The first eleven Phantom Detective stories were published under the Better house pseudonym of "G. Wayman Jones", and were largely written by D. L. Champion, a.k.a.

These were largely written by Edwin V. Burkholder, Norman A. Daniels (36+), Anatole F. Feldman, Charles Greenberg, George A. MacDonald, Laurence Donovan and C. S. Montanye.

In the first few issues of the title, the Phantom is introduced as a world-famous detective, whose true identity is only known by one man—Frank Havens, the publisher of the Clarion newspaper.

When dealing with law enforcement officials he carries a platinum badge in the shape of a domino mask as proof of his true identity.

Laurence Donovan introduced a kid sidekick named Chip Dorlan in the 1939 novel, The Sampan Murders.

The property slid into the public domain when the copyright was not renewed, allowing others to bring the character back into print.

As of 2018, 133 of the 170 novels have been reprinted, 126 of them as replicas, including the cover and additional contents, of the original Phantom Detective pulp issues.

In 2016, Airship 27 Productions published a new anthology featuring five original Phantom Detective stories by Gary Lovisi, Gene Moyers, Whit Howland and Robert Ricci.