ON THE AIR: October 6, 1940

 

Lamont & Margot visit the ghost town of Bad Creek. They're the only guests in the hotel. Well, sorta, except for the old owner and the spooky "spirits" who are protecting a nearby gold mine for their own nefarious ends.  A sorta western tale, and not one of my favorites.  If you want to listen then click here.

"The Strike" page 10

"I could have you shot--does The Shadow know that?"

"Ghost of the Manor"

 The cover title says "Ghost of the Manor" while everything I've read adds "The" to the title.  When I get home I'll double check the title page of the reprint to see if there is a difference.  This story not only was made into a back up comic within the pages of "The Shadow Comics" #29...

it was also used as the basis for "The Shadow Strikes" movie from 1937.  Gibson and company got some mileage from this tale.

"The Strike" page 9

"What are you? For God's sake -- what are you!?"

"The Red Blot"

A very straight forward cover for a pretty straight forward tale about gangsters.  What is noteworthy in this one is the description of the unusual clock from the sanctum that made its way into a few tales.  I'll let John explain it from his review of this adventure.

"We also get a more complete look at the strange clock in The Shadow's sanctum. This strange clock was mentioned in various stories, but always the description was rather vague. It was always described as a clock of curious construction, in which the hands of a normal clock were replaced by three concentric circles. But in what way the clock operated was left unspecified. This story clears up the clock matter quite nicely. It gives a complete description of the clock and how it works.

The clock contains three concentric circles. These circles are stationary; they don't spin or rotate. The inner circle has numbers 1-12 for the hours. The middle ring is marked for minutes. The outer ring is marked for seconds. In the grooves separating these three sections are three small rings. The rings move around the dials, each revealing a single digit at a time.

One thing I found interesting about the clock is that it is digital, not analog. That is to say, the ring showing the hour always shows exactly one of the digits, it's never between digits. For example, at 1:15 the ring for the hour would not be partway between 1 and 2. It would be centered on the 1 continually until 1:59:59. When 2 o'clock arrives, then the ring would move from the 1 to the 2. Similarly the minute and second indicators move in increments, rather than smoothly." 

 

"The Strike" page 8

"The papers."

"The Death Giver"

 Classic cover for a classic tale.  John gives it a rousing endorsement...

"This story is just chock full of Shadowy goodness. We get to visit the apparently abandoned B. Jonas office. The Shadow uses his disappearing ink. There's a couple visits to The Shadow's sanctum hidden away... who knows where. The girasol ring... the black cloak... the burning eyes... and one of the most diabolical methods of delivering death in massive doses to the residents of Manhattan that a sinister brain could devise.

This is one of the stories chosen to be reprinted in paperback in the 1970's by Pyramid Books. And it was a good choice. It's a blue-ribbon selection... a story that typifies what is best in The Shadow pulp tales. Read this story. Now."

 The Rozen art was used for Shadow Comics #2 and the story itself was serialized in issues #35 - #38. I'd like to read that series someday.

And the story was considered so good it was reprinted in 1978 by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich publishing (H B Jove, for short) with a very exciting cover by James Steranko.