Today marks the one year anniversary of this Shadow blog. I've been a fan of The Shadow for a little over a year and it has been a lot of fun writing and sharing about it here.
I sincerely thank each and every person who has taken time out of their day to read and take a look at my blog. I hope you find it entertaining and informative!
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Shadow Comics #11 - The Shadow Becomes Invisible
One area of The Shadow that I haven't had much opportunity to look into is The Shadow comics. But I was looking at some of the covers to Shadow Comics and something on the cover of issue #11 caught my eye. At the bottom left corner it states, "The Shadow shows in pictures how he becomes invisible!" That immediately got my attention and new I had to dig into that!
I did some research and was able to determine that in Shadow Comics #11 (on sale April 25, 1941*) it is the first time in the comic series that The Shadow makes himself invisible just as he does on the radio show! Prior to issue #11, The Shadow was more like the character from the pulps, using concealment and his cloak to hide. But now in Shadow Comics #11, we have a turning point where The Shadow takes on the powers to cloud men's minds as he does on the radio show! (Keep in mind that The Shadow radio show had just begun to air 4 years earlier in 1937.) On a personal note, I think it's pretty cool how Vernon Greene drew The Shadow in light blue to indicate he's invisible!
I was also able to find that in Shadow Comics #12 (on sale June 27, 1941*) The Shadow says he learned his powers in Tibet! Now this is a little different from the radio show in which Lamont Cranston learned his powers in the Temple of The Cobras in India (from the radio show The Temple Bells of Neban).
This was a lot of fun to research and I hope to be able to include more information in the near future about Shadow Comics.
*According to Mike's Amazing World of Comics
I did some research and was able to determine that in Shadow Comics #11 (on sale April 25, 1941*) it is the first time in the comic series that The Shadow makes himself invisible just as he does on the radio show! Prior to issue #11, The Shadow was more like the character from the pulps, using concealment and his cloak to hide. But now in Shadow Comics #11, we have a turning point where The Shadow takes on the powers to cloud men's minds as he does on the radio show! (Keep in mind that The Shadow radio show had just begun to air 4 years earlier in 1937.) On a personal note, I think it's pretty cool how Vernon Greene drew The Shadow in light blue to indicate he's invisible!
 |
| The first time The Shadow becomes invisible in Shadow Comics! |
I was also able to find that in Shadow Comics #12 (on sale June 27, 1941*) The Shadow says he learned his powers in Tibet! Now this is a little different from the radio show in which Lamont Cranston learned his powers in the Temple of The Cobras in India (from the radio show The Temple Bells of Neban).
This was a lot of fun to research and I hope to be able to include more information in the near future about Shadow Comics.
*According to Mike's Amazing World of Comics
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
A Brief Look At The Shadow's Sanctum
I'm a fairly new Shadow fan (having read my first Shadow story last year!) and I'm intrigued by The Shadow's sanctum. I read the story Gray Fist yesterday and The Shadow's sanctum plays a big role in the story. But what I really liked was from the first few paragraphs of the second chapter, that's where we are given an awesomely eerie description of The Shadow's sanctum. Here it is:
The Shadow's sanctum is in a secret location in Manhattan. As the description above states, it is a veritable vault! The sanctum is where The Shadow works, communicates with Burbank, and also where he keeps his archives. As I read more Shadow stories I'll learn more about the sanctum.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Press Kit for the 1994 The Shadow Movie
Here's a look at the official press kit for the 1994 The Shadow movie. I was able to find a nice copy at a decent price and couldn't pass it up!
The press kit comes in a black folder with The Shadow and Universal on the cover.
There are 3 booklets (8 1/2 X 11) inside the folder. These have the Universal logo in the upper left corner and The Shadow logo in the center.
Cast and Credits gives a detail list of everyone from the actors to the companies that provided the visual and special effects.
About The Shadow was written by David Chute and gives a background of The Shadow from the pulps to the radio show. It's 9 pages of great information!
Production Information gives a synopsis of the film and brief biographies of the principle actors and crew (director, etc.). I like this part from the first page, "This latest incarnation of The Shadow remains true to its pulp and radio roots, putting a contemporary spin on the best-remembered elements of the original."
The final part of the press kit is photos! They are all black and white glossy prints with The Shadow logo on the bottom center and a brief description on the bottom right. Here are a few examples.
The Shadow press kit was well put together. If anyone wasn't familiar with the character, the press kit would have been a good introduction to him. If you're a fan of The Shadow, and especially of the 1994 movie, I recommend getting a copy of it for your collection!
The press kit comes in a black folder with The Shadow and Universal on the cover.
There are 3 booklets (8 1/2 X 11) inside the folder. These have the Universal logo in the upper left corner and The Shadow logo in the center.
Cast and Credits gives a detail list of everyone from the actors to the companies that provided the visual and special effects.
About The Shadow was written by David Chute and gives a background of The Shadow from the pulps to the radio show. It's 9 pages of great information!
Production Information gives a synopsis of the film and brief biographies of the principle actors and crew (director, etc.). I like this part from the first page, "This latest incarnation of The Shadow remains true to its pulp and radio roots, putting a contemporary spin on the best-remembered elements of the original."
The final part of the press kit is photos! They are all black and white glossy prints with The Shadow logo on the bottom center and a brief description on the bottom right. Here are a few examples.
The Shadow press kit was well put together. If anyone wasn't familiar with the character, the press kit would have been a good introduction to him. If you're a fan of The Shadow, and especially of the 1994 movie, I recommend getting a copy of it for your collection!
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
A Shadow Short-Film
I ran across an awesome short-film made recently. It's title is "The Shadow - A Modern Take on a Classic Comic Book Series." The film runs a little over 20 minutes and I enjoyed every minute.
I won't go into much detail so as not to spoil it for you, but the film revolves around Harry Cranston, son of Margo and Lamont Cranston. He has some of his dad's powers and his smoking automatics! It's a good plot and an interesting story, especially to have it about The Shadow's son. Another surprise is Martin Kove is in the film, I really like him as an actor.
The link to this movie is below - hope you enjoy it!
I won't go into much detail so as not to spoil it for you, but the film revolves around Harry Cranston, son of Margo and Lamont Cranston. He has some of his dad's powers and his smoking automatics! It's a good plot and an interesting story, especially to have it about The Shadow's son. Another surprise is Martin Kove is in the film, I really like him as an actor.
The link to this movie is below - hope you enjoy it!
Monday, July 23, 2018
Two Big Reveals in Cry Shadow!
I recently read the Belmont paperback Cry Shadow! published in 1965. I'm reviewing my notes and will be writing up a full review - hopefully this week! But there were 2 big reveals in the book I couldn't wait to share, so here they are!
1. We learn a little bit more about Lamont Cranston's past as it is revealed that he served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War 2! The OSS was an intelligence gathering organization and the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). I'll fill in more details when I do my review of Cry Shadow! and will also need to update the biography of The Shadow from the Belmont paperback series.
2. The Shadow uses the Henry Arnaud disguise/alter-ego in Cry Shadow! Shadow fans probably recognize the Henry Arnaud name as it was one used by The Shadow in the pulp stories. However, this is the first time it's been used in The Shadow Belmont series.
I've taken pages of notes on Cry Shadow! and my goal is to have a full review of it by the end of this week. But as a Shadow fan, I couldn't wait to share these two big reveals!
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
The Shadow Movie Tie-Ins
I wanted to share some great articles and resources I've found on tie-ins to the 1994 The Shadow movie. I didn't know many of these items existed! When The Shadow movie premiered in 1994, I was in the Air Force stationed overseas, so I don't remember ever seeing any of the toys or even the movie!
Here's a great article by Hoju Koolander that looks at toys, watches and clothing tied in to The Shadow movie! It was quite a coincidence when I found Hoju's article and then he happened to find one of my tweets on Twitter around the same time! (If you're on Twitter, give him a follow!)
The Shadow: Rare 90's Merchandise
One of my favorite Shadow websites is ShadowSanctum.net. Here is the link to the sites page on promotional items, toys, etc. from The Shadow movie.
The Shadow Movie Memorabilia
The Virtual Toy Chest has some pictures of The Shadow action figures and vehicles.
Virtual Toy Chest's The Shadow Archive
Movie Tie-In Toys blog has some good background information on the movie and some of the toys.
The Shadow 1994 Kenner
Hope you find these sites helpful, informative and entertaining!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)