Influences: Walter B. Gibson

Walter Brown Gibson (1897-1985) was a professional magician, better known by his pen name — Maxwell Grant.  Gibson wrote some crime stories as a side-gig for his day job, which was reporter and crossword puzzle writer.  He was approached to produce a series of print stories centering around the character of The Shadow. 

The Shadow, at that point, was simply a voice.  It was the name used by the narrator of Detective Stories radio drama.  Gibson set about to create the character and backstory...