Razor, I was shocked to learn you got into The Shadow as late as 2002! You made up for lost time, because your knowledge of the character in his different incarnations is nigh-encyclopedic. This is a wonderfully executed series of podcasts-thank you for what is clearly a labor of love.
The Shadow movie starring Alec Baldwin was my intro to this character as a kid in the 90s. Shadow Year One was my intro to the Shadow in comics. Also, Matt Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theater is good, too.
I bought the Shadow Year One per your first video on the Shadow. This one was a really cool introduction for the character for me. But after reading pulps and other comics, I noticed the very same observations you gave. In fact, I thought the reporter was Burke the whole time too upon my second reading because I've forgotten that detail. I bought it initially on Comixology, but I'll buy it again physical once it's available on Book Depository. I really wish I could write a Shadow comic book, and I'll do it thinking of those fans like you who understand the Shadow in a basic level. Normally I don't wanna work actively on a story owned by another person, but this one character and Lucky Luke are my exceptions.
It would be a quick end for the radio Shadow. He was little more than a foppish hypnotist. Pulp Shadow was an absolute force of nature, an elemental incarnation of pure justice.
I like how you can both criticize and respect those you disagree with, so far as to acknowledge them and their contributions. Quite commendable of you and a seeming rarity in this day and age.
I've been sick for several weeks and the Shadow casts have kept me sane. I love the readings and wonder how the hell I missed them for so many years. Been thinking of listening to your battletech book readings. I also love big stompy robots.
It’s nice your giving a tribute to Denny o Neil. I hope you can give a fond farewell too. I’d love recommendation for mr.o Neil. Always wanted to read his comics.
Been reading a few issues of the Shadow Comics online as well as the other stories that came with it like Iron Munro, Diamond Dick, The Avenger etc. There was a character called Carrie Cashin I read and wondered if a female private detective was a regular thing back then? I know you had Agatha Christies' Ms Marple but she was just a spinster who was too damn curious. Also congrats on your Elric Witcher video really enjoyed it hoping you do the fourth book. Godspeed. R.I.P Denny O'Neill!
One of the best offerings from Dynamite for sure. I'm glad you changed your mind on the artwork, I definitely saw and welcomed the resemblance to Batman: The Animated Series in the style Torres was going for. While Wagner does draw his own comics better, I feel Torres' art was pretty damn solid, and I really enjoyed the comic, even the parts you disliked, like having Margo Lane as one of the first agents instead of the admittedly way-too-often-forgotten Harry Vincent. I feel like at this point the Radio version is so ingrained in people's minds that Margo is kind of an essential part of the principal cast and I like how they did have The Shadow be in a romance without him feeling *completely* out of character. It's a stretch, but it doesn't stretch it too much where it goes completely NOPE, which is something a lot of Dynamite authors just didn't get. Stanley being privvy to The Shadow's identity, as implied by them first meeting in The Great War I could do without though, we got Cliff Marsland for that. I also actually like that they do an origin story without going too deep into the actual origin, because that would strip The Shadow of some of his mystique and if you're going to introduce the character to a new audience, his chief appeal - his mystique - should be on full display, and in my opinion the comic shows just enough to get the origin out without making The Shadow pedestrian. One of the Dynamite offerings I'm glad to have an omnibus of. Wish they picked a better cover for it though - I mean, I can *sorta* dig The Dark Knight Returns tribute, but it feels kind of wrong to pay tribute to the more successful copycat, it'd be like Elric paying a tribute to The Witcher (though I gotta say, the Alex Ross cover for issue #25 of Dynamite's original Shadow run was just too damn gorgeous for me to be a grump about)... come on, there were a slew of better covers to choose from. I personally would've picked Matt Wagner's #10 cover (the one where he stands on top of a train - which, by the way, seems like a tribute to Mike Kaluta's cover of DC's first 1970s issue) or one of the Ross covers for sure. I actually took a stab at translating this one into Russian - had to take a break four issues in because of my other projects, but might just continue on now that I got my big one out of the way.
Raz0r, I love this character and your coverage of him. Also, I picked up some Solomon Kane on your recommendation, and am digging the heck out of it! Congratulations on some fine recommendations, my man.
Every time is look at one of the Alex Ross covers with his interpretation of The Shadow unmasked, I can’t help but see a young Jim Carter. He’s most notably known from Downton Abbey with American audiences, but he was also in Haunted Honeymoon with Gene Wilder.
Thanks for another great episode. I've always liked Matt Wagner's take on The Shadow. I think he is the one modern writer who really understands the character and his pulp origins. Like you mentioned in your episode, so many modern writers think "1940's Punisher" and that's it. RIP Denny O'Neil. I'm so thankful that I got the chance to meet him twenty years ago at Comic-Con and he signed my copy of The Shadow #1.
I have The Shadow: Hitler's Astrologer. I agree with you about the art and the story is awesome. To bad Steranko didn't do a shadow comic. I loved his illustration of Marvels Nick. Fury way back when.
Great episode, Razor -- and nice to hear you give Mr. O'Neil a respectable tribute, too. Like yourself, I can't agree with many of his political views, but he was certainly a hell of a good writer! Regarding the Dynamite Shadow -- I have to admit that I found it mostly disappointing overall, though there were a few high points, I suppose. Pretty much anything Matt Wagner touches tends to turn golden. Anyway -- thanks again for doing this. I'm definitely looking forward to the next season of The ShadowCast!
I was that 12 year old Denny was after. It didn’t work. Denny and Neal Adams were a great team, but I got into arguments with Neal Adams on Facebook about the crazy shit he believed. I can ignore their naive Boomer views.
Catching up on The Shadowcast and I'm still loving your work here great job. Honestly the only thing I hate more than bad titles are bad overused ones aka Year One... There are so many opportunities to play around a bit and make a better one (or at least more original). I would have gone with something like: The Casting of... The Shadow!!! *small print* (Year One) if you have to. That being said I love your work here with all of us Agents and all of it for the Razor Force. As long as our sun sets and candles flicker there will always be... The Shadow. God Bless Us All, God Bless America, And God F'ing Speed!!!
What's really depressing about Wagner imposing modern sensibilities on a period setting is how much better he is at managing all the different historical points of view without sanding off their edges in SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER, and how, if anything, he's gotten worse at it over time.
Oh I forgot to say when I was reading the comics there was like a editors note about a Shadow film by Columbia starring Victor Jory as the Shadow and even Roger Moore was in it? Is that true? It's like the second issue from 1940. They were also hyping a Nick Carter movie as well starring Walter Pidgeon.
How would you handle a Shadow in modern day story given that the Shadow was originally a contemporary character I like looking at the way crime particularly organized crime has changed would be pretty interesting.
Keep the character, his rough background and outfit the same. The way the agents are incorporated into the story is the same. Change it for more contemporary times and have The Shadow take on more gangs rather than mobsters. Background, change it to Iraq or even Vietnam rather than WWI
Margot Lane is a good woman and deserves respect! Haha!!! Cute personal story, Razor. I heard some of The Shadow radio program a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Did Lamont and Margot ever get married or have a baby? That might have helped some of the writing problems.
As far as them ever getting married, I don't think so. Because of Lamont's war on crime that never really got through with that because they were always worried that Lamont could get killed, his identity would get discovered somehow, any possible idea. As far as them ever having a kid, I don't know. I know the James Patterson book said that Margo had a child. I don't know if any of the other interpretations of the character had a child.
@@TheShadowcast it doesn't seem to get much love, but I actually really liked the first Batman/Shadow crossover. That page where the Joker is laughing, stops, only for the laughing to continue as the Shadow cackles on was an inspired moment. I liked how it dealt with the hoary old "Batman won't kill" moral dilemma and found a genuinely new angle on what should be a played-out problem, where there's a practical reason why it's a bad idea to kill the villains - and it was quite ingenious how they got so much mileage out of that single line, "I am an honest signal".
What a coincidence I'm actually half way through reading midnight in Moscow (not gonna spoil it) but I'm a bit critical of the artist they picked (I believe it was the same one who was in the shadow blood and judgement) because his art style these days compared to blood and judgement looks so rubbery and cartoon like compared to back in the 80's when everyone was still using basic ink and paper to draw and you had this kind of 80's Nagel art, For example the fucking shadows jawline looks like he could smash the crimson chins face with it instead of looking dark and gaunt like, he kind of looks like Batman with the black hair and the nose isn't very beaked, instead what you have is a shadow that's nothing like the shadow and it's hard for me to picture any voice other than a deeper kind of Conroy voice for him. The story in pacing takes its sweet time to fucking develop because the shadow has to take care of some business and you get a run down of all his associates however I'm not gonna spoil anymore, I will say Margo lane is part of the reason why I think near the end she's gonna be some fucking damsel in distress object like always and that's always a pain for me cuz my mind tends to dissect a story similar to how I'll sit down and tear a modern day wrestling match apart. Thanks for the vid Razorfist!
So, just a question as someone who’s just starting to get into the character. Was Margo Lane an advent of the radio exclusively, or was she in the pulps at some point?
Your resentment (your word) at minute #9 was no less propaganda than anything Denny O’Neil said. Coming from a place of respect: you don’t really like anything you spend such time, such care reviewing, such diligence, reviewing. Kaluta’s World War 2 story came out when I was in high school.
What was propagandist about it? I'll wait. The dictionary definition of propaganda: "Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view." Denny O'Neil literally admitted, in that interview and many others, to inserting his own political beliefs - and I quote - because "maybe I get a really smart eight-year-old..." All I did was point this out. I made no such statement of belief, nor attempted to disseminate it. Much less to impressionable children who can't possibly know enough to judge its veracity. He's copping to inculcating YOUNG READERS, meaning 'those without the life experience or necessary context to determine whether he's correct, or misrepresenting anything at all'... with his particular beliefs. Today, we mock old Captain American comics for comparatively subtle propaganda. I don't recall Joe Simon or Jack Kirby making similar statements. Only Denny O'Neil was so brazen. I defend every word. You're a leftist, and agree with him, and that is the ONLY reason you're defending an admitted propaganda technique.
Razor, I was shocked to learn you got into The Shadow as late as 2002! You made up for lost time, because your knowledge of the character in his different incarnations is nigh-encyclopedic. This is a wonderfully executed series of podcasts-thank you for what is clearly a labor of love.
Last time I was this early, Bob Kane was still deciding which artwork to trace
We need the shadow profoundly. These episodes are a gift
The Shadow movie starring Alec Baldwin was my intro to this character as a kid in the 90s. Shadow Year One was my intro to the Shadow in comics.
Also, Matt Wagner's Sandman Mystery Theater is good, too.
I recommend getting Shadow Year One on Ebay for anyone interested. The Amazon prices are outrageous.
A new episode just as I get my first four pulps? It is with great pleasure I say I am proud to be an agent of The Shadow.
The who? ;)
I bought the Shadow Year One per your first video on the Shadow. This one was a really cool introduction for the character for me. But after reading pulps and other comics, I noticed the very same observations you gave. In fact, I thought the reporter was Burke the whole time too upon my second reading because I've forgotten that detail. I bought it initially on Comixology, but I'll buy it again physical once it's available on Book Depository.
I really wish I could write a Shadow comic book, and I'll do it thinking of those fans like you who understand the Shadow in a basic level. Normally I don't wanna work actively on a story owned by another person, but this one character and Lucky Luke are my exceptions.
I sometimes wonder how a duel between two incarnations of the Shadow would go down. Radio Lamont vs Plup Kent, perhaps.
Not well. Radio Lamont's hypnotic powers wouldn't work on Kent (they couldn't even work on himself in The Shadow Challenged)
It would be a quick end for the radio Shadow. He was little more than a foppish hypnotist. Pulp Shadow was an absolute force of nature, an elemental incarnation of pure justice.
I like how you can both criticize and respect those you disagree with, so far as to acknowledge them and their contributions. Quite commendable of you and a seeming rarity in this day and age.
Set a new PR for deadlift and a new Shadowcast!!! Best friday ever!
Keep up the great work.
I've been sick for several weeks and the Shadow casts have kept me sane. I love the readings and wonder how the hell I missed them for so many years.
Been thinking of listening to your battletech book readings. I also love big stompy robots.
Love the art work.
It’s nice your giving a tribute to Denny o Neil. I hope you can give a fond farewell too. I’d love recommendation for mr.o Neil. Always wanted to read his comics.
Been reading a few issues of the Shadow Comics online as well as the other stories that came with it like Iron Munro, Diamond Dick, The Avenger etc. There was a character called Carrie Cashin I read and wondered if a female private detective was a regular thing back then? I know you had Agatha Christies' Ms Marple but she was just a spinster who was too damn curious. Also congrats on your Elric Witcher video really enjoyed it hoping you do the fourth book. Godspeed. R.I.P Denny O'Neill!
Great job on the video.
As flawed as his was. Denny was an absolute legend. May he rest in the other side.
I've been looking for this podcast my whole life. I own and have read most of the comics. Keep up the good work. Your content is amazing!
I’m thinking of turning The Shadow year one into a motion comic movie
I'm going to have give O'Neil's works a read.
One of the best offerings from Dynamite for sure. I'm glad you changed your mind on the artwork, I definitely saw and welcomed the resemblance to Batman: The Animated Series in the style Torres was going for. While Wagner does draw his own comics better, I feel Torres' art was pretty damn solid, and I really enjoyed the comic, even the parts you disliked, like having Margo Lane as one of the first agents instead of the admittedly way-too-often-forgotten Harry Vincent. I feel like at this point the Radio version is so ingrained in people's minds that Margo is kind of an essential part of the principal cast and I like how they did have The Shadow be in a romance without him feeling *completely* out of character. It's a stretch, but it doesn't stretch it too much where it goes completely NOPE, which is something a lot of Dynamite authors just didn't get. Stanley being privvy to The Shadow's identity, as implied by them first meeting in The Great War I could do without though, we got Cliff Marsland for that. I also actually like that they do an origin story without going too deep into the actual origin, because that would strip The Shadow of some of his mystique and if you're going to introduce the character to a new audience, his chief appeal - his mystique - should be on full display, and in my opinion the comic shows just enough to get the origin out without making The Shadow pedestrian. One of the Dynamite offerings I'm glad to have an omnibus of. Wish they picked a better cover for it though - I mean, I can *sorta* dig The Dark Knight Returns tribute, but it feels kind of wrong to pay tribute to the more successful copycat, it'd be like Elric paying a tribute to The Witcher (though I gotta say, the Alex Ross cover for issue #25 of Dynamite's original Shadow run was just too damn gorgeous for me to be a grump about)... come on, there were a slew of better covers to choose from. I personally would've picked Matt Wagner's #10 cover (the one where he stands on top of a train - which, by the way, seems like a tribute to Mike Kaluta's cover of DC's first 1970s issue) or one of the Ross covers for sure. I actually took a stab at translating this one into Russian - had to take a break four issues in because of my other projects, but might just continue on now that I got my big one out of the way.
Raz0r, I love this character and your coverage of him. Also, I picked up some Solomon Kane on your recommendation, and am digging the heck out of it! Congratulations on some fine recommendations, my man.
Every time is look at one of the Alex Ross covers with his interpretation of The Shadow unmasked, I can’t help but see a young Jim Carter. He’s most notably known from Downton Abbey with American audiences, but he was also in Haunted Honeymoon with Gene Wilder.
Thanks for another great episode. I've always liked Matt Wagner's take on The Shadow. I think he is the one modern writer who really understands the character and his pulp origins. Like you mentioned in your episode, so many modern writers think "1940's Punisher" and that's it.
RIP Denny O'Neil. I'm so thankful that I got the chance to meet him twenty years ago at Comic-Con and he signed my copy of The Shadow #1.
Woo, shadow cast!
That is one of the things that I like about the shadow, even though I’m not completely sold on him, I love that he is a Villain to the villains.
You must do a few readings of the pulps with sound design! please!!!
28:50 Is that mobster who changes his whole way of speaking to sound high class part of the Safechuck family?
That Simon shadow comic makes All Star Batman look a modern classic.
I have The Shadow: Hitler's Astrologer. I agree with you about the art and the story is awesome. To bad Steranko didn't do a shadow comic. I loved his illustration of Marvels Nick. Fury way back when.
Great episode, Razor -- and nice to hear you give Mr. O'Neil a respectable tribute, too. Like yourself, I can't agree with many of his political views, but he was certainly a hell of a good writer!
Regarding the Dynamite Shadow -- I have to admit that I found it mostly disappointing overall, though there were a few high points, I suppose. Pretty much anything Matt Wagner touches tends to turn golden.
Anyway -- thanks again for doing this. I'm definitely looking forward to the next season of The ShadowCast!
Sorry...that should read "...can't AGREE with --"...oops!
I was that 12 year old Denny was after. It didn’t work. Denny and Neal Adams were a great team, but I got into arguments with Neal Adams on Facebook about the crazy shit he believed. I can ignore their naive Boomer views.
Catching up on The Shadowcast and I'm still loving your work here great job.
Honestly the only thing I hate more than bad titles are bad overused ones aka Year One... There are so many opportunities to play around a bit and make a better one (or at least more original). I would have gone with something like: The Casting of... The Shadow!!! *small print* (Year One) if you have to.
That being said I love your work here with all of us Agents and all of it for the Razor Force. As long as our sun sets and candles flicker there will always be... The Shadow. God Bless Us All, God Bless America, And God F'ing Speed!!!
Grendel vs the shadow. My personal favorite
What's really depressing about Wagner imposing modern sensibilities on a period setting is how much better he is at managing all the different historical points of view without sanding off their edges in SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATER, and how, if anything, he's gotten worse at it over time.
Oh I forgot to say when I was reading the comics there was like a editors note about a Shadow film by Columbia starring Victor Jory as the Shadow and even Roger Moore was in it? Is that true? It's like the second issue from 1940. They were also hyping a Nick Carter movie as well starring Walter Pidgeon.
Different Roger Moore.
@@TheShadowcast That would have been cool though if he was. He'd fit in well enough.
@@TheShadowcast I was just thinking the Bond Roger Moore can't have been too old in 1940!
@@worldcomicsreview354 He was born in 1927 so he would have been 13. Yeah I fucked up on that one.
How would you handle a Shadow in modern day story given that the Shadow was originally a contemporary character I like looking at the way crime particularly organized crime has changed would be pretty interesting.
Keep the character, his rough background and outfit the same. The way the agents are incorporated into the story is the same. Change it for more contemporary times and have The Shadow take on more gangs rather than mobsters.
Background, change it to Iraq or even Vietnam rather than WWI
Margot Lane is a good woman and deserves respect! Haha!!! Cute personal story, Razor. I heard some of The Shadow radio program a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Did Lamont and Margot ever get married or have a baby? That might have helped some of the writing problems.
As far as them ever getting married, I don't think so. Because of Lamont's war on crime that never really got through with that because they were always worried that Lamont could get killed, his identity would get discovered somehow, any possible idea.
As far as them ever having a kid, I don't know. I know the James Patterson book said that Margo had a child. I don't know if any of the other interpretations of the character had a child.
Getting serious Peter Lorre vibes from Dr Zorn.
Out of all the Dynamite comic's, what are the good one?
Those written by Matt Wagner.
Year One
The Death of Margo Lane
The Last Illusion
Agents of The Shadow
MASKS
Twilight Zone: The Shadow
Those are just a few
@@TheShadowcast it doesn't seem to get much love, but I actually really liked the first Batman/Shadow crossover. That page where the Joker is laughing, stops, only for the laughing to continue as the Shadow cackles on was an inspired moment. I liked how it dealt with the hoary old "Batman won't kill" moral dilemma and found a genuinely new angle on what should be a played-out problem, where there's a practical reason why it's a bad idea to kill the villains - and it was quite ingenious how they got so much mileage out of that single line, "I am an honest signal".
The Shadow Vol. 4: Bitter Fruit, I find to also be good.
@@TheShadowcast is Justice, Inc good?
What a coincidence I'm actually half way through reading midnight in Moscow (not gonna spoil it) but I'm a bit critical of the artist they picked (I believe it was the same one who was in the shadow blood and judgement) because his art style these days compared to blood and judgement looks so rubbery and cartoon like compared to back in the 80's when everyone was still using basic ink and paper to draw and you had this kind of 80's Nagel art, For example the fucking shadows jawline looks like he could smash the crimson chins face with it instead of looking dark and gaunt like, he kind of looks like Batman with the black hair and the nose isn't very beaked, instead what you have is a shadow that's nothing like the shadow and it's hard for me to picture any voice other than a deeper kind of Conroy voice for him.
The story in pacing takes its sweet time to fucking develop because the shadow has to take care of some business and you get a run down of all his associates however I'm not gonna spoil anymore, I will say Margo lane is part of the reason why I think near the end she's gonna be some fucking damsel in distress object like always and that's always a pain for me cuz my mind tends to dissect a story similar to how I'll sit down and tear a modern day wrestling match apart.
Thanks for the vid Razorfist!
Well, in case of both Midnight in Moscow and Blood and Judgement, the writer also happens to be the artist - Howard Chaykin did it all.
So, just a question as someone who’s just starting to get into the character. Was Margo Lane an advent of the radio exclusively, or was she in the pulps at some point?
Started out on the radio show... then her popularity led Street & Smith to migrate her into the pulps and comics.
Psychic vampire? Quick! Someone call Alex Jones and hide the kids.
I kinda hate Denny O'Neil.
That aside, I love this podcast.
Ok. So no captions. That’s fine but does the art work alone on its own.
When you spoke of Denny O’Neil, that was pretty harsh.
Thanks for warning me to skip The Shadow: Year One...sounds like total trash
It’s actually really good.
Your resentment (your word) at minute #9 was no less propaganda than anything Denny O’Neil said.
Coming from a place of respect: you don’t really like anything you spend such time, such care reviewing, such diligence, reviewing. Kaluta’s World War 2 story came out when I was in high school.
What was propagandist about it? I'll wait.
The dictionary definition of propaganda:
"Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view."
Denny O'Neil literally admitted, in that interview and many others, to inserting his own political beliefs - and I quote - because "maybe I get a really smart eight-year-old..."
All I did was point this out. I made no such statement of belief, nor attempted to disseminate it. Much less to impressionable children who can't possibly know enough to judge its veracity.
He's copping to inculcating YOUNG READERS, meaning 'those without the life experience or necessary context to determine whether he's correct, or misrepresenting anything at all'... with his particular beliefs. Today, we mock old Captain American comics for comparatively subtle propaganda. I don't recall Joe Simon or Jack Kirby making similar statements. Only Denny O'Neil was so brazen.
I defend every word. You're a leftist, and agree with him, and that is the ONLY reason you're defending an admitted propaganda technique.