The Phantom Detective Collection (1953)

The Phantom Detective pulp lasted for 170 issues from February, 1933 through Fall, 1953. Richard Curtis Van Loan -- The Phantom Detective. The greatest sleuth of all time! A worthy successor to Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin and Philo Vance. Here you will read the exciting, sensational story of his single handed war against rampant banditry in America. His courageous "Lone Wolf" campaign to rid the nation of organized crime and big time racketeers. His identity known to only one person -- this masked enemy of crime is a product of the cataclysmic World War. Born to purple, wealthy beyond all avarice, the war made him realize the futility of his pampered life. Daily face to face with death on the flaming Eastern Front, peace time activities seemed too tame for him after his career as a "war bird" was over. Others, seeking re-adjustment, vainly took to other careers -- many to crime. Dick Van Loan consecrated himself to fighting the pernicious forces that sought to hold America in their grip. Equiped with a knowledge of criminology second to none on earth, a master of make-up, the actor's art, mimicry, ventriloquism and hypnotism -- he embarked on his perilous career. Sacrificing those things that the ordinary man may have for the asking -- the simple pleasures of home and hearth -- he prepared to gamble desperately against gangdom's-strangle hold on America. Yet -- great though his sacrifice -- he would have chosen no other path. For the Phantom was born from the ashes of romance. And now, the record of this intrepid ace of detectives, so full of thrills, mystery, and world shaking events, will come to you month by month in THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE -- the biggest magazine value on the newsstands today! This collection contains stories from: Thrilling Comics 53, 62, 65, 70 America's Best Comics 26