The year was 1930. To boost sales of their Detective Story Magazine, pulp publishers Street and Smith decided to sponsor a radio program where an announcer read stories from the magazine.

Rather than referring to him as "the guy who reads the stories," a man at Street and Smith's ad agency suggested naming him The Shadow.

Soon customers began asking for a pulp magazine of that name.

No such magazine existed at the time -- but Street and Smith knew an opportunity when they saw one, and quickly decided to created just such a title.

In time The Master of Darkness recruited numerous agents, among them the mysterious Burbank.

Little is known about Burbank, other than the fact that he is an "old friend" of the Master of Darkness, and that his mission is to facilitate communication among agents.

The Shadow copyright Advance magazine Publishers, Inc./ The Condé Nast Pubs.

• Dial B Board
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11-Frank Readick
10-James Bama
9-Berni Wrightson
8-Magic by Gibson
7-James LaCurto
6-Meet Max Payne
5-Shadow Solutions
4-Shadow Clews
3-Another Clew
2-Cover Story
1-First Report
0-The Dial B Rebus
Pictured in logo: Burbank by Mike Kaluta © DC Comics, Inc., Burbank from "The Shadow" (1991 film). The Shadow © Advance magazine Publishers, Inc./ The Condé Nast Pubs.
THREE SHADOWY FRANKS - #1 OF 3

REPORT 11:
FRANK READICK

After James LaCurto left the radio role of "Detective Story Magazine Hour" narrator The Shadow, he was replaced by the talented and versatile Frank Readick.

Readick was a longtime associate of Orson Welles. He appeared briefly in Wells' film Journey Into Fear, and played a reporter in Welles' infamous 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast -- which created a nation-wide panic when it convinced the public Martians were really invading the Earth. Readick's totally believable turn a s newscaster Carl Phillips had a lot to do with the sensational panic the show created.

Readick's tremendous vocal skills brought a startling new dimension to "Detective Story Magazine Hour." His version of the show's masked narrator sounded more than a little like a seriously deranged maniac, leading a Variety critic to famously comment that he "waxes more melodramatic than the characters in the show."

And as Frank Readick’s sinister voice went crackling across the airwaves, audiences across America were eagerly transported into The Shadow's fiendishly-inviting world of brutal crime and swift justice.

In previous reports, we discussed how, despite publisher Street and Smith's intention of promoting Detective Story Magazine, the public started asking for "The Shadow" magazine, leading to the creation of that pulp title.

This often-told tale routinely omits the biggest reason for the public's sudden fascination with the character -- and that reason was the uniquely dark and twisted vocal characterization created by the uncommonly talented Frank Readick. Thanks Frank!

THREE SHADOWY FRANKS - #2 OF 3
PRESENTING PERFECT PULP POINTILIST
FRANK HAMILTON JR.