Voodoo Trail / Death's Harlequin

The Shadow - Sanctum Reprints #19

by Walter B. Gibson

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow Knows!" The Knight of Darkness returns in three thrillers that foreshadowed two classic Batman villains. First, the Voodoo Master returns from the dead to lead The Shadow on a "Voodoo Trail" to their final showdown, in the story that inspired Batman's first supervillain, Doctor Death. Then, The Shadow battles a murderous clown in "Death's Harlequin." Finally, The Dark Avenger searches for a murderer who kills with a deadly formula that causes his victims to laugh themselves to death in "The Laughing Corpse," a classic Shadow script from the Golden Age of Radio, while The Shadow-Batman connection is examined in a foreword by Bat-scribe Denny O'Neil. This instant collector's item also showcases one of George Rozen's greatest covers (reproduced directly from the original oil painting), all the interior illustrations by legendary illustrator Edd Cartier and commentary by popular culture historians Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.

Genres: Pulp

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2008

About the author

Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897-December 6, 1985) was an American author and professional magician best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote "more than 300 novel-length" Shadow stories, writing up to "10,000 words a day" to satisfy public demand during the character's golden age in the 1930s and 1940s.

Reviews

[Kenny]

"Voodoo Trail" pits The Shadow against Doctor Mocquino again. It opens with a mass zombi attack and has The Shadow trapped in the Doctor's underground lair. Joe Cardona has his hunch that The Shadow impersonates Lamont Cranston confirmed in this story.

"Death's Harlequin" has a spy trying to get military secrets. There are many secret lairs and beautiful dames.

The radio show script "The Laughing Corpse" has scientists murdered by laughter to death.

A Forward by Dennis O'Neil talks about The Shadow's connections with other heroes who appeared both before and after The Shadow, with a focus on Batman.

An Interlude by Will Murray links Doctor Mocquino and similar stories and characters in Batman. He also writes about Theodore Tinsley writing The Shadow story "Death's Harlequin".

"Foreshadowing the Joker" has various clowns in the pulps as inspiration for Batman's Joker.

[B. Reese]

I've read a few other shadow stories and love the character but this entry felt rushed, slapdash and features gaping plotholes. The overall plot is fine, the shadow serving jis country against foreign threats but the details, especially halfway thru are where it falls apart. The writing as well is terrible and reads completely different from the debut shadow novel, which is great, amd gangdoms doom. Both of those feature harry vincent as the central character and the shadow is an ominous uncertain presence. I feel that the overall writing is better there too. Here the writer tells more than shows and there doesn't seem to be a central character to invest in like previous novels. Cliches also abound and the word "evidently" comes up alot as do convenient plot devices.

While it may sort of foreshadow the joker, it certainly doesn't live up to the reputation of the clown prince of crime and is otherwise a very weak entry into the shadow series

[J.L. Lamastus]

Great to read another Shadow double novel. This one was a blast. I finally have read all three of the Voodoo Master tales. My favorite villain from the Shadow. The second tale, Death's Harlequin, was a nice twisty story.

[ISMOTU]

Two full Shadow pulp novels and one radio script that foreshadow aspects of Batman’s greatest foe, the Joker. Pulp action and adventure at its finest.

[Steve]

Both fast-paced tales, and Death's Harelquin has the Tinsley stamp of femme fatales and bloody deaths.

The final battle between The Shadow and the Voodoo Master was entertaining with hordes of zombies. :-)