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!
Sabotage walks hand in hand with death, hurling a challenge at The Phantom Detective! He battles as a one-man army against a desperate criminal’s bid for unholy power!
Desperate to find his place in the world and to help others, millionaire and war veteran Richard Curtis Van Loan follows a suggestion made by Frank Havens, his father’s friend, and solves a crime that local police can’t seem to unravel. Inspired by his success, Van Loan sets himself on a path to become the world’s greatest crimefighter. Following a regimen of his own design, Van Loan not only trains himself to be in excellent physical shape, he also pursues the skills necessary to deal a crushing blow to the underworld. Learning all that he could about crime detection and the various sciences associated with investigating it, including forensics and psychology, Van Loan turned himself into a master detective. He also went to great lengths to become an expert in both escaping any situation and in concealing his identity through disguises, making him a veritable phantom, impossible to identify. Hence, The Phantom Detective was born, although he was referred to only as ‘The Phantom’ in the stories.
After undertaking several cases that were as much adventures he survived with luck and disguises and then delving into mysteries that tested his abilities, The Phantom became world renowned amongst men on both sides of the law. Because, however, no one knew his true identity, that is except for Frank Havens, the masked man carried a personal calling card, a platinum badge cast in the shape of the domino mask, like the one he wore on his face.
‘Murder Calls the Phantom’ was originally published in the March 1941 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: They Die by Fire
Chapter 2: Genius is Doomed
Chapter 3: Mysterious Orders
Chapter 4: Spider of Death
Chapter 5: “Many Will Die!”
Chapter 6: In a Salmon Trap
Chapter 7: Tunnel of Death
Chapter 8: Death Walks Closely
Chapter 9: When Murder Fails
Chapter 10: Lost Engine Part
Chapter 11: Death on the River
Chapter 12: Little Footprints
Chapter 13: Queer Red McMurtry
Chapter 14: Kidnapped Patient
Chapter 15: Silent Death Again
Chapter 16: Stream of Death
Chapter 17: Another Murder Added
Chapter 18: Fiends Wield Torches
Chapter 19: Under the River
Chapter 20: At Grips with Death
Chapter 21: Murder’s Grim Feast
