The Shadow "secret message" coffee mug (Advance Magazine Publishers, 1994)

 

The Shadow knows when you heat it!

Doc Savage Club lapel pin (Street and Smith, c. 1930)

The Shadow and Doc Savage in "Hombres Audaces" (Spain, Argentina, 1936-1953)

(updated with more pulps)

"Hombres Audaces" started being published by Editorial Molino in Spain in 1936 and stopped a few months later because of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Molino then moved to Argentina and continued publishing from 1936 until 1953, as Editorial Molino Argentina, for a total of 373 issues. They resumed publishing in Spain in 1941, and some titles exist in both editions with different covers. Hombres Audaces reprinted The Shadow (La Sombra), Doc Savage, Bill Barnes, Pete Rice and The Avenger, mostly with the original covers.

The collection has two numberings, a general one (from #1 to #373) and a separate one for each character. Some issues of the Argentinian edition were never published in Spain, but Molino kept the Argentinian numbering on the spine of the issues published in Spain.

Overall, the pulps were not published in chronological order, many issues being skipped (probably due to censorship problems) and others switched around. For Bill Barnes, character and airplane names were changed, paragraphs skipped and others inserted in order to adapt the plot to its random publishing order.

Here are all the issues I have in my collectiom. Enjoy!

The Shadow

Spanish Edition

   

#1 (4) April 25, 1936                         #3 (12) June 20, 1936

 

#4 (16) July 18, 1936                                      #11 (47) 1939

 #14 (79) December 1944                            #20 (103) August 1945

   #21 (107) November 1945                             #24 (117) June 1946

  #25 (121) July 1946                             #27 (129) October 1946

#29 (142) May 1947                              #32 (153) September 1947

#39 (179) May 1948                              #40 (185) July 1948

Argentinian Edition

#1 (4) September 23, 1938

Doc Savage

Spanish Edition

#2 (6) May 2, 1936                            #4 (14) June 27, 1936

#5 (18) July 25, 1936

Argentinian Edition

 #13 (48) September 3, 1939                                    #51 (208) 1949        

 Pete Rice

Spanish Edition

 

#? January 1946                                          #? (65) February 1944

Further reading: 

• Tercera Fundación, in Spanish.
• Tebeosfera, "Los Hombres Audaces de Molino" by Hector Pérez Día. In Spanish.

As Aventuras do Capitão Morgan (Portugal, c.1950?)

"Aventuras Extraordinarias d'um Policia Secreta" (Portugal, c.1909-1911)

 

"Since Arthur Conan Doyle published the first adventure of Sherlock Holmes, "A Study in Scarlet" in November 1887, the public demonstrated enormous enthusiasm, demanding the immediate publication of new adventures of what would become the greatest detective of all time. Conan Doyle  would even become Sir Arthur. Faced with the growing success of the character, a Berlin publisher decided to create a series of magazines offering the apocryphal adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the first issue was published January 16, 1907. At this point, the real Sherlock Holmes was the subject of three novels, thirty six short stories and two theatre plays, but the German publisher, ignoring all the (early) copyright laws, published these new adventures without the least permission, written very quickly by some German hacks, but beautifully illustrated by Alfred Roloff. Nevertheless, a sizeable change appeared in the stories: Doctor watson was replaced by a young pupil, Harry Taxon. On October 15 of the same year the French publisher Fernand Laven would publish in France the first installment of "Les Dossiers Secrets de Sherlock Holmes" (The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes)."

-- in "Les Maitres du Mystère - De Nick Carter à

Sherlock Holmes, 1907-1914", by Philippe Mellot

In France, the publishers of Sherlock Holmes reacted very quickly and demanded that publication would cease. They only managed to prevent the name "Sherlock Holmes" from appearing on the cover. The first three issues, already printed, were recalled and the covers changed, becoming "Les Dossiers Secrets du Roi des Détectives" (The Secret Files of the King of Detectives). The German copyright holders took a bit longer and the series would go on to have 230 issues, with the name changed from issue 10 on. In spite of the title changes, the famous detective was easily recognizable (he was still called Sherlock Holmes inside) and the series would be translated into numerous languages. We know of Italian, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, Turquish and Russian editions.

These issues are from the Portuguese edition, by "A Novella Popular", and are titled "Aventuras Extraordinarias d'um Policia Secreta" (The Extraordinary Adventures of a Secret Policeman), #6 dated April 1st 1909, #15 dated August 10th of the same year, #18 is undated and #105 is dated June 11th, 1911. We seem to have played it safe and the Sherlock Holmes name is not on the cover...

The Shadow (March 15, 1940)

Detective Magazine (Portugal, 1945-1946)

 

 

1. April 24, 1945 - "Fui eu que a matei!" (I Killed Her!) by Stephan Gordon
2. May 15, 1945 - "Raptaram uma rapariga!" (A Girl Was Kidnapped!) by Donald Hobart
3. June 5, 1945 - "A mulher que jurou vingar-se (The Womand Who Swore Revenge) by Edmund Heath
4. June 26, 1945 - "O caso do assassino que assobiava" (The Case of the Whistling Muderer)

The magazines were not strictly pulps, as they had news articles and stories, all related to crime. This was a supplement of another magazine called "Vida Mundial Ilustrada", a kind of Portuguese LIFE magazine. I know of 19 issues published.

I have duplicates of #1 & #2.

"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+.

"Operator 5" Premium Ring (Argosy, 1996)

The pulp magazine, not in the collection.

"His name was Jimmy Christopher, and he was America's Undercover Ace, fighting spies and foreign agents from 1934 until the beginning of World War II. He was known as Operator #5 and was read by many each month in the pulp magazine of the same name. Written by Frank Davis, his mission was to save the United States of America from harm and destruction.

Jimmy Christopher emerged in 1934 in the inaugural issue of Operator #5 published by Popular Publications Inc. The same publisher also published the pulp magazine The Spider which offered it readership a costumed vigilante hero.

As Operator #5, Jimmy Christopher not only fought to save the United States from numerous threats, but he also worn an intriguing ring. The ring featured the image of a skull which bore the number 5. 

Order yours now!

His ring was offered as a premium to readers of the pulp magazine who could sign up and join the Secret Sentinels of America. The club, like many of the day, was created to support the patriotic interests of many citizens of the era. The magazine also featured letters from the various members of the Secret Sentinels of America.

The Operator #5 premium ring is considered one of the top rarities in premium rings. One of the main reasons for its rarity might be the staggering original cost of 25 cents in either currency or stamps that had to be submitted for the ring. A copy of a pulp magazine or comic book at the time was only a dime and the publishers were asking for two and half times the cover price of a magazine to obtain an Operator #5 ring.

The ring in near mint condition is worth $16,000 today with only twelve reported examples known and only one in mint condition. Unlike many other premium rings, the Operator #5 ring was offered as a non-adjustable sized ring. The ring was produced in sizes 6 to 11 with the issue of the rings non-adjustable size also being a factor in its scarcity. The ring was sent in a small red ring box that is also considered rare."

-- from "Scoop" website

This is a 1996 reissue of the ring, produced by Argosy, in a limited edition of 250, of which this is #93, individually numbered engraved inside the ring. This time it has an adjustable band. It's the next best thing to owning one of the most sought after premiums!