"The Red Menace" or "The Shadow and the Reds"

 

The fourth and the final novel of the initial contract between Gibson and Street and Smith.  The publisher only wanted to secure the character that narrated on the radio so that another company wouldn't steal him.  Put out a couple of issues and then sit back and see what could be done somewhere down the road.  However, they weren't ready for the success that the The Shadow magazine had.

I love this one because it filled in some background of The Shadow and introduced The Seventh Star, the sub rosa order of Royalist Russia that backed the czarist regime.  The girasol is set into a base that opens on a hinge to reveal the seven pointed star, the symbol of The Seventh Star.  Later the fascination with all things oriental would dominate the history of our hero and even the Xinca tribe of South America.  However, I have always held onto Gibson's original vision and wish more were made of The Shadow's time in Russia.  DC's The Shadow Strikes used their first story arc to cover this and Dynamite's run touched on it as well.