Forged in war, The Phantom Detective wages a one-man battle on crime! Solving impossible mysteries and delivering his own justice, he is the underworld’s masked nightmare!
Richard Curtis Van Loan, the ace of sleuths, probes a maze of mysterious murder to break a chain of death when catastrophe rocks the nation in the wake of a master criminal’s fiendish plan! The Phantom goes into action to stem the tide of menace and intrigue ensnaring innocent victims!
As with many Pulp heroes, The Phantom Detective made his way into comic books as that media gained more and more prominence. Published originally in his own Pulp magazine by Thrilling Publications, the character also had a life as a four-color hero. The Phantom Detective debuted in Thrilling Comics, a title published by Pines under his company’s comic line, usually referred to as Nedor Comics. His costume included the top hat that he never wore anywhere in the Pulps except on the covers!
Even though the actual Pulp magazine ended in 1953, multiple companies have reprinted the original stories and contributed new stories to the Phantom Detective’s legacy. Various additions have been made to the Phantom’s canon by some, including adding a supernatural tone to the adventures, even to the character himself. Also, The Phantom Detective has even crossed over with other Pulp heroes in newer stories, taking on everything from aliens to Hitler himself. Even with that, the original wild, almost madcap at times adventures of Thrilling’s one-man mystery solving army against crime capture the charm and intensity of the classic Pulp era better than anything else. Also, they stand as a testament to how a character can shift and change, develop and grow, to become one of the most recognized and longest surviving Pulp characters of the period.
The Phantom Strikes Back was originally published in the October 1939 issue of The Phantom Detective Magazine and is read with pulse pounding intensity by award winning voice actor Milton Bagby.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Lead, Poison, Steel
Chapter 2: The Waters of Wrath
Chapter 3: Tangled Threads
Chapter 4: Marie Perette
Chapter 5: What Else?
Chapter 6: Ditched
Chapter 7: Cigar Butt
Chapter 8: Drinks for Five
Chapter 9: The Domino Strikes
Chapter 10: The Inconceivable
Chapter 11: All Lines Down
Chapter 12: Death Flight
Chapter 13: On the “River Queen”
Chapter 14: The Invasion
Chapter 15: Gold!
Chapter 16: River Death
Chapter 17: The Killer’s Cigar
Chapter 18: Stripped!
Chapter 19: Foretaste of Death
Chapter 20: Lone Vigil
Chapter 21: Suspects Eliminated
Chapter 22: Black Gold
Chapter 23: Taste off Hell
Chapter 24: Mardi Gras King
Chapter 25: Retribution
