"Hills of Death"

"A bag stuffed with bundles of currency left on a country road. The Shadow strives to solve the mystery and break the grip of evil as terrible death hovers over the hills of New Jersey." - The Shadow in Review

This is a fun cover as I've posted before and the story is one I haven't gotten to yet.  The editors did this one a favor by changing the title from "Treasure Lodge" to "Hills of Death". 

"Simply Everywhere" page 11

 

"Now let us get my little gift package open..."

Remember

 So many have given of themselves so that we can enjoy the freedom that America affords her citizens.  It's up to us to make sure that those that gave didn't do so in vain. 

"The Crystal Buddha"

 I like this cover except for the tiny pistol masquerading as a huge smokewagon.  C'mon, George!  Anyhow, this is the first tale from 1938 and it's a good'un.  Even Kent Allard makes an appearance.

"Simply Everywhere" page 10

 

"It is time to concede the first round.  It is time to withdraw to a place to think...

... to withdraw to his own safe ground."

Bill Sienkiewicz does The Shadow

 I just started rereading the Bill Sienkiewicz series with Andrew Helfer.  I'm a fan of the art although I will always defer to Barreto and Kaluta.  The writing?  Not so much.  I don't know if I'll read the series after Bill finishes as I just can't get into what Helfer did to my hero.  Especially how it all ends.  Ugh.  At least it spawned great interpretations like the above illustration.  Lemons into lemonade, so to speak.

"Racket Town"

 "Racketeers and mobsters take over an entire city! At point of gun they enforce their edicts - until they meet up with the Master Avenger of Crime, The Shadow!" - The Shadow Wiki

Very exciting cover to the 140th issue of The Shadow Magazine.  A great image to end the 1937 campaign with and, taking John Olsen's word for it over at The Shadow In Review, it's a satisfying adventure to boot.  So hang on to your shutters and take a trip to Racket Town with The Shadow!

The Shadow Chapter Five "Danger Above"

 

Today's episode: "Danger Above"

"The Sealed Box"

No face for The Shadow even though his hand is on the girl's waist?  I addressed that in this post.  This story has the distinction of being the first tale adapted for the Vernon Greene illustrated comic strip, "The Mystery of the Sealed Box" which was reprinted in The Shadow Scrapbook.  The strip has been reprinted a few more times over the years. 

ON THE AIR: January 19, 1941

 A professor at a museum has been murdered and a valuable Hindu manuscript has been stolen by someone impersonating The Shadow. While investigating at the museum, Lamont Cranston receives a phone call from the evil Professor Carter, a man who possesses a chilling laugh and the power to cloud men's minds!- The Shadow Wiki

"The Shadow Challenged" will have to start off your Memorial Day weekend.  Will The Shadow triumph or will his name forever be stained.

"Teeth of the Dragon"

" I didn't understand matters until tonight. But The Shadow did; and he depended on me." - Myra Reldon

Okay, a classic.  The cover is really cool (except for the tiny little gun) and would grab anyone's attention. And the story has been reprinted, reworked in both comics and the British magazine The Thriller Library.

"Simply Everywhere" page 9

 

"Tsalgai chagga!"

"Death Turrets"

 A photo?!  Another yellow band?!  C'mon!!!!  I would have been disappointed seeing this and, 85 years later, I am still disappointed.  I would have had low expectations for this had I not read the short review of John's.   Here is a snippet: 

"This is an enjoyable little murder mystery. There are no plots to take over the world. No gangsters and underworld killings. No saboteurs or secret agents. Just seven people in an old mansion being killed off one by one. And a hidden murderer bent on more mayhem.

There are trap doors, secret passages, hidden rooms, sliding panels and death traps! The rain comes down outside as The Shadow prowls the darkness inside. Now that's pulp!"

"Simply Everywhere" page 8

 

'The path chosen is a gamble.'

"The Keeper's Gold"

 The Shadow injured!  Twice,it appears.  This looks to be an unlucky adventure for The Shadow.  This tale is pretty typical and the only thing that it may be noted for is that this is the last appearance of Inspector Eric Delka of Scotland Yard.  At least he finishes his association with The Dark Eagle "drilling" conman Chet Darringer in the climactic confrontation.

"Simply Everywhere" page 7

 

"Great Khan needs you!"

"The Pooltex Tangle"

 "You aren't going to die, Doctor Leach - not yet! That slug through the upper wall of your chest missed the lung cavity. When you recover from that wound, you're going to die sitting up! In the same place Pool will die. The electric chair! And I hope they burn you last so you'll have time to think it over. Pool killed Milton. But you - you're the cold-blooded rat that murdered my nephew!" - Joe Cardona

Yellow again.  Rozen sure loved that particular color.  Well, perhaps his art director felt that it pulled the customer's eye to this cover above all others.  Given the immense popularity of The Shadow Magazine I'm not sure it needed the extra boost.  It was probably front and center every two weeks.  Still, a very action packed image that would grab anyone's eye.

"Simply Everywhere" page 6

 

"It's Ulag, my little won-ton.  I told you I would come.  But where is your--"

"The Radium Murders"

 It's a good thing "The Shadow in Review" gives this a high thumbs up because if I had to judge this one by the cover I wouldn't be interested.  Not a fan of this Rozen piece.  Well, they can't all be classics...

"Simply Everywhere" page 5

 

"Marvelous.  Marvelous.  Breath control, no doubt.  The Serpent Trance of Sen-Young."

My grandson found me a copy of this

 I have the compilation but did not have issues 1 or 2.  As soon as it is delivered I'll only be missing the second issue.  Love this weird Kaluta cover.

"Buried Evidence"

Instead of a yellow band we now have a Yellow Cab?  Methinks that the art store had a sale on cadmium yellow and Rozen just needed to use it.

The Shadow Chapter Four "In The Tiger's Lair"

 

 Today's episode: "In The Tiger's Lair"

"The Yellow Band"

 What kind of stupid and lazy bit of art direction is this?  A 'yellow band' around the cover of a story titled "The Yellow Band".  They must have thought themselves sooooo clever.  But since I haven't read this and don't know for sure that there is not a yellow band somewhere in the tale I suppose I can't really take umbrage.  But it seems the name refers to a 'band of crooks' who use the color yellow as a calling card.  But John says it's a great story so I guess I can't wait to find out for myself.  But until then... outrage!

ON THE AIR: January 12, 1941

 This is a typical tale that I have listened to umpteen times.  The Coast Building gains the name of The Ghost Building due to... well, you'll just have to sit back and listen.

"The Shadow Unmasks"

"You remember Kent Allard, the aviator, who was lost a dozen years ago? On that flight to South America? They've located Allard himself! He landed in the Guatemalan jungle, and became the white god of a tribe of Xinca Indians. A Xinca messenger has just shown up in Puerto Barrios, on the Caribbean, with word that Allard is on his way back to civilization. The Classic wants me to go to Guatemala and meet him." - Clyde Burke

  Ah, the one the fans were waiting for.  131 issues in, 6 1/3 years after The Shadow took the world by storm.  Solid cover if strangely generic.  The Shadow Wiki gives this synopsis...

For the first time in his long career as a crime fighter extraordinary, The Shadow thrusts aside his veil of mystery! Not under one of his many aliases but in his true identity, The Shadow reveals himself! Here, in his latest battle against the underworld, is exposed the unfathomable past of being known to all the world as The Shadow!

While trailing some jewel thieves, The Shadow drops his Lamont Cranston alter ego when newspaper headlines claim that the real Cranston has been injured in an airplane accident. The Shadow decides to reveal his true self to his friend, Slade Farrow, as the recently found aviator, Kent Allard.

"Simply Everywhere" page 4

 

"Now, then.. let us have a good look."

"House of Silence"

 "An odd house set on the outskirts of a sleepy Southern town. And inside that silent abode three innocent victims were being held prisoner, guarded by sinister death traps. Only The Shadow can rescue them from the House of Silence." - The Shadow in Review 

I never really cared for this cover.  The woman takes up half the image and is very boring.  The Shadow himself is well done and, unfortunately, that makes for a weird illustration that seems to be cut in half (thanks to the door).  However this is a case of never judging a book by it's cover as the formerly titled "The House of Death" delivers a top notch adventure.

"Simply Everywhere" page 3

 

" ...there are better men to who to tie your fate."

"Crime, Insured"

 A new crime racket! So great has become the power of The Shadow that the underworld has taken to insurance -- crime insurance -- to protect itself against the ravages of the super-foeman of crime: The Shadow!- The Shadow Wiki

This marks the second time in the series that the Sanctum is breached.  This time, however, the Sanctum is destroyed and The Shadow is presumably dead.  I have read this one and it definitely ranks as a high mark.  Ya gotta read this one!  Ya just gotta!

"Simply Everywhere" page 2

 

"Oh, yes... yes, thank God..."

"The Shadow's Rival"

 An odd cover for a so-so tale.  Just confusing with the man-hole cover cutting off the lower body of our hero.  I assume he is falling through the hole in the street or is he being blown out?  Maybe that intrigued readers in the day but this one just doesn't work for me.

"Simply Everywhere" page 1

 

TRAPPED!

"Brothers of Doom"

 "Reach, monkeys! I'm taking over! Vincent is with me. This heater's hot. Who wants the first pill?" - Cliff Marsland

This cover always reminds me of the pilot episode "The Cage" from Star Trek in which Captain Pike is tortured by the Talosians into thinking that he is caught in boiling liquid.  This is a great cover.  Is it a good story?  Well, The Shadow Wiki sums it up this way:

'Through air reddened with the flaming glow of mighty mills of steel sounds the strident scream of The Shadow's taunting laugh, as he meets the challenge of the evil four who had made their terrible compact as Brothers of Doom.'

John over at The Shadow in Review says that this story is a little more over the top than the usual adventures. Sounds good to me.

"Simply Everywhere"

 And so begins chapter two of another Shiwan Khan saga.

It's been awhile since Kaluta made an appearance so...

 

Oh... yeah!

"Treasure Trail"

I really like this cover, more so every time I come across it.  The story, according to John, is solid but doesn't stand out.  It does, however feature a couple of points of interest.  

The Black Ship, the notorious gangland dive, is visited in this story. That's noteworthy because it only appeared in two dozen of the three-hundred twenty-five Shadow pulp novels. And this was it's final appearance. After this, The Black Ship was mentioned no more.

Another note of interest is that when readers visit The Shadow's sanctum, they are given a description of how the master of the night exits his hidden den. On one side of the black room sits a huge metal file cabinet. The Shadow slides out the drawers, each automatically locks in a different position, forming a flights of steps leading upward. He climbs that improvised steel stairway, slides back a panel in the ceiling and passes through the secret exit. As the panel closes, the drawers of the filing cabinet glide soundlessly closed and the light is extinguished, all automatically. - The Shadow in Review

Enjoy, it's a 1937 tale so it'll not disappoint.

The Shadow Chapter Three "The Shadow's Peril"

 

Today's episode: The Shadow's Peril

"The Cup of Confucius"

"The Shadow sought the age-old "Cup of Confucius." Out of the darkness of ancient China would come this cup, a collectors' item of rarest value. But before it would find its final resting place among other masterpieces, blood would drip from the priceless jade of the "Cup of Confucius," and surrounding it would be murder and intrigue that only The Shadow could solve!" - The Shadow Wiki

An exciting cover illustration.  Is our hero on a plane's pontoon or is a pier collapsing on him?  Will The Shadow perish in the cold uncaring waters without solving the mystery surrounding The Cup of Confucius?  Gotta read it to find out and see if Tinsley spins a good pulp tale.

This was also adapted for The Thriller Library in Great Britain as "Crook Bait!".  It doesn't sound like it was a straight adaptation judging by this synopsis from The Shadow Wiki.  "Lamont Cranston, The Shadow, baited the trap with loot, and the crooks swarmed like flies on jam. With them came Bruce Dixon, robbing his own father, double crossing his best friends. At least, it seemed like that." 

ON THE AIR: January 5, 1941

This is a classic tale to start 1941.  The Shadow Wiki describes this "The Leopard Strikes" this way:

"A policeman is found dead near the zoo and appears to have been killed by a black leopard. Soon after, a similar death occurs to a derelict in the park. The Shadow visits the zookeepers and discovers one of them is the leader of a leopard cult, and it is he who is committing the murders."

Apparently this story was popular enough to be adapted for Shadow Comics in July of the same year. 

"The Masked Headsman"

 "You like America, Jacinta? You love Ramos? It is asking very little, Jacinta. Our duty is the same. We shall both be vigilant, because of Ramos." - Harry Vincent

This adventure was submitted under the title of  "Spanish Feud".  The Shadow Wiki summarizes it like this: "Millions in jewels and golden plate were the stake - the treasure of Old Spain! And The Shadow's blazing guns had to decide the issue! "

This story was also simplified and printed in "Super-Magician Comics #13".  

"Two Million Eyes" page 25

 

"...at the hands of... Shiwah Khan!"

"Washington Crime"

 "Like a vigilant eagle soaring in the sun, The Shadow casts his pall of darkness over the nation's capital - to swoop down on birds of prey and with talon-like hands snatch from them the papers of state they so eagerly seek!"

A very dramatic summary from The Shadow Wiki that seems to describe this cover as well.  This is a great illustration that features a full figure representation of The Shadow.  We don't often get those.  The breaking glass just adds to the action of this scene.  I also love the soft black that Rozen employed which really gives the feel of dimension to our hero.  This is a painting I'd love to have on my wall.

"Two Million Eyes" page 24

 

"But under the dust, cold."

"Murder House"

Like a shell-torn battleground, the peace and quiet of a countryside give way to criminal warfare when The Shadow stalks through byways seeking the ruler of the Murder House.  -The Shadow Wiki

"There stands the murderer! There stands the murderer of Cyrus Brockbright. His confession can come from his own lips. He knows that further concealment is useless!" - The Shadow

I've always liked this cover.  Perhaps it just feels like The Shadow is caught in a bulls-eye or maybe it's just that it is so symmetrical.  For whatever reason, I like this cover art by George Rozen.