First off we start with a cover by all star comics artist Steve Rude. Nicely done and nicely printed on the wonderful cover stock that is used.
After an editorial by Steve Donoso, we come to "Doctorow's Challenge: Why The Shadow Couldn't Prevent WW II" by Albert J. Emery. This is a fun and fascinating look at how reality and fantasy really can't mix. Could The Shadow (radio or pulp) used all of his training to have infiltrated Nazi Germany and eliminated Hitler? This article examines how titanic a task that would have been for anyone but also what may have resulted. Would the next in line have been more astute militarily and finished the job? I was most interested in the assassination attempts that members of his own party attempted. A great read.
"The Shadow - Mysterious Being of the Night The Pulp Years - Part 2" finishes the well researched and succinctly written history of The Shadow in the pulps. More of a behind the scenes look at the progression the series took and the events that worked for and, ultimately, against the series. You'll enjoy this peek behind the curtain from Todd D. Severin & Keith Holt.
"On The Set of The Shadow" by Will Murray recalls his assignment to cover the filming of "The Shadow" in December of 1993. I'm not going to go into any details other than to say it would have been a dream to have had a look at the making of the '94 movie.
Tim King gives us reveal of a real buried gem. At least I had never heard of this. "Burbank: Naming The Shadow's Guy In The Chair". We all know that Gibson liked to name his main characters after people he knew. His pen name is a combination of two magicians. The same is to be said about the second most mysterious character in the series, Burbank. I'm ashamed to say that I never knew that Gibson gave Burbank a first name. I'll let you read the article if you are like me and are unaware of this. Tim does his usual excellent research and detective work to uncover this bit of Shadow lore.
We then move on to "The Boy Who Loved The Shadow: An Interview With Michael Uslan, Part 1" by Darby Kern. This is like every creative's dream come true. Right place, right time. Making things happen by taking advantage of the smallest of openings and riding the wave to the top. I really am looking forward to the second part of this story. We know how it ends but the journey is just so fascinating.
There is a short look from Steve Novak at how The Works Progress Administration (WPS) documented NYC between 1939 & 1940. A kind of pre-Google Maps from back in the day. A sort of companion piece to the photo essay in the last issue.
We then come to a review of a book of reviews..."Book Review: John Olsen's The Shadow In Review" from the editor, Steve Donoso. This is a very basic rundown of the 519 page tome that was born out of "The Shadow in Review" website which, unfortunately, no longer exists. Steve lists each section that is covered and gives a short overview of what it contains. Basically, this is one book that every fan of The Shadow must (I say must) own. The review doesn't do it justice (how could it, the breadth of the research is mind boggling).
Finally we have "The Gardenvale Mystery: The Puzzling Adventures of The Shadow Magazine in Canada" by Tim Hewitt. This is a fun and informative look at a period in time where international law played havoc with The Shadow in Canada. I presume all pulps that crossed into the frozen north of our neighbor had similar troubles but I had no clew as to why those Canadian covers looked to wonky. Read this article and find out for yourself.
Well, aside from a trivia question (and answer to one in the last issue) and a "Shadow Laffs" from John Sies, that does it for the third issue of The Shadowed Circle. Time to renew my subscription so I will get the next three issues and will find out what happens to Michael Uslan!
