"The Shadow Laughs" was originally published in the October 1931 issue of The Shadow Magazine. When murder strikes, The Shadow challenges the might of one hidden mastermind who reigns supreme in the criminal underworld.

During the eighteen year run of the Shadow pulp magazine, there was an amazing consistency in the series, probably due to the fact that Walter Gibson wrote most of the stories. So it's a bit jarring when I read this story and found a few inconsistencies. In any other pulp series, that would be nearly taken for granted. But in the case of The Shadow, it's a surprise indeed. The characterization is a little off, the backgrounds are a little off and the guise of The Shadow is a little off. But all that can be laid to the fact that this was only the third story in the series, and not all the elements had yet jelled. Gibson was experimenting with a few things -- minor things, to be sure -- and it shows.

And with that caveat, I still think this is a terrific Shadow story. It's surprisingly long, at over 54,000 words, about 10,000 more than usual. But it's easy to read, and I didn't notice the extra length. This particular story has an important place in the magazine series; it contains key elements and help develop the title character and the supporting characters. All of this I'll explain after you get some general overview of the plot.

Murder strikes in Philadelphia. Frank Jarnow has discovered a sinister plot that involves wealthy clubman Henry Windsor and his younger brother Blair. Windsor tries to warn Henry, but as he is about to reveal the plot, he is shot by an unknown killer. Henry Windsor is framed for Frank's death. Detective Harvey Griffith, the keenest man on the Philly police force gets too close to the hidden murderer, and is killed by the same mystery man!

Now all this is just the window wrapping that gets out story started. For most of the story, the chapters alternate between Manhattan where The Shadow tracks down the identity of the hired killer and his cohorts, and Brookdale, somewhere in Massachusetts, where Harry Vincent has been sent to guard young Blair, brother of the man framed for murder, Henry Windsor, and discover the true nature of the threat. And that's when things start getting interesting. There's a whole crew of suspicious people staying with Blair at his country mansion. Vincent must weed out the suspects before disaster strikes!

By the climax of the story, the reader has discovered that the mastermind behind the whole plot is old Isaac Coffran. That's not giving away any vital plot elements; it's revealed to the reader about a third of the way into the story. Isaac Coffran first appeared in the previous issue "Eyes of The Shadow." He escaped justice at the end of that story, to reappear here in this one.

Coffran isn't the only recurring adversary of The Shadow. Another character reappearing from a previous story is Steve Cronin. Cronin was a gangster who appeared in the first two Shadow novels. Having slipped past The Shadow in the previous two, he appears in this third one, still as nasty as ever! This time, The Shadow will get him for sure... maybe.

Spotter and Birdie Crull are two more gangsters who show up in this pulp tale, who had previous run-ins with The Shadow. Birdie Crull was a cold-blooded killer who escaped The Shadow's vengeance in the first novel "The Living Shadow." Spotter had appeared in both the previous magazine stories as a small wiry hoodlum who slinks through the criminal underworld. He was something of a template for the character who was later introduced as an agent of The Shadow, Hawkeye.

It seems that in these very early Shadow stories, author Gibson wanted to keep some of the criminal characters as recurring characters, bringing them back again and again. That policy changed, as of this magazine issue, however.

SPOILER ALERT!

Although all four characters, Isaac Coffran, Steve Cronin, Birdie Crull and Spotter, once again escape The Shadow at the end of this story, only Steve Cronin ever played any further part in a Shadow pulp mystery. Coffran and Cronin were mentioned in "Gangdom's Doom," the fifth story in the series, but only by name; they never actually appeared. And from then on, we never heard of those three again. Maybe Gibson was holding them in reserve for future novels, but never ended up using them. Steve Cronin, on the other hand, met his demise in "Gangdom's Doom." After escaping The Shadow's brand of justice in three other tales, the fourth one was his downfall.

But not to worry... there are plenty of other bad guys in this story who don't escape The Shadow. Plenty bite the dust as they receive .45 caliber slugs from the thundering automatics hidden beneath that black cloak. So even though four crooks escape, the end is still a most satisfying one.

END SPOILER!

The single thing that makes this Shadow novel the most famous is that for the very first time, The Shadow meets the real Lamont Cranston. In the first story of the series, there was no mention of Lamont Cranston. In the second story, readers learned that The Shadow would often disguise himself as millionaire, world-traveler Lamont Cranston, when the real Cranston was out of the country. In this third story in the series, the real Cranston returns from abroad, and his presence puts a crimp into The Shadow's plans.

So The Shadow accosts Cranston in his New Jersey mansion in the middle of the night. It's not a very friendly meeting. Cranston awakes to hear his voice whispered in the dark. It's The Shadow in his cloak and slouch hat. He drops the garb and shows his face -- its an exact duplicate of Cranston's! The Shadow tells Cranston that he intends to use his identity, and that he must leave the country the next morning. It's not a request; it's a demand. No explanation is given.

When Cranston balks, The Shadow threatens him. Not with violence, but with the ursuping of his identity. The Shadow proves that if the two men come into conflict, The Shadow would win. He knows more about Cranston's background than even the real Cranston does. He knows intimate details of his financial situation that the true millionaire doesn't even know. He can duplicate Cranston's signature perfectly. The real Cranston, realizing he has no choice, capitulates and leaves the next morning.

That's the last we see of Cranston in this story. He leaves, not knowing what The Shadow is up to. He doesn't know that the cloaked man is on the side of right; he has no clue that his identity will be used to fight crime. But the threat is real enough that he leaves, as commanded. It is only in later stories of The Shadow that the relationship between the two men thaws. Only later does Cranston realize that The Shadow is using his identity to fight against evil. And in some later stories, he even assists The Shadow. But not in this one. He is threatened; he leaves... the end.

So, one might wonder, why did The Shadow pick the identity of Lamont Cranston as the one to use as his disguise? Of course his great wealth would be the obvious answer. Crimefighting can be a very expensive business. But there was another, less obvious, reason, as well. The Shadow chose to contact his agents by short-wave radio. And, as The Shadow explained to the real Cranston, "There are reasons why I choose to be here - as Lamont Cranston. There is an excellent wireless station upstairs." Readers of the second story in the series, "Eyes of The Shadow," will remember it played an important part in the storyline.

A minor, but intriguing, note to the story is that Claude H. Fellows, the prosperous insurance broker and confidential agent for The Shadow, hired Burbank, who became his contact man and appeared in the vast majority of pulp stories. For anyone interested in the timeline, it would seem that Fellows worked for The Shadow first. Readers are told that in "Eyes of The Shadow," when Lamont Cranston, actually The Shadow, had been wounded, Fellows had hired the services of a wireless operator named Burbank who operated Cranston's amateur sending set while The Shadow was incapacitated. So, for those of you who are keeping track, Fellows was the earliest recorded agent of The Shadow. Harry Vincent was next, followed by Burbank. Hope that keeps the record straight.

Another reason that this story is a key one is that it introduces Vic Marquette of the Secret Service. Vic was a recurring character to aided The Shadow, and appeared in nearly four dozen pulp stories. His introduction, here, is a typical Gibson one. When he appears, the reader doesn't know if he is a crook or if he follows the law. Throughout the entire story, his actions can be interpreted two ways. It's only at the end that Vic reveals himself to be a lawman. Author Walter Gibson went on to use this ruse nearly every time he introduced a recurring character: Hawkeye, Miles Crofton, Myra Reldon, Dr. Roy Tam, Inspector Eric Delka, Slade Farrow and the list goes on. Each was introduced in a story which made their actions suspect, but then explained it all away in the end. It should be noted, however, that this is the first time he used that ploy.

This story repeats the facts regarding The Shadow's radio broadcasts, as described in the first two novels. At the broadcasting studio, no one knows the identity of The Shadow. In a special room, hung with heavy black velvet, he speaks over the air in cloak and mask. An underworld spy watches the door, yet no one ever enters that room!

Then this story goes into a bit more detail about the radio show, itself. Harry Vincent listens to the broadcast at Blair Windsor's estate, and hears the radio drama over WNX at nine o'clock. At the end, the narrator comes on, speaks his lines, and closes with that uncanny laugh. Yes, the narrator is The Shadow! In real life, that's how The Shadow's radio show was back in 1931. And the pulp story mirrors the actual broadcasts of the time.

Again, The Shadow uses those seemingly innocent broadcasts to send hidden messages to his agents. No matter where the agents are, if then listen to the program being aired, they will detect certain words being emphasized. Stringing together those emphasized words recreates The Shadow's message. This is the only story I can recall reading in which those emphasized words appear in the dramatic portion of the program, spoken by actors not the announcer. Usually, they appear in commercials and other announcements.

Another thing that was atypical about the secret messages in those broadcasts was that there were two different radio stations used, here. Harry Vincent is advised to listen in to WGG at three o'clock and WNX at six and nine o'clock. This is the only story that mentions the call letters of WGG. In all other stories that this scheme is used to pass messages, WNX is the radio station to which the agents listen. Certainly noteworthy.

There were a couple other things that appeared in this story, which caught my attention because they weren't "normal." In this story, when The Shadow removes his black cloak and slouch hat, he wears a mask underneath. Twice, his appearance is described as a think, dark-clad figure in jersey-like clothing with a black silk mask over his face. It's the only time I can recall such a mask being described. I can only attribute it to the fact that Gibson was still fine-tuning his characters.

In all the other stories, Claude Fellows delivered reports to The Shadow by taking them to the old office building on Twenty-third Street, east of Broadway, and placing them through the mail slot of the cobwebby office with the name "B. Jonas" on the door. But in this story, he hands them to his stenographer and tells her, "Take this to the Jonas office." That's strange, putting such vital information into the hands of an employee. It would only make sense to me if she were an agent, too. Makes me wonder...

Stanley, Cranston's chauffeur, was also apparently being fine tuned. It's mentioned that the faithful limousine driver had previously been a racing driver. He doesn't often get to display his skill in these stories, but in this one he certainly does! His usual characterization is as a very quiet, calm employee. Never questions his master's orders. In most stories he rarely even says a word. In this pulp tale, however, he's quite a talkative guy. He smiles, he grimaces, he mutters to himself and talks up a blue streak. And he questions his instructions. Again, Gibson was still tinkering with the characters. I'll admit, I liked the later Stanley better.

A few other points of interest that should be mentioned about this story. It's suggested that The Shadow was a spy during the War (that would be World War I, using today's naming). It's mentioned only as a rumor, but certainly an interesting one! And I figure there must be some truth behind it, or it wouldn't have been mentioned in the story in the first place.

And for frosting on the cake, we also get a visit to Chinatown. There we get to see The Shadow evade some really nasty death traps in the underground maze. That should be worth the price of admission, alone! There is a character named Loo Look who resides deep in an underground maze. The later character Yat Soon was patterned after Loo Look. But Loo Look was one of the bad guys, assisting the overlord of the underworld, Tiger Bronson. Yat Soon, on the other hand, was a friend of The Shadow and staunch supporter of law and order.

As would be expected of a 1931 pulp story, the Chinese characters aren't treated gently. They are stupid, slant-eyed brutes who speak in pidgin English. "See crazy things. You keepee quiet. No talkee." Yes, I'm cringing as I see it again. But that's the way things were, back then.

No other agents of The Shadow appear in this story, because actually none of the others had been introduced, yet. And no sign of Commissioner Weston or Detective Cardona. It's just Harry Vincent, Burbank, Claude Fellows and The Shadow. We do get to see the black-cloaked master of the night use a couple of disguises, to remind readers of his amazing abilities with makeup. He appears as out-of-town gangster Reds Macklin in a couple scenes, and as an unnamed policeman in another. He is a master of disguise!

Readers take a short visit to the Black Ship, that notorious underworld hangout run by Red Mike. And the other underworld dive, The Pink Rat, is mentioned, as well. But we don't get to visit there.

The only unresolved plot element that I can remember has to do with come counterfeiting printing plates that are found in the coal bin down in the basement of a pawn shop. The Shadow finds them; later the police take possession of them and arrest the pawnshop owner, even though the reader knows he's innocent and they were planted. And then... nothing further is said. Who planted them? Why? What were they used for? What happened to the slimy pawn shop owner who was guilty of many things, but not of those printing plates? I hate loose threads, and this was one.

You should read this story. It's a key issue that includes the introduction of Vic Marsland and the actual Lamont Cranston. Crooks from the past return, and plot elements are set up for future stories. Plus it's a darned good Shadow story on its own.

"Voice of Death" was originally published in the February 15, 1940 issue of The Shadow Magazine. Ted Lycombe couldn't escape the obvious. His voice was heard by several reliable witnesses as he murdered Frank Barstead. He was identified easily. His was the voice of death. And it would take The Shadow to prove otherwise.

Ted Lycombe is a big-time polo player and member of the society set. But at the moment, he is short on cash. He needs five thousand dollars to pay off a debt to Frank Barstead. Normally Barstead might have let the loan slide for a while. But both Barstead and Lycombe are in love with the beautiful young Marian Farris. And Barstead doesn't feel in any generous mood when it comes to his romantic rival.

Frank Barstead demands immediate payment. Ted Lycombe tries to raise the cash, but he has all his money invested with Sherwood Gern, a first-rate swindler. Gern has plenty of promises for Ted, but no cash. Finally, the entire matter climaxes at Barstead's Greenwich Village apartment. There is an argument; a fight; gunshots!

Outside Frank Barstead's apartment stands Guy Winrow, his neighbor. Winrow has admitted Archie Freer and two others to the building, since Barstead didn't answer the buzzer. The four of them hear everything through Barstead's open transom. They hear and recognize Ted Lycombe's voice, hear the scuffle and the gunshots as well as the sounds of Lycombe making his escape via the balcony. They break down to door to find the dead body of Frank Barstead.

Inside the apartment is found other clues, all pointing to Ted Lycombe. There is no doubt; Lycombe committed cold-blooded murder. Four men were witness to the fact. And now Lycombe is on the run!

Ted Lycombe, naturally, professes his innocence. He's been framed! But his alibi doesn't hold water. He was supposedly meeting Marian Farris at the time of the murder. But, as it turns out, she was late for their appointment, and can't verify his whereabouts at the time of the crime. And that leaves Ted on the run from the police.

Will Ted turn to crime? It sure looks like it. Lycombe has always liked risks and considers crime to be something of a game. Now, with a murder rap pinned on him, he has nothing to lose! Only The Shadow can untangle the twisted threads in this strange mystery. Only The Shadow can clear young Ted and restore his reputation so that true love can reign victorious between Ted and Marian.

The Shadow doesn't do all of this by himself, of course. He has the assistance of his aides Moe Shrevnitz the taxi driver, most trusted agent Harry Vincent, contact man Burbank, and underworld contacts Cliff Marsland and Hawkeye. Assisting The Shadow from the side of law and order are Police Commissioner Ralph Weston, Inspector Joe Cardona and Detective Sergeant Markham.

In the earlier Shadow mysteries, Commissioner Weston believed there was no such person as The Shadow. By the time of this 1940 story, however, Weston has to concede that there is a fighter who calls himself The Shadow. Weston has met him on more than one occasion. But Weston still argues that the so-called Shadow might be anyone, perhaps half a dozen people, who take turns cloaking themselves in black. He's a hard guy to convince.

The often-mentioned but rarely-seen Burbank actually gets out into the field in this story. We still don't see his face; it's always conveniently concealed by shadows. But he does get a chance for active duty when he assists The Shadow in setting up some technical apparatus in an empty apartment. But always keeping communications open, he brings with him a switchboard and short-wave radio so he can continue his contact duties from his temporary headquarters. What a dedicated guy! Its good to see him have a chance to get out and get involved more directly.

The Shadow appears in several disguises in this story. He appears as Lamont Cranston, his most-oft used disguise. He appears as a gloomy unnamed man in a restaurant whose broad, sallow face masks The Shadow. And he spends a great deal of time in his official Shadow garb of black.

This Shadow character is not the same one of the earlier years. He no longer shoots to kill. He still shoots, but now he shoots to wound. Any attempts to do otherwise are met by unplanned accidents which prevent a fatal shot. Something always intervenes, and bullet is deflected.

The Shadow still keeps his cloak and hat in a secret drawer hidden beneath the rear seat of Cranston's limousine. And a duplicate set resides in a similar hiding place in Moe Shrevnitz's taxi. Also in that secret drawer is kept a flat make-up kit which The Shadow uses to switch disguises. We get to see him do so in this adventure.

The Shadow still displays the amazing ability to climb the outside of buildings. His rubber suction cups are not mentioned, having fallen out of favor with author Walter Gibson, apparently. They had only been mentioned once in the previous four years. Their use would return in later stories, but in this one, The Shadow climbs to a second-story balcony by finding finger grips and toe holds along the outside wall.

We are reminded of some of the locations from the earlier stories. The underworld dive on the East Side known as Red Mike's is mentioned. Red Mike, it may be remembered, was originally the proprietor of The Black Ship tavern before he opened up his own place. Red Mike, named not for his hair color, but for his florid face, was neither on the side of the law or on the side of the underworld. He carefully tread the fine line between. Red Mike doesn't actually appear here, but is briefly mentioned.

As to the mystery, itself, the solution is easily guessed by today's technology. Reproducing a voice, switching words around to create a different meaning - these things are commonplace today. But back in 1940, even though home recordings were possible, it was most uncommon. If you heard someone's voice, you rarely considered it could be a reproduction. And it's upon that fact that you must focus when you read this story.

We do get to see an interesting glimpse of an old radio studio, and some of the devices used for sound effects in recording radio scripts. And for an old time radio buff like myself, that alone is worth the price of admission.

There is one rather neat invention mentioned here: a teletector. It's described as something like a dictograph, but with a television attachment. It carries pictures, as well as sound. It doesn't broadcast, but rather depends upon wires to transmit the signal. And it explains how some of the puzzling crimes are committed. Again, you have to put yourself in a 1940 mind-frame in order to enjoy this story to its fullest. If you think in terms of current times, things tend to start to fall apart.

This is one of the few Shadow stories that I've read where the characters have somewhat normal names. No more Uther, Shiwan or Dortha. Here we have Ted, Marian and Frank. It almost makes you wonder if a Street and Smith editor made some changes to Gibson's work. These names are definitely not the usual Gibson-style names.

Of course, you know from the beginning that Ted Lycombe is probably innocent. Frank Barstead has been slain as the result of some premeditated scheme which will pave the way to newer and bigger crime. Of all who investigate the murder, only one will pierce the surrounding facts to the evil core. Only The Shadow!

John Olsen was first introduced to The Shadow in the early 1960's, tuning in to rebroadcasts of his adventures on KEX radio in Portland, Oregon. Several years later, John was drawn to a hardback book entitled "The Weird Adventures of The Shadow," containing three Shadow novels reprinted from the old pulp magazines. The pulp Shadow was a far different character from the beloved radio version, but the stories drew him in and opened his eyes to a richer version of the hero. Today, John is retired in Sherwood, Oregon. He has read all 325 of the old Shadow pulp mysteries and enjoys them so much that, as of this writing, he is well over half way through reading them all again for a second time.