In which I rant about The Shadow.
THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER SHADOW MOVIE. ((Edit: gripe, the guy changed the website... can't find the information now.))
It's a rumor -- very much a rumor. But THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER SHADOW MOVIE. ((Edit: At least, I really hope so.))
They'd better get it right this time.
a) The Shadow is an unknown. He is not Lamont Cranston; that's just ONE of his MANY secret identities. The character, like Doctor Who, works best when no one knows who he is.
b) The Shadow has AGENTS. In fact, the best Shadow stories I've ever read were largely seen through the eyes of his agents. He can go solo on very important missions, but one of his many skills is effective leadership and delegation. In the pulps, my favorite agent is Burbank, but Vincent, Burke, Marsland, Drs Tam and Sayre, and Myra Reldon all have their moments; and Commissioner Weston, Inspector Cardona, and Vic Marquette are all welcome guests. The real Lamont Cranston even shows up a few times -- for the record, he knows about the Shadow's impersonations and considers it a bit of a lark. Margo Lane, the real Cranston's girlfriend, has never been used well in any medium, but she's more effective in the pulps than in the movie.
c) The Baldwin movie did the invisibility thing very effectively, but it is important to recall that the Shadow never wears his cloak in daylight. He has disguises for public events.
d) The Shadow is not stupid. That's very important. (It's also nice if his agents aren't unduly stupid either.) He also doesn't waste time regretting failures -- his own or his agents'. He follows Takuan Soho's model of the unfettered mind: allowing nothing to stop him, paying more attention to what can be done than what can't. If something goes wrong, he accepts it and moves on.
e) Batman Begins aside, I don't think the Shadow should be reintroduced in a making-of-the-hero story. There have been too many of those lately. In the pulps, the past was not important to the Shadow, except when he could learn from it. If someone has to come of age, let it be an agent. And please, PLEASE... don't make the Shadow evil or obsolete.
That's all the meta I can think of now. But there will be more.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
It's a rumor -- very much a rumor. But THEY'RE MAKING ANOTHER SHADOW MOVIE. ((Edit: At least, I really hope so.))
They'd better get it right this time.
a) The Shadow is an unknown. He is not Lamont Cranston; that's just ONE of his MANY secret identities. The character, like Doctor Who, works best when no one knows who he is.
b) The Shadow has AGENTS. In fact, the best Shadow stories I've ever read were largely seen through the eyes of his agents. He can go solo on very important missions, but one of his many skills is effective leadership and delegation. In the pulps, my favorite agent is Burbank, but Vincent, Burke, Marsland, Drs Tam and Sayre, and Myra Reldon all have their moments; and Commissioner Weston, Inspector Cardona, and Vic Marquette are all welcome guests. The real Lamont Cranston even shows up a few times -- for the record, he knows about the Shadow's impersonations and considers it a bit of a lark. Margo Lane, the real Cranston's girlfriend, has never been used well in any medium, but she's more effective in the pulps than in the movie.
c) The Baldwin movie did the invisibility thing very effectively, but it is important to recall that the Shadow never wears his cloak in daylight. He has disguises for public events.
d) The Shadow is not stupid. That's very important. (It's also nice if his agents aren't unduly stupid either.) He also doesn't waste time regretting failures -- his own or his agents'. He follows Takuan Soho's model of the unfettered mind: allowing nothing to stop him, paying more attention to what can be done than what can't. If something goes wrong, he accepts it and moves on.
e) Batman Begins aside, I don't think the Shadow should be reintroduced in a making-of-the-hero story. There have been too many of those lately. In the pulps, the past was not important to the Shadow, except when he could learn from it. If someone has to come of age, let it be an agent. And please, PLEASE... don't make the Shadow evil or obsolete.
That's all the meta I can think of now. But there will be more.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!