The Secret Squadron: Gibson (Walter B.)

Showing posts with label Gibson (Walter B.). Show all posts

The Shadow (March 15, 1940)

"The Shadow and the Living Death" (Better Little Books, Whitman, 1940)

"In 1932, at the depths of the Great Depression, comic books were not selling despite their successes in the previous two decades. Desperate publishers had already reduced prices to 25c, but this was still too much for many people to spend on entertainment. Comic books quickly evolved into two newer formats, the comics magazine and the Little Big Book. Both types retailed for 10c. Big Little Books began by reprinting the art (and adapting the stories) from newspaper comics. As their success grew, and publishers began commissioning original material, movie adaptations and other entertainment-derived stories became commonplace.

-- From Overstreet's Comic Price Guide, 41st Edition

This is "The Shadow and the Living Death", No. 1430 in the "Better Little Books" series by Whitman -- same publishers of the Little Big Books, so it is considered the same series. Published in 1940 with 432 pages, it is illustrated by Erwin L. Hess and written by Maxwell Grant. Condition would be 6.5 F+.

"The Shadow" (Vol.35, No. 3, October 1940)

A great cover by Graves Gladney and the pulp is in excellent condition.

"The Original Houdini Scrapbook" (Walter B. Gibson, 1976, signed presentation copy)

"The Original Houdini Scrapbook" (Corwin Serling Publising Co., Inc, NY, 1976, first edition), by Walter B. Gibson, creator of "The Shadow" and magician extraordinaire, in a presentation copy signed by the author on his own bookplate.

The signature was intentionally blurred to avoid duplication. The original is just fine.

"The Shadow Magazine" (April 1st, 1941)

"Ten Shadows in ten different poses marked this cover of the "Tenth Anniversary Number" as definitely unique. It involved a plotter called "The Time Master", who toyed with time once too often when he met the Timeless Shadow."

-- from "The Shadow Scrapbook" by Walter B. Gibson

April 1st, 1941. The "10th Anniversary Number". Cover by Graves Gladney.

This is my favourite Shadow pulp and it is in excellent condition. "The 10th Anniversary Number" has an amazing cover, almost a character style sheet for The Shadow. Inside, besides the story "The Time Master", there is an article covering the first decade of the Shadow's career, which you can find below.

And no, there weren't only three ratio stations broadcasting the adventures of The Shadow... The list continues on the next page, which is a column in very small letters (I didn't count them). It was impossible to miss an adventure!

"The Shadow Magazine" pulps

Here are my "The Shadow Magazine" pulps. Surely not the best copies available, but the thrill of holding a Shadow pulps is always there, no matter what shape the magazine is in!

November, 1933. Cover torn, but interior complete. I love it for the girasol ring
in the center.

December, 1934. I still can't fathom why someone would cut up the cover
in this fashion. The Shadow attracts some rather strange readers...

December 1st, 1936. Again, the cover was cut in a peculiar fashion, probably
the same reader as above?

July, 1945. Digest size.

The Shadow - Books

Rather than list every book individually, as there are rather a lot I chose to list them all under the same heading. This is where all the Shadow reprints will go, plus some assorted books. For further information on the paperbacks (and everything else Shadow-related) I recommend "The Shadow - Master of Darkness" website. You can find the original pulps listed elsewhere on the Secret Squadron.

Belmont (1963-1967)

Agência Portuguesa de Revistas

Portugal, circa 1965. This reprints the Belmont #6, "Cry Shadow!"

Gosset and Dunlap (1966)

Bantam (1969-1970)

Pyramid/Jove (1974-1978)

Covers by Jim Steranko, except number 13 of the Jove edition.
I'm missing Jove's #1, #11 and #12.
(My thanks to Tony Robertson who pointed out that Jove's #3 was not by Steranko and that he repainted the cover for Jove's #13, but it was never published.
You can find all the Steranko covers here.)

The cover on the right for #4, "Hands in the Dark", was misprinted for the 2nd printing of the paperback. It was actually the cover for #6. I have two copies of the original and correct #4, one of which is signed by Steranko, so the other is available for trade.