>>These are the original stories as they ran in the magazines, and
>
>They do not, however, appear to be in the original order, which, at
>least for The Shadow, is rather annoying, as there was at least
>some continuity between stories, so having them out of order
>and selectively printed by some arbitrary "greatest stories" marker is
>lame, IMO.
>
>Slarti
>Yes, yes, I'm an ungrateful sonofabitch.

The've started with stories that haven't been published in decades. A small number of the Shadow novels were reprinted back in the 60s and 70s, and all the Doc Savage stories were republished, with a half dozen new ones thrown in at the end. There are over 280 Shadow novels and close to 190 Doc Savage stories.

As to the "greatest stories" marker, as I understand it, this comes from the original polls the publisher had used.

Now, why care about these two characters? Both were the forerunners to most modren comic book heroes. There's a lot of the Shadow in Batman and the other vigilante types, while Doc Savage had a Fortress of Solitude before Superman moved into the neighberhood. Both are unique American Characters that should be remembered more then they are.

Craig