The Emperor of Death (The Phantom Detective #1) (1933)

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by G. Wayman Jones AKA D.L. Champion AKA Jack D'arcy


The Phantom Detective was the star of the second pulp magazine to feature an ongoing hero, following The Shadow and predating Doc Savage by one month. 


Millionaire Richard Van Loan lived the exciting life of an ace during World War I and had trouble readjusting to sedate civilian life after the war until he found his new calling: battling crime as the masked Phantom Detective. 


In this first adventure, he is already well established, having earned the respect of law enforcement everywhere and the fear of the underworld. 


He almost meets his match against Hesterberg, the Mad Red, who has a plot to blackmail foreign governments into providing loans to Russia by threatening to leak a cache of sensitive documents. 


We never learn what’s in these documents, but they act as a fine McGuffin to pit our hero against the villain and his evil hypnotist, Sligo. 


Though definitely a match for any man, the Phantom is a bit more grounded and vulnerable than a superhuman figure like Doc Savage. 


This is a fine introduction to the character.

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