The Shadow: Difference between revisions

Recognizing the demand and responding promptly, circulation manager Henry William Ralston of Street & Smith commissioned [[Walter B. Gibson]] to begin writing stories about "The Shadow" Using the [[pen name]] of [[Maxwell Grant]] and claiming the stories were "from The Shadow's private annals" as told to him, Gibson wrote 282 out of 325 tales over the next 20 years: a novel-length story twice a month (1st and 15th). The first story produced was ''[[The Living Shadow]]'' published April 1, 1931.<ref name="Anthony Tollin"/>

Gibson's characterization of The Shadow laid the foundations for the [[archetype]] of the superhero, including stylized imagery and title, sidekicks, supervillains, and a secret identity. Clad in black, The Shadow operated mainly after dark as a vigilante in the name of justice, terrifying criminals into vulnerability. Gibson himself claimed the literary inspirations upon which he had drawn were [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'' and [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]]'s "The House and the Brain.".<ref name="Foreshadowings"/> Another possible inspiration{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} for The Shadow is the [[France|French]] character [[Judex]]; the first episode of the original ''[[Judex (1916 film)|Judex]]'' [[Serial film|film serial]] was released in the United States as ''The Mysterious Shadow'', and Judex's costume is similar to The Shadow's. French comics historian Xavier Fournier notes other similarities with another silent serial, ''[[The Shielding Shadow]]'', whose protagonist had a power of invisibility, and considers The Shadow to be a mix between the two characters. In the 1940s, some ''Shadow'' comic strips were translated in France as adventures of Judex.<ref>Xavier Fournier, ''Super-héros : une histoire française'', Huginn Muninn, 2014, p. 70–73</ref>

Because of the great effort involved in writing two full-length novels every month, several guest writers were hired to write occasional installments in order to lighten Gibson's workload. Those guest writers included [[Lester Dent]], who also wrote the [[Doc Savage]] stories, and [[Theodore Tinsley]]. In the late 1940s, mystery novelist [[Bruce Elliott (writer)|Bruce Elliott]] (also a magician) temporarily replaced Gibson as the primary author of the pulp series (he wrote #'s 306 through 320).<ref name="BruceElliot">{{Cite web|title=The Shadow in Review |url=http://www.spaceports.com/~deshadow/reviews/shadow321.html|website=Spaceports.com |access-date=2008-02-02}}</ref> [[Richard Wormser]], a [[Publisher's reader|reader]] for Street & Smith, wrote two Shadow stories.<ref>p.28 Wormser, Richard & Skutch, Ira ''How to Become a Complete Non-Entity: A Memoir'' 2006 iUniverse</ref> For a complete list of Street and Smith's Shadow novels (and a list of the reprint editions), see the [[List of The Shadow stories]] article.

''The Shadow Magazine'' ceased publication with the Summer 1949 issue, but Walter B. Gibson wrote three new "official" stories between 1963 and 1980. The first began a new series of nine Shadow mass market paperback novels from [[Belmont Books]]. In this series, The Shadow is given psychic powers, including the radio character's ability "to cloud men's minds,", so that he effectively became invisible. ''Return of The Shadow'' was published under his own name. The remaining eight novels in this series, ''The Shadow Strikes'', ''Shadow Beware'', ''Cry Shadow'', ''The Shadow's Revenge'', ''Mark of The Shadow'', ''Shadow Go Mad'', ''Night of The Shadow'', and ''The Shadow, Destination: Moon'', were written by [[Michael Collins (American author)|Dennis Lynds]], not Gibson, under the Maxwell Grant pseudonym.

The other two Gibson works were the novelettes "The Riddle of the Rangoon Ruby", published June 1, 1979 in ''The Shadow Scrapbook''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://adventurehouse.com/shop/product/shadow-scrapbook/|title=Shadow Scrapbook – Adventure House}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://public-library.uk/ebooks/80/22.pdf|title=The Riddle of the Rangoon Ruby}}</ref> and "Blackmail Bay", published February 1, 1980 in ''The Duende History of The Shadow Magazine''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=http://www.shadowsanctum.net/history/history_images/duende_shadow_fc.jpg {{Bare|title=History URLof The Shadow image|datelast=MarchMurray 2022|first=Will}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://epdf.tips/blackmail-bay.html|title=Blackmail Bay}}</ref>

In 2020, James Patterson Entertainment and Condé Nast Entertainment announced a new series written by [[James Patterson]] and Brian Sitts. The arrangement also includes potential screen adaptionsadaptations of these novels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2020/07/16/james-patterson-reviving-30s-era-crimefighter-the-shadow-for-new-novels-films/|title=James Patterson Reviving 30s-Era Crimefighter 'The Shadow' For New Novels, Films|first=Rob|last=Salkowitz|website=Forbes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/james-patterson-conde-nast-reviving-crime-fighter-the-shadow-new-book-series-1202987269/|title=James Patterson, Condé Nast Reviving The Shadow In New Original Book Series|first1=Dade|last1=Hayes|date=July 16, 2020}}</ref> The first novel, ''The Shadow'', released in 2021, serves as a sequel-update with some science-fiction elements, bringing Lamont Cranston from 1937 into 2087 to battle Shiwan Khan in a futuristic New York. The second Patterson-Sitts Shadow novel, ''Circle of Death'', was published in 2023.

In the [[radio drama]] that debuted in 1937, The Shadow does not wear a costume because he is invisible when he operates as a vigilante, a feature born out of necessity. Time constraints of 1930s radio made it difficult to explain to listeners where The Shadow was hiding and how he remained concealed from criminals until he was ready to strike, so the character was given invisibility, meaning the criminals (like the radio audience) only knew him by his haunting voice. The actors used their normal voice when the hero was in his civilian identity of Lamont Cranston and effects were added when he became invisible and acted as The Shadow, his voice now having a sinister and seemingly omnipresent quality. To explain this power, radio episodes regularly said that while a young man, The Shadow traveled around the world and then through the Orient, where he learned how to read thoughts and became a master of [[Hypnosis|hypnotism]], granting him "the mysterious power to cloud men's minds, so they could not see him.". In the episode "The Temple Bells of Neban" (1937), The Shadow said he developed these abilities in India specifically, under the guidance of a "Yogi priest" who was "Keeper of the Temple of Cobras" in [[Delhi]]. He does not wear a mask or any disguise while invisible, and so in episodes such as "The Temple Bells of Neban" (1937) he is cautious when he meets an enemy who could potentially disrupt his hypnotic abilities, exposing his true face and instantly making him a visible target for attack.

In the print adventures, The Shadow is '''Kent Allard''', although his [[secret identity|real name]] is not revealed until ''The Shadow Unmasks'' (1937). Early stories explain he was once a famed aviator who fought for the [[French Third Republic|French]] during [[World War I]], known by the alias the "Black Eagle" according to one character in ''The Shadow's Shadow'' (1933). Later stories revised this alias as the "Dark Eagle,", beginning with ''The Shadow Unmasks''. After the war's conclusion, Allard finds a new challenge in waging war on criminals. Allard falsifies his death by crash landing his plane in [[Guatemala]], encountering the indigenous "Xinca tribe" as a result, who see him as a supernatural being and provide him with two loyal aides. Allard returns to the United States and takes residence in [[History of New York City (1898–1945)#1920s to 1940|New York City]], adopting numerous identities to acquire valuable information and conceal his true nature, and recruiting a variety of agents to aid his war on crime, only a few of whom are aware of his other identities.

As the vigilante called The Shadow, Allard hunts down and often violently confronts criminals, armed with Colt .45 pistols and sometimes using magician tricks to convince his prey that he's supernatural. One such trick is '''The“The Devil's WhisperWhisper”,''' a chemical compound on the thumb and forefinger, causing a flash of bright flame and sharp explosion when he snaps his fingers. The Shadow is also known for wearing a girasol ring with a purple stone (sometimes depicted as a red stone in cover artwork), giftedgiven to Kent Allard fromby the Czar of Russia (''The Romanoff Jewels,'', 1932) during World War I. The ring is later said to be one of two rings made with gemstones taken from the eyes of an idol made by the Xinca tribe (''The Shadow Unmasks,'' 1937).

The Shadow's best known alter ego is '''Lamont Cranston,''', a "wealthy young man-about-town.". In the pulps, Cranston is a separate character, a rich playboy who travels the world while The Shadow uses his identity and resources in New York (''The Shadow Laughs,'', 1931). The Shadow's disguise as Cranston works well because the two men resemble each other (''Dictator of Crime'', 1941). In their first meeting, The Shadow threatens Cranston, saying that unless the playboy agrees to allow the aviator to use his identity when he is abroad, then Allard will simply take over the man's identity entirely, having already made arrangements to begin the process, including switching signatures on various documents. Although alarmed at first, the real Lamont Cranston agrees, deciding that sharing his resources and identity is better than losing both entirely. The two men sometimes meet afterward in order to impersonate each other (''Crime over Miami'', 1940). As Cranston, The Shadow often attends the Cobalt Club, an exclusive restaurant and lounge catering to the wealthy, and associates with [[New York City Police Commissioner]] Ralph Weston.

The Shadow's other disguises include: businessman '''Henry Arnaud''', who like Cranston is a real person whose identity Allard simply assumes at times, as revealed in Arnaud's first appearance ''The Black Master'' (March 1, 1932); elderly '''Isaac Twambley''', who first appears in ''No Time Forfor Murder'' (December 1944); and '''Fritz''', an old, seemingly slow-witted, uncommunicative janitor who works at police headquarters, listening in on conversations and examining recovered evidence, first appearing in ''[[The Living Shadow]]'' (April 1931).

For the first half of The Shadow's tenure in the pulps, his past and true identity (outside of his Cranston disguise) are ambiguous. In ''The Living Shadow'', a thug claiming to have seen the Shadow's face recalls seeing "a piece of white that looked like a bandage.". In ''The Black Master'' and ''The Shadow's Shadow'', the villains of both stories see The Shadow's true face and remark the vigilante is a man of many faces with no face of his own. It was not until the August 1937 issue, ''The Shadow Unmasks'', that The Shadow's real name was revealed.

In the radio drama series that premiered in 1937, the Allard [[secret identity]] and backstory were dropped for simplicity's sake. The radio incarnation of The Shadow is really and only '''Lamont Cranston''' with no other regular cover identities, though he does adopt disguises and short-term aliases during some adventures. The radio version of Cranston travels the world to "learn the old mysteries that modern science has not yet rediscovered" ("Death House Rescue" in 1937). Along with learning skills and knowledge in Europe, Africa, and Asia, he spends time training with a Yogi priest, "Keeper of the Temple of Cobras,", in [[Delhi]] and learns how to read thoughts and hypnotize people enough to "cloud" their minds, making himself invisible to them (as revealed in the episode "The Temple Bells of Neban" in 1937). He explicitly states in several episodes that his talents are not magic but based on science. Returning to New York, he decides he can best aid the police and his city by operating outside the law as an invisible vigilante. He is somewhat less ruthless and more compassionate than the pulp incarnation, and without the vast network of agents and operatives. Only cab driver/chauffeur Shrevvy makes regular appearances on the radio series, but the character is different from his print counterpart. Commissioner Weston and a few other supporting characters from the print stories also are adapted to radio.

* ''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'', #253, #250259 (crossover appearances published in 1973 and 1974, respectively)

* ''The Shadow: Blood and Judgment'', 1–4, May–August 1986

* ''The Shadow/Green Hornet: Dark Nights'', 5 issues, 2013-2015 (crossover with the[ [[Green Hornet]])

* ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' (cross-oversequel withto the [[H.P. Lovecraft]] [[noellanovella]] [[The Shadow Over Innsmouth|of the same name]], 2014

The early 1940s Shadow newspaper daily strip was reprinted by [[RogerCharlton BroughtonMedia Group (Canada)|Avalon Communications]] under its [[RogerCharlton Media Group Broughton(Canada)|ACG Classix]] imprint. The Shadow daily began appearing in the first issue of ''Pulp Action'' comics. It carried no monthly date or issue number on the cover, only a 1999 copyright and a ''Pulp Action'' #1 notation at the bottom of the inside cover. Each issue's cover is a colorized panel blow-up, taken from one of the reprinted strips. The eighth issue uses for its cover a Shadow serial black-and-white [[film still]], with several hand-drawn alterations. The first issue of ''Pulp Action'' is devoted entirely to reprinting the Shadow daily, but subsequent issues began offering back-up stories not involving The Shadow in every issue. These Shadow strip reprints stopped with ''Pulp Action''{{'}}s eighth issue, before the story was complete. Here are the strip's reprinted storylines (the last issue carries a 2000 copyright date):

The film was financially and critically unsuccessful.<ref>"[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1054125-shadow/ The Shadow (1994)]." ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]''.</ref><ref>"[https://archive.today/20080704145424/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20186843_2,00.html 20 Worst Comic-Book Movies Ever. ''The Shadow'', Alec Baldwin]." ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005014547/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20186843_2,00.html |date=2013-10-05 }}</ref>

On August 23, 2012, the website ShadowFan reported that during a Q&A session at [[San Diego]]'sthe 2012 [[San Diego Comic-Con International|Comic-Con]], director Sam Raimi, when asked about the status of his Shadow film project, stated they had not been able to develop a good script and the film would not be produced as planned.

The 2015 video game ''[[Fallout 4]]'' includes a quest series centered on a character called "the Silver Shroud," a masked crime-fighting detective from old-world radio shows.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roberts |first1=Samuel |title=Why I love the Silver Shroud quest in Fallout 4 |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/why-i-love-the-silver-shroud-quest-in-fallout-4/ |website=PC Gamer |access-date=11 April 2022 |language=en |date=7 June 2017}}</ref>

[[The Lamont Cranston Band]] takes its name from The Shadow's alter eogego.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}