Continued from yesterday's cover, we see what The Phantom Stranger has been after all along. It's cool to see The Shadow in the movies and comics, and I have enjoyed both. For me though, I will always be most fond of the classic radio dramas featuring the character. They bring me back to camping trips with my family, and I have always loved the (now mostly lost) art form of the radio play. The Shadow, Mystery Theater, X-Minus One and many other programs really knew how to stimulate the theater of the mind.
I know what you mean, Ross. My hometown radio station used to replay some of the old broadcasts (featuring Orson Wells as the voice of Lamont Cranston aka the Shadow) during the 1960's. But, having been raised on comic books and TV depictions of superheroes, I still prefer optical stimulation, of my mental theater, for the most part.
ReplyDeleteHence, I'm one of the few people who actually _loved_ Alec Baldwin's 1994 portrayal of the Man Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men.
On the other other hand, I have to give two thumbs' down to the trailer for DEADPOOL 2 that was shown just before the Opening Night showing of LOGAN at my hometown multiplex, last night. About 2.5 dozen people in the audience...and _none_ of them laughed at Ryan Reynolds' jokes!
I liked the Alec Baldwin Shadow movie too. I also liked the Billy Zane Phantom movie quite a let. I've never heard any of The Shadow radio broadcasts, but I have read a few of the old Shadow pulps.
ReplyDeleteBut, Ross, I do remember catching the occasional Mystery Theater broadcasts when I was a kid (with host E.G. Marshall), and those were always a treat! Stan Freberg did a great promo back in the day to demonstrate how radio could do things that radio simply couldn't. Follow the link below to hear it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppZ57EeX6vE
P.S. I assume that most of you have already heard about the upcoming Shadow/Batman team-up....
"quite a lot"
ReplyDelete"that television simply couldn't"
D'oh!
If you have Sirius XM, there's an old time radio channel that regularly plays all the shows you listed and many more- enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThe podcast "Decoder Ring Theatere" is a throwback to radio shows. One of their programs is "The Red Panda Adventures", an homage to heroes like the Shadow, the Spirit, the Green Hornet, and such. At first it was pretty silly for my taste, but it got pretty good within a few episodes. Then the story enters World War II and it gets really good.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of podcasts on iTunes for old time radio shows. Also check out fourble.com or there is another site that has a HUGE list of downloadable shows. (I'm on my phone right now so I don't have the link. I'll post it when I'm back on my laptop.)
ReplyDeleteThe website I was thinking of was https://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio
DeleteIt has an extensive list of available shows which can be downloaded or streamed for free since most of them are public domain.
There actually are several online sources for audio dramas, and even an awards system for them. If I remember, I'll swing by this page on Monday to provide a few links (including a couple that I'm involved with).
ReplyDeletePS: Ross, this is one of your most outstanding covers to date. I could definitely see Cranston taking on the mantle of Phantom Stranger, even temporarily, and I'd pay that 60-cent price tag in any decade to read about it.
Cool! A double-header!
ReplyDeleteThanks again Ross.
That mist... Is it from the Hanged Man on SHADOW Hill? I can't remember seeing any art from Astro City on this blog yet.
ReplyDeleteSonofjack said...
ReplyDelete"P.S. I assume that most of you have already heard about the upcoming Shadow/Batman team-up...."
Yep. Got a copy of it on order.
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Blaine Crowley said...
"The podcast "Decoder Ring Theatere" is a throwback to radio shows. One of their programs is "The Red Panda Adventures",
Did you know that one of the [RL] Red Panda’s other names is the term, now probably better known from other uses, ‘Firefox’?
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Talking of old time radio shows, albeit in a different genre, are there any other fans here of 1950s' British comedy series 'The Goon Show'?
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Team-up suggestion, because of similar names: give Johnny Quest some help from Johnny Quick.
Sorry, Simreeve. They've all come down with the Dreaded Lurgi
ReplyDeleteWhat i want to know is, why is Dr Fate summoning the Phantom Stranger away from Earth? Must be some big brouhaha with the Lords of Chaos brewing ...
ReplyDelete@Blaine Crowley: There's also an awesome unicyclist from China who juggles rice bowls on to her head. Stage name: the Red Panda Acrobat.
ReplyDelete