Shadow Pulp Cover Re-creation (original by Graves Gladney, 1940), 2007
2020 is a double for anniversary for the legendary man of mystery, The Shadow.
The character was first introduced 90 years ago, in 1930 as the mysterious narrator of the radio drama, Detective Story Hour, which tied into the classic pulp magazine, Detective Story Magazine.
(Listeners, however, kept asking their newsstand dealers for “that Shadow detective Magazine”, so by the following year, the management team at Conde Naste smartly fleshed out the character and gave him his own mag, It rapidly became widely popular and successful.
By 1940, with the boom in comic books in full swing, The Shadow and some of his pulp “superhero” compatriots entered the four-color fray with their own comics. So it’s an 80thanniversary for the character’s appearance in comic books format as well.
Thomas Gianni, who sadly passed away a few months ago, loved pulp characters and the great pulp cover paintings.
Here, he recreates a classic, originally painted by the amazing Graves Gladney in 1940.
A talented artist and a terrific guy, I will miss chatting with Gianni, which was always an enjoyable moment when our paths crossed.
Much more on The Shadow, and the great Shadow artists in the next few weeks of posts, as we celebrate his amazing history.
