CBR: Garth Ennis Knows "The Shadow"

**CBR News** · 01-17-2012, 10:58 AM

Writer Garth Ennis spoke with CBR News about helming Dynamite Entertainments ongoing "The Shadow," the pulp hero's lasting appeal, his powerset and the title's supporting cast.

Full article here.

**MichaelPaytonMZ** · 01-17-2012, 11:20 AM

Fun fact: Lamont Cranston was not the Shadow in any of the books. He took the identity of the REAL Cranston in one story to explain the Cranston connection to fans of the radio show. the real Cranston came back from several months overseas and was rather shocked that his friends had all seen him running around NY while he was actually in Europe.

There wasn't a Margo Lane in the pulps either.

Like the Superman radio show, the media version of the character became the public face of the character. Unlike Superman, who simply absorbed every new thing the radio show did into the comics, the Shadow pulps seemed to ignore the radio series outside of that one story. That's probably why so few people respond to the actual Shadow pulps when they are reprinted, while other pulps like Doc Savage have had much more success in reprints. The 60s-80s saw every Doc Savage novel reprinted in paperback, with enough demand for new material.

**hondobrode** · 01-17-2012, 11:30 AM

Very excited about the return of The Shadow ! Ennis sounds great on this.

Haven't seen Campbell's artwork in print, but what I've looked up on the Net looks like a nice fit.

Dynamite does good work.

How about bringing back Doc Savage too ?

**batlash** · 01-17-2012, 12:17 PM

It's always nice to have The Shadow back in comics. Michael is correct. The Shadow was actually Kent Allard, who "borrowed" the convenient identity of rich, socially-connected Lamont Cranston whenever Cranston wasn't around. There was at least one instance in the pulp novels when the two encountered each other. And I believe the event in The Shadow Unmasks that revealed The Shadow as Kent Allard was the unexpected return to town of the real Lamont Cranston, causing The Shadow to abruptly have to give up that disguise. Anyway, I'm interested in seeing what Ennis (a surprising and unlikely choice) will do with the character, but I'm a bit concerned that he's already picked up on "the ability to cloud men's minds." That was a concoction of the radio show and had nothing to do with the original pulps. In the originals, The Shadow could seemingly blend into the shadows, lurking, listening, suddenly (and violently) appearing and then disappearing back into the darkness. Hard to show that on radio, thus the "cloud men's mind" gimmick. I'm fine with the inclusion of Margot (it was alway spelled with a "t" in the pulps) Lane, but I hope Ennis steers clear of the radio Shadow and concentrates on the real thing: Walter Gibson's outstanding pulp creation.

**Bic** · 01-17-2012, 12:49 PM

I also hope Kent Allard gets to stick around. First, because I always liked the idea that this mysterious man essentially shouldered Cranston out the door and took over his life. Second, instead of falling into the avenging playboy archetype The Shadow had already broken the mold way back in the 1930's by having his secret identity be a secret identity.

**josh straightedge** · 01-17-2012, 12:58 PM

Can't wait. This is gonna be good.

**Alex Decay** · 01-17-2012, 01:13 PM

Ennis is brilliant, so I have no concerns about the story/writing, plus I love pulp heroes. There's no way I wouldn't buy this.

**Professor Moriarty** · 01-17-2012, 01:18 PM

i am so happy Garth Ennis is writing The Shadow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**havok1977** · 01-17-2012, 01:19 PM

Garth Ennis is a great writer and his style can really fit and bring out the best in a dark vigilante character, looking forward to this.

**emb021** · 01-17-2012, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by MichaelPaytonMZ

Fun fact: Lamont Cranston was not the Shadow in any of the books. He took the identity of the REAL Cranston in one story to explain the Cranston connection to fans of the radio show. the real Cranston came back from several months overseas and was rather shocked that his friends had all seen him running around NY while he was actually in Europe.

Close, but not quite.

The reveal that the Shadow was NOT Lamont Cranston was revealed in the second Shadow novel, which was 7 YEARS before the Shadow radio show as most people know came around. And the real Lamont Cranston re-appeared a few times.

The Shadow had another identity he used, Henry Arnaud.

As noted, years later it was revealed that the Shadow was really Kent Allard in 1937, after the radio show began.

The radio show had to be simpler, having less characters. So the Shadow was Lamont Cranston and most of his agents were dropped.

There wasn't a Margo Lane in the pulps either.

Not quite.

Margo Lane was an original creation of the radio show, but she WAS added to the pulp stories, starting in 1941.

Like the Superman radio show, the media version of the character became the public face of the character. Unlike Superman, who simply absorbed every new thing the radio show did into the comics, the Shadow pulps seemed to ignore the radio series outside of that one story. That's probably why so few people respond to the actual Shadow pulps when they are reprinted, while other pulps like Doc Savage have had much more success in reprints. The 60s-80s saw every Doc Savage novel reprinted in paperback, with enough demand for new material.

Walter Gibson created the Shadow for the pulps. He also handled the comic book and comic strip versions, and those were close to the pulps. The radio show was a whole other thing. Most people seem to know the Shadow from the radio show, rather then the pulps, comics, comic strip, or serials. Go figure.

But the thing is, other pulp characters were adapted to radio, and those versions weren't close to the pulp versions. The Avenger and Whisperer were so adopted, but the radio version was very different. As noted, part of this is due to the need to simplify things for radio. Fewer characters and such.