of training in the fine art of writing. Now let's see what is sandwiched between the front cover by  John Jamilkowski and the back cover featuring "The Creeping Death" by George Rozen.

After the credits we are given a nice explanation as to the genesis of the magazine by the publisher, Steve Donoso.  We are then given a real treat with "The Final Sanctum Shadow Intermission" by Will Murray.  For all of you who collected the reprints from Sanctum Books (a true labor of love by Anthony Tollin and his crew that I, for one, can never thank them enough for) you will be familiar with the Intermission articles by Mr. Murray that gave invaluable insight into the back stories of the two or three novels that were featured that month.  When Condé Nast told Anthony Tollin to wrap it up there was no way to get all of the novels reprinted.  These are the Intermissions that never saw print until now.  A great coup for Steve and crew to be able to publish them.

We are then given a fun article on how John L. French chooses to approach the Bruce Elliott penned adventures of The Shadow.  Generally regarded as the unwanted step children of the series we are given a new way to (possibly) appreciate these stories.  Perhaps I'll take his advice... some day.

Next up is "Eight Questions for James Patterson", an interview with the most recent raconteur of our hero.  Whether you liked the latest novel or not, this is a nice little look into the thought process that brought about the latest book.  Mr. Patterson answers five questions re: The Shadow (and drops a nugget about Doc Savage) and three other questions that give a bit of insight into the author.  I appreciate Mr. Donoso's truthful opinion of the book to open the article as it made me feel it wasn't going to be a fluff piece.  It didn't change my view of the book but it made me more appreciative of the writer himself.

We follow the question and answers with a review of the novel by Henry Lopez.  He went more in depth than I did on this blog but ultimately came up with a familiar opinion about this Patterson/Sitts effort.  I'll let you guess what that is.  If you choose not to read the book then this review does a really good job of hitting the high points (such as they are) and giving you a pretty good understanding of the novel.

This is followed by a fun article entitled "Under 30: A Twenty Something’s Relationship With The Shadow" that follows the discovery by Russell M. Moran of The Shadow through the Kenner toy line from the 1994 film starring Alec Baldwin & John Lone.  I have to admit that I have a couple of the figures (gifts from my step daughters) in my studio.  I had a lot more when my son was young and would buy them for him.  It's an interesting look at a different generation's introduction to this classic character.

I'm going to stop at this, the halfway point and publish this.  Come back tomorrow for the second half of this review.  

ON THE AIR: October 1, 1939

 Gotta say, this ain't one of my favorite episodes.  The show did a few "gorilla" episodes and this one just wasn't high on my list.  Perhaps King Kong was still resonating with the public.  I also was enamored with Weston, Lane and even Cranston.  A little too cheeky.  But make your own judgment call and listen to "The Night Marauders".

"Butchers" page 22

 "He owed no one anything."

Check out that first panel.  So cinematic.  I can almost feel the ghost of Orson Welles guiding Eduardo's hand with that one.  Wonderful!

Check in tomorrow for a review of "The Shadowed Circle"

 I'm excited to announce a new journal devoted to all things "The Shadow"!  I have read a preview copy of the first issue and I can say it's a... well, drop in tomorrow and you can find out what I think of "The Shadowed Circle".  Until then... only The Shadow Knows!

First Shadow comic I ever owned

Pretty sure I bought it used as I don't remember ever buying this run off of a spinner at the Circle K.  Wasn't sure how I felt about MWK's artwork at the time as I was completely enamored with Adams' stuff.  Of course, as one matures one gets a wider and more nuanced palette for art.

"Butchers" page 21

"I been off the job a while."

Gotta love Cartier

 This is a unique interior illustration.  Great movement and characterization.  Fun.

"Butchers" page 20

"Clever Tad.

You have far less time than you dream."

Some more of that sketchy Kaluta goodness

I like how MWK emphasizes the thin nature of The Shadow with the tight, monk-like coat but it doesn't seem practical.  I prefer this look from him (with an awesome ink job from Bernie Wrightson)...

"Butchers" page 19

 "You coulda said NO!"

Kaluta... rough to finish

 

I'm sure the pencil is a recreation for a fan but it sure looks like the pencil rough.  This is a wonderful illustration by one of the greats of comic art.

"Butchers" page 18

 "You... coulda said no."

ON THE AIR: September 24, 1939

 We start a new season with "Dead Men Talk".  Check out the opening, it has been modified from the familiar statement slightly.  Not in a good way, in my opinion.  Lamont also seems a bit more flippant than I'm used to.  Just feels strange.  I guess I got used to listening to Welles' portrayal.  Take a listen and see if you feel the change or if I'm just a bit off.  Either way, put your feet up and enjoy a trip to the shadowy vaults of old time radio.

"Butchers" page 17

"You the man who ordered a sack o' human garbage?"

A little Steranko goodness

 Murder Trail, 1977.

"Butchers" page 16

 "Shh, honey.  Don't make wishes like that...

...sometimes they come true."

The Shadow meets Casper

 I kinda liked this splash page until my eye landed on the childish treatment of the ghost.  Brought a grin to my face but that killed the vibe for me.  That and the fact that there is no ring on The Shadow's left hand.

"Butchers" page 15

 "For pity's sake,... do--you--realize...

where you are?"

Yeah, still steamed...

 

Relax...

and MURDER!

Not much more I can add to this.

"Butchers" page 14

 

"Old Margo knows everything, dear."

"Butchers" page 13

 "Like I'm gonna break this city down."

I've finished James Patterson's "The Shadow"...

 

  ... and it couldn't have have happened fast enough.  This is an absolute slap in the face to fans of The Shadow.  Walter B. Gibson must be spinning in his grave at what has been published.  I was willing to give this book a chance, simply because it was a name author that was "writing" this story.  Even though I knew it took place 66 years into our future and 150 years into Lamont Cranston's future I thought to myself "Conde Nast wouldn't jeopardize their property with a mediocre story to find a new audience."  If only it were good enough to be called mediocre.  This is, to put it kindly, garbage.

  Lamont and Margo are supposedly real life versions of the radio characters and this has nothing to do with the pulps.  The villain, not surprisingly nor original, is Shiwan Khan.  The tale opens in 1937, two years before Khan is introduced in the pulps.  Poor planning already.  Khan poisons the couple and Lamont barely makes it to a warehouse for purposes to be revealed.  Since this is so poorly written the reader has to have never read a book, seen a movie or otherwise been exposed to media of any sort not to know that the couple will be undergoing some super science medical procedure.  Cut to 2087.  We are introduced to Maddy Gomes who is the true main character of this travesty.  She has some mental powers and uses them to make people do what she wants, mainly to get out of her way so she can run off.  She lives with her Grandma and a dog named Bando.  She inherits, oh, who cares.  Let's just say that the main points are plain as day with no real attempt to be clever (sorry Mr. Gibson).  I could have given all of this a pass except that these two authors decided that the pulps were not true and the radio program was only slightly less false.  Here is a passage from chapter 36:

  [Maddy pulled the top magazine from the pile.  The cover illustration showed a swarthy man in a black leather coat and a wide-brimmed hat.  A long red scarf covered his lower face.  He brandished a heavy-duty pistol.

 "So," said Maddy.  "That's you?"

Lamont shifted awkwardly on the bed.  He remembered those stories, and they embarrassed him.  Dime store trash.  He'd only read a few.]

Dime store trash?!  They couldn't even be bothered to reference the covers of the pulps rather defaulting to a comic book cover, I'm guessing.  He has a similar, if less derogatory, opinion of the radio program.  I don't feel like typing the opening to the show but they couldn't even get that right.  He states that he "never laughed like that in my life.  Total showbiz nonsense!"  sigh...

Still, I pushed on.  I wanted to see how they tied Maddy in with Lamont and Margo.  However, along the way we find out that Lamont and Shiwan have been around for 10,000 years.  Yep, 100 centuries.  Okay, let's see how they explain that.  They don't.  Instead, Lamont's "powers" start to mutate. (I shudder to even write this next part)  He discovers that he can transform into something else.  First (and second) it's a cat.  No, he doesn't use his mind to make people think he turned into a cat, he actually does.  Later he turns into a brick wall to stop a bus that is bearing down on the trio.  But wait, the bus is actually Khan.  He has the same ability.  And Lamont discovers he can throw fireballs from his hands (it's only fair since Khan can shoot lightning from his).  Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!

I'm guessing that the pitch was something along the lines of "Harry Potter is really popular so let's make this icon of American pulp into something magical".  And their response?  "Whatever you want, Mr. Patterson.  And make sure it's got a YA feel to it."

Along the way in this pathetic excuse for a reboot they reference Batman (Goddamned copycat! said Lamont), name a councilman DeScavage (uh huh) and write a near gang rape of a teenage girl (Maddy).  Let's talk about trash.

Please, do yourself a favor and learn from my pain.  Avoid this novel at all costs.  My worst fear is that this is the blueprint that the powers that be are wanting to take our beloved hero and his legacy.  The only ray of hope I can find is that nowhere in the copyright info is Conde Nast listed.  Perhaps they wanted to separate themselves once they read the actual book.  Let's pray that this is just a one off and is viewed as an alternate universe, Wold Newton type of aberration.  If they want to actually make new stories I say give Will Murray a chance.  I think he handled the character pretty well with the two crossover novels in his Doc Savage series.  That's Doc Savage, not DeScavage.

ON THE AIR: March 6, 1938

The Bride of Death!  Classic, absolute classic.  If you haven't listened to this before then you are in luck.  Evil high priest from the mysterious East.  God fearing village folk who pay the price for their faith.  A (presumably) beautiful young woman in peril for her life.  Not to mention the pack of unholy panthers... yep, a true classic of late 30's adventure radio.  Enjoy this slice of American life when things seem to have been simpler.

"Butchers" page 12

 "... I'll have to bid you skidoo."

"Butchers" page 11

 "But for you, Fratello... nothing's too good."

Okay, I've started "The Shadow" by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

I'm hoping that they pull this together in a hurry.  I'm about 1/6 of the way through it.  The Shadow/Lamont Cranston and Margo disappear in 1937.  Margo is referred to as Mrs. Cranston by the valet.  I won't go any deeper into the story other than to say that Margo wasn't introduced into the pulps until 1941.  The proxy (which used to be Harry Vincent) is a high school student with psychic powers and is an "expert" on The Shadow.  And this takes place in 2087.  All in all, this feels like a concept that has been sitting around Patterson's office and he & his ghoster have tweaked it for this reboot of our hero. The writing makes no attempt at replicating Gibson's style.  I've never read Patterson before but I feel that most of this is Sitts' work.

I'll try to blast through it and see if they pull in the run of The Shadow magazine and tie it all up or if they just want this to be more like the radio series.  Right now I am getting a "The Shadow Now" feel.

"Butchers" page 10

"God.  Not the Cermak story again."

"Butchers" page 9

 "Half-step... bring the Romanowski boy to us."

Ah, those were the days...

 

I find it interesting that the term "inclosed" was used.  By this point in time the word was out of favor and "enclosed" was now in use.  It makes me wonder how old the copywriter was.

"Butchers" page 8

 "...yessir, that's Chicago..."

ON THE AIR: February 27, 1938

Foreign inventor. Sabotage.  Hypnotism.  Just another day in the life of The Shadow.  Gather round the Philco and find out how Margo and Lamont save the US military from disaster with a little help from the man in black.  Listen to "The Plot Murder"!

"Butchers" page 7

 "Death. Pah. I have got no fear of death no more."

Double Z page 8

 "That's right, Margo, and The Shadow did!"

"Butchers" page 6

 "The fear of death is the Slave-Master's fondest friend."

Double Z page 7

 "I... I can't.  My hands are tangled in the robe!"

"Butchers" page 5

 "This is greater than us all.  Greater than all of Chicago.

A threat lurks at the the door of every man and woman in America.  Now is the time to turn that threat away, Mr. Romanowski..."

Double Z page 6

 "The Shadow!  One of us must die!"

"Butchers" page 4

"...something even I've never seen before."

ON THE AIR: February 20, 1938

 From The Shadow Wiki:

"A demented old hag living with her hunchback son kidnaps four boys and holds them captive in their mansion. Two criminals also stay in the mansion, using the place as a hideout. When The Shadow tries to rescue the boys, a pack of vicious dogs are released and chase him up a tree." 

A bit more to it than this but it's a study in dementia and some fun character work by the actors.  Take a listen to "Hounds in the Hills" and escape the heat for a half hour or so.

Double Z page 5

 "Here's a passenger, Shrevvy, and I'm coming with him!"

"Butchers" page 3

 "Sure, I got a car, Joey... only right now it's on my yacht, sailin' to my castle in Italy."

Double Z page 4

"Look out!  There's a bomb in that clock!"

"Butchers" page 2

 "I'll remember... Anthony."