The Shadow: Year One #4 page 3

 

"Gee fella, thanks a bundle!  You certainly saved me some shoe leather!"

 

The Shadow: Year One #4 page 2

 

"Only his acute moral focus, his unyielding dedication to Justice..."

The Shadow: Year One #4 page 1

 

"All my... brutal... savagery... for you--"

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Comics "The Curse of the Cat" page 2

 

"The raw meat... the extra bottle of cream... ability to see in the dark... Janice!... Janice you... you're..."

Saturday's random pulp cover: Strange Detective Mysteries "Wanted: Substitute For A Corpse!"

 Ah, those darned Egyptian mummy's.  They just don't want to stay dead!

ON THE AIR: September 28, 1947

 Blackmail is the matter at hand in today's episode.  Lamont and Margot take an interest in an insurance scheme that turns out to be... deadly!  Take a break and enjoy "Death Takes The Wheel".

The Shadow: Year One #4

 Another great Alex Ross cover.  Let's start issue #4... on Monday.

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 22

 

"Heeeeeed...my word...and prevail!"

 

Peter Lorre as Dr. Gogol in "Mad Love"

(Thanks to Tim King for pointing out that Matt Wagner based his Dr. Zorn on this character's image)

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 21

 

"Bullets fly...bodies are torn asunder...blood stains the streets!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 20

 

"All fulla bankers an' lawyers... an' cops!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 19

 

"I am the tether to which your life is now bound!"

 

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Comics "The Curse of the Cat" page 1

 

"It's the way you like it, Dad... rare!...

Saturday's random pulp cover: Black Mask "Tainted Power"

What a terrific figure study!  The technique is beautiful and the unfinished nature just appeals to me.  Is it a great cover?  Nope.  Tells us nothing of what the story is about.  Heck, we can't even tell if this is the hero or the villain.  That doesn't take anything away (in my mind) from the great little painting we see here.

ON THE AIR: September 21, 1947

 An actor whose ego is out of control.  Fawning females with the best of intentions.  A mind lost.  The Shadow confronts a concept that was applied to him by Gibson in the early days of the pulp novels... the disfigured face.  I wonder if the writers of this radio play had that in mind when coming up with this tale.  Regardless, a pretty solid episode and one I think any fan will enjoy.  Take a listen to "The Face".

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 18

 

"What are you?!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 17

 "There are many names for what I became... but 'Friend and Companion' are probably the nicest."

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 16

 

"Privileged, yes... but I never relished the role of debutante, married to some society lunkhead.  I preferred a more full-throttled life and, as they say, I roared through the 20's."

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 15

 

"Margo Lane, born 1903, the daughter of Henry Fielding Lane and his second wife, Adele Prescott."

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 14

 

"It would seem you misunderstood our conversation the other evening, Miss Lane."

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Comics "The Curse of the Cat"

 Here kitty kitty.  Nice puddy tat.  "The Curse of the Cat" begins today.

Saturday's random pulp cover: Detective Book Magazine "The Death Syndicate"

 A wonderfully rendered cover.  It may not be an action-packed illustration but it creates a nice sense of drama with it's red pallet and the femme fatale's wide eyed look of fear.  Notice the title of a story at the bottom of the cover...

ON THE AIR: September 14, 1947

 Lamont and Margot find sinister undertones in a series of grave robbings.  They turn up a particularly heinous business for the corpses that have been stolen.  They are... nah, I won't ruin it for you.  Sit back and enjoy the latest (as latest as a 76+year old episode can be) from The Shadow.  Enjoy "When the Grave is Open".

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 13

 

"I am the tether to which your life is now bound!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 12

 

"The Shadow knows!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 11

 

"Who knows the vile contempt of murderers and thieves?"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 10

 

"Then shut yer yap!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 9

 

 

"Youse two... over there!"

The Sunday Comics: The Shadow Comics "One Small Bier!" page 13

 

"It was worse than that... it was for more profit!"

 

(On a technical note, Lamont's math is a bit off.  If a child is born with 32 bones in its spine and 5 fuse in adulthood, then the adult should have 28 vertebra-- not 27!  I guess in this case The Shadow didn't know.  It really doesn't matter since a quick Google search tells me that the average person is born with 33 individual bones (the vertebrae) that interact and connect with each other through flexible joints called facets. By the time a person becomes an adult most have only 24 vertebrae because some vertebrae at the bottom end of the spine fuse together during normal growth and development.)

Saturday's random pulp cover: All Detective Magazine "The House of Crime"

 Not loving the technique but really digging the image.  And look who wrote the tale...

ON THE AIR: September 7, 1947

 A pirate ghost and a lighthouse.  Throw in the superstitious fisher-folk and you have a the makings of a brand new (in '47) season of the adventures of Margot and Lamont as they rely on The Shadow to unravel the mystery of "The Phantom of the Lighthouse".

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 8

 

"Who can know the depths of such mindless savagery?"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 7

 

"In fact... what's your name again?"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 6

 

"Oh, no!  M-my... God!"

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 5

 

"Such incompetence... won't be tolerated."

Happy New Year

  Here in the Sanctum we wish you and yours a truly Happy 2024.  And may we all find the joy and and frivolity that it seems The Shadow is enjoying on this cover.

The Shadow: Year One #3 page 4

 

"I-it would ruin me--!"