Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 12, 2024 | 1 comment

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to late creator Walter Gibson, born 127 years ago, on Sept. 12, 1897…

By JIM BEARD

So, just how good was Walter Gibson’s co-creation the Shadow? Well, it birthed an entire army of imitators, knock-offs, rip-offs, and wanna-be Masters of Darkness, so overall, I’d say pretty darn good. And that continues to this day, by the way, a testament to the writer’s drive to create a leader among the pack, not a follower.

I love that. As the saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery mediocrity can pay to greatness.” The only argument I’d raise to that when it concerns the Shadow is that not every character who paid the flattery turned out to be mediocre. Quite the contrary; Gibson’s baby spawned some incredible children itself, a few of which could possibly give the Master a run for his shadows.

Gibson, our birthday boy today, was also a product of inspiration, in terms of his professional careers. I mean, the list of those who he drew that inspiration from includes none other than the great Harry Houdini, just to mention one biggie. It’s no surprise that creators who came after him saw greatness in Gibson and tried to set their bucket in that same well. I’ve done it myself with my own characters. When you borrow, you borrow from the best and most times you can’t go wrong… just remember to always acknowledge who led the way.

Here’s a special list I put together of fictional characters who I feel owe a little something to the Shadow, and to Walter Gibson, too. There are many, many more beyond these 13, but I had to stop somewhere.

Happy birthday, Walter. You continue to inspire me.

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The Phantom Detective (1933). One of the first, if not the first pulp characters to walk a similar path to the Shadow. The Phantom, as he was known in his tales, was also the second pulp hero to have his own self-titled magazine after Gibson’s co-creation.

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The Spider (1933). Richard Wentworth was the first pulp avenger to perhaps truly follow in the same vein as the Shadow, and oftentimes topped him in the amount of violence churned out in his stories. The Spider never met a pair of .45s he didn’t want to mow down criminals with.

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The Crimson Avenger (1938). Over on the comic book side of the tracks, the Crimson Avenger adopted the Shadow’s hat-cloak-and-guns look before he later fell in with the spandex crowd.

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The Sandman (1938). I see some of the Shadow in Wesley Dodds’ early comic-book adventures. He, too, like the Crimson Avenger, adopted a skintight ensemble a bit later in his career.

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The Batman (1939). This is The Big One, The Big Kahuna, the guy whose very first adventure was ripped off from the Shadow. But that’s OK; the Caped Crusader grew past that plagiarized beginning to become his own creature of the night, and did actually meet up with his inspiration a couple of times to thank him.

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The Black Bat (1939). Just a few months after Batman’s comic book debut, this dude swung down from the shadows in the pulp magazines to try to corner the market in black capes and masks. He and the Darknight Detective even had to duke it out legally to see who imitated who, but Batman won, eventually.

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The Green Lama (1940). Another pulp hero who owes so much to the Shadow it just ain’t funny. Hey, Lama! Get your own origin, wouldja?

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The Thunderer (1941). A little-known Timely (Marvel) Comics hero who sports some Shadow inspiration, I think. Take a look and decide for yourself.

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Moon Knight (1975). You may be asking why he’s on my list, but if you compare his multiple-civilian-identity shtick to that of the Shadow’s, I think you may agree with me that some debt is owed in that arena.

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The Shroud (1976). One of my favorite lower-tier Marvel heroes, the Shroud’s creator, writer Steve Englehart, went on record to say that he was his attempt at a cross between Batman and the Shadow.

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V (1982). Hey, Alan Moore himself stated it was true, so who am I to argue with him?

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The Terror (1988). He’s got the look and he’s got the talent to deliver terror, so I’m calling it as I see it with this guy.

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Darkwing Duck (1991). Hey! Look it up! I just write these things, I don’t always explain ’em!

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MORE

— 13 SHADOW COVERS: A Walter Gibson Birthday Salute. Click here.

— The TOP 13 SUPERHEROES Inspired by the Pulps — RANKED. Click here.

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When JIM BEARD’s not editing and publishing through his two houses, Flinch Books and Becky Books, he’s pounding out adventure fiction with both original and licensed characters. In fact, he’s put words in the mouths of Luke Skywalker, Superman, Fox Mulder, Carl Kolchak, Peter Venkman and the Green Hornet… and lived to tell about it. His latest pop culture non-fiction tomes are Breaking Bold and Brave, available here, and Walking the Wider Web, available here.