The Phantom Detective

To date, there must have been thousands of characters published in the pulp novels of the 1930's, this one was by far the most successful, next to the Shadow and Doc Savage, with his book running from February of 1933, a month before Doc Savage appeared on newsstands, until 1953, with a total of 170 issues. The stories have been credited to several different pseudonyms, the first eleven being published under the Better house name "G. Wayman Jones", the rest being published under the house name of Robert Wallace.The Phantom was in reality wealthy playboy Richard Curtis Van Loan. In his first few stories, he was introduced as a world famous detective whose identity was known only to one man, Frank Havens, publisher of the Clarion newspaper. Orphaned at a young age, Van Loan soon inherited wealth. During WWI, he became a pilot and shoot down many German planes. When he returned home, he found that the life of the idle rich was not for him. At the suggestion of Frank, Richard solved a crime that the police could not. Believing that he had found his true calling at last, Van Loan immersed himself in the art of detection and forensics, as well as escape artistry and disguises. When he was dealing with law enforcement officials, he carried a platinum badge in the shape of a domino mask, so that all police would know who he was. To any and all who follow this blog and wish to read the adventures of this masked man of mystery, simply click this link http://www.adventurehouse.com/contents/en-us/d203.html. So get out there and expand your imaginations with more thrilling fiction today!