The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930, as the mysterious narrator of the radio program "Detective Story Hour", which was developed to boost sales of Street & Smith's monthly pulp "Detective Story Magazine". When listeners of the program began asking at newsstands for copies of "that Shadow detective magazine", Street & Smith launched a magazine based on the character, and hired Gibson to create a concept to fit the name and voice and to write a story featuring him. The first issue of the pulp series "The Shadow Magazine" went on sale April 1, 1931.