The Shadow- Archie Comics 1960 version by Mike Machlan

This is the last of my Mike Machlan pieces. It took me a while to get the scanning done correctly for this piece as my previous scan did not match the artwork and the pencils looked blurry.

I mentioned before that I had been purchasing a few of Mike Machlan's pieces a while ago and had been sending a little bit of extra money back to Mike's widow with each piece I purchased. I had been given two gifts at the time and I was told that this was a gift from Mike's widow.

Little did she know that I actually have a personal attachment to The Shadow through my grandfather. My grandfather passed away a few years back, but during the early days of my comic art collecting, I had been updating my grandmother regarding my comic art acquisitions as my grandfather had previously filled that role for me in years past. She was sweet and listened to my ramblings from time to time and every once in a while, would put her two cents in. Sadly, she too has since passed, but her stories of my grandfather left me with a feeling of comfort when I look at this piece.

My Grandfather was an antiques dealer on the east coast in retirement. We rarely connected in interests, but one thing we did talk about was collecting things. Be it toys, stamps, coins, comics, furniture, decorations, etc. He was the person that taught me how to research items, how build a collection, how to preserve collections, and how to look at the intricacies of an item to help delineate its true history. Be it a magnifying glass for stamps to decipher the different types of paper down to the color of the paper fibers, watermarks, perforation counts, glue centering, details in the artwork, history of the stamps, cancelations, etc. He taught me the basics of how to preserve items such as preserving the patina, preservation supplies, pH balance, and light damage. Further, how to help identify fakes by looking for signs mismatching subcomponents, the lack of aging, or signs of subpar restoration. Lastly, how to find focus in a subcategory to allow for the possibility of becoming an expert in a field.

My Grandfather was a retired Air-Force co-pilot who fought in WW2. After the war, he spent many years of his life working for a shipping company and traveling the world. He was a well-educated man and loved spending his days solving the New York Times crossword puzzles.

I was collecting comic books in the later years of my grandfather's life. He listened to my collections but had no true connection the medium as his focus was more along the lines of common items you might find in an antique store such as dishes, signs, books, furniture, stamps, etc. He may have mentioned in passing his time reading newspapers, but it wasn't until his passing and my discussions with my grandmother that I learned of his love for The Shadow.

I find comfort in the things I learned from my grandfather as that was his role in my life considering he lived clear across the country. Amazingly, I don't have much left from my grandfather since he lived so far away. Thus, it's the things that inspired him that help me connect with him. The story of his love of The Shadow being one of those things.

When I received this piece, I traveled back to the memories I had with my grandfather and grandmother. A very kind gift, which had depth beyond its original intention. I will cherish this piece for years to come as it elicits happy memories with my loving family.