Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of cartoons that tells a story, often humorous, though adventures and soap opera-like dramas are also prevalent. They are written and drawn by a comics artist or cartoonist, and many are published on a recurring basis in newspapers and on the Internet.In the UK and the...
, created by
Lee FalkLeon Harrison Gross, more known by the alias of Lee Falk , was an American writer, director and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity secured him over a hundred million readers every...
(
The Phantom), which began June 11, 1934.
Phil DavisPhilip Davis , born in St. Louis, Missouri, is an American illustrator who signed his work Phil Davis. He is best known as the illustrator of Mandrake the Magician, written by Lee Falk....
soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by
King Features SyndicateKing Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world...
. Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964, when Falk recruited current artist Fred Fredericks. With Falk's death in 1999, Fredericks became both writer and artist.
Mandrake is a magician whose work is based on an unusually fast
hypnoticHypnosis is a mental state or set of attitudes usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be...
technique. As noted in captions, when Mandrake "gestures hypnotically", his subjects see illusions, and Mandrake used this technique in his battles with a variety of gangsters, mad scientists, extraterrestrials and characters from other dimensions.
Mandrake and the Phantom Magician in Mel Graff's
The Adventures of PatsyThe Adventures of Patsy is a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1935 to 1954. Created by Mel Graff, it was syndicated by AP Newsfeatures....
are regarded by comics historians as the first
superheroA superhero is "a fictional character of unprecedented powers dedicated to acts of derring-do in the public interest"...
es of comics.
Don MarksteinDon Markstein's Toonopedia is a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. While the site aims for comprehensiveness, it makes little or no pretense of having a neutral point of view...
writes, "Depending on how you define the term, Patsy's recurring rescuer, The Phantom Magician, may have been the first superhero in comics... Some people say Mandrake the Magician, who started in 1934, was comics' first superhero."
Supporting characters
Lothar is Mandrake's best friend and crime-fighting companion.
Mandrake first met Lothar during his travels in Africa. Lothar was then "Prince of the Seven Nations", a mighty federation of jungle tribes. He passed on the chance to become king and instead followed Mandrake on his world travels, fighting crime and villains from all over the world (and the rest of the universe as well). Lothar is often referred to as the strongest man in the world with the exception of perhaps Hojo — Mandrake's chef and secret chief of Inter Intel.
Perhaps one of the first black crimefighting heroes ever to appear in comics, Lothar made his first appearance alongside Mandrake in 1934 in the inaugural daily strip. Mandrake and Lothar are generally recognized as the world's first interracial team of crimefighters.
In the beginning, Lothar was little more than Mandrake's servant. He spoke poor English, wore a fez, short pants and a leopard skin. His muscles far exceeded his mental abilities. When artist Fred Fredericks took over in 1965 (after original artist Phil Davis had died), Lothar was modernized; he began to speak correct English, and his clothing changed, although he still often wears shirts with leopard-skin patterns.
Narda is of royal blood; she is Princess of the European nation
CockaigneCockaigne or Cockayne is a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist...
(today ruled by her brother Segrid). She made her first appearance in the second
Mandrake story. Although she and Mandrake were infatuated with one another from first sight, they didn't marry until 1997, when it was an extravagant triple wedding ceremony-- at Mandrake's home of Xanadu, Narda's home country Cockaigne and Mandrake's father Theron's College of Magic (
Collegium Magikos) in the Himalayas.
Theron is Mandrake's father, although this was a secret to Mandrake for a long time. Mandrake's mother died shortly after she gave birth to Mandrake and his twin brother Derek. Theron is the headmaster of the College of Magic (
Collegium Magikos) somewhere in the Himalayas. Theron is hundreds of years old, probably due to the energy of the powerful
Mind Crystal of which he is the guardian.
Hojo is Mandrake's chef at his home of Xanadu. However, he is also the secret Chief of the international crimefighting organization Inter-Intel, in addition to being a superb martial arts expert. As such, he has used Mandrake's help with many cases. Hojo's assistant at Inter-Intel is
Jed.
The Police Chief is named Bradley but mostly just called "Chief" and has been aided by Mandrake on several occasions. He created the "S.S.D." (Silly Stuff Dept.) for absurd and unbelievable cases that only Mandrake could solve. He has a son, Chris.
Magnon is Mandrake's most powerful friend. He is the emperor of a million planets, but even he has sometimes needed Mandrake's help. Magnon and his wife Carola have a daughter, Nardraka, who is named after Mandrake and Narda and is their godchild.
Lenore is Mandrake's younger half-sister. She is a world-renowned explorer.
Karma is Lothar's girlfriend, an African princess, who works as a model.
Xanadu, Mandrake's high-tech residence, has one of the world's best security with all electronic gadgets like closed circuit TV, sectional road which divides from half, dropping iron gates.
Villains
The Cobra is Mandrake's most evil and dangerous foe. He made his first appearance in the very first Mandrake story. In a story from 1937, the Cobra was apparently defeated; however, he returned with a vengeance in a story from 1965. This time hiding his face (scarred and disfigured in battle with Mandrake) behind a menacing silver mask. The Cobra's main goal is to acquire one of the two powerful
Crystal Cubes which increase mental energy. These are guarded by Mandrake and his father Theron. Mandrake learned that The Cobra's true identity was Luciphor, Theron's oldest son — thus making The Cobra Mandrake's half-brother. He stole one of the two mind crystals from the College of Magic and hence is very powerful. In later years, the Cobra abandoned his silver mask as his face had been reconstructed through surgery. The Cobra is sometimes accompanied by his assistant
Ud.
Derek is Mandrake's twin brother, and although similar to his brother in appearance, is totally different when it comes to morals and ethics. Derek is only after money and women and gladly uses his magical powers (that almost rival Mandrake's) to achieve his own personal goals. Mandrake has many times tried to remove Derek's knowledge of magic through mental battles, although it has always been only temporary solutions.
Derek has a son, Eric (mother unknown), who so far has shown no signs of following in his father's footsteps.
The Clay Camel, real name
Saki, is a master of disguises. He is able to mimic anyone and change his appearance in seconds. His name comes from the symbol he leaves at the scenes of his crimes, a small camel made of clay.
The Brass Monkey, daughter of The Clay Camel with a similar talent for disguises.
Aleena the Enchantress is a former friend of Mandrake's from the College of Magic, a much-married spoilt temptress, who now prefers to use her magic powers for her own benefit. This includes trying to win Mandrake's heart, but when that doesn't succeed, she tries to bring him trouble instead.
8 is an old and very powerful crime organization with roots to medieval times. Long thought to be dead and no more than a myth, Mandrake discovered that the organization is very much alive. They are known to often incorporate the number 8 in their crimes or leave the number 8 as a mark. They are organized like an
octopusThe octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda. The octopus inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also be used to refer only to those creatures in the genus Octopus...
with eight arms (headquarters) spread out all over the world, and one head (the grim and mysterious leader
Octon, only shown as a menacing image on a computer screen). Over the years, Mandrake has succeeded in destroying their headquarters one by one. In one of the stories the Octon of 8 is revealed as Cobra.
Ekardnam ('Mandrake' backwards) is Mandrake's "evil twin", who exists on the other side of the mirror. Like his world (where the government is run by the "Private of the Armies", and generals do menial work like running the elevators), Ekardnam is an exact opposite, i.e., evil and treacherous, and uses his "evil eye" powers to work his magic. He was seen when Narda was drawn into the mirror, an adventure that may have been only a bad dream.
The Deleter is one of the most unusual of Mandrake's foes. He is an extraterrestrial contract killer who will "delete" anyone for the right price. However, he does have a code-of-honor and will seek justice for anyone who tries to cheat him out of his contract fee.
Comic books
Mandrake had a prominent role in
Magic Comics and Big Little Books of the 1930s and 1940s.
Dell ComicsDell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
published a
Mandrake the Magician issue in their
Four ColorFour Color, also known as Four Color Comics and One Shots, was an extremely prolific American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962...
comic series with various main characters. The
Mandrake issue was #752 and featured original stories by Stan Campell and written by Paul Newman.
In 1966-1967
King ComicsKing Comics was a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, and an attempt by King to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. The comics label last approximately a year-and-a-half, with its series cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967. ...
published ten issues of a
Mandrake the Magician comic magazine. Most of the stories were remakes of newspaper strip stories and featured art by
Andre LeBlancAndré LeBlanc is a fictional character in DC Comics.-Fictional character biography:The self-styled "world's greatest jewel thief," arrogant André LeBlanc made the international most wanted list. André LeBlanc often clashed with the Russian super-hero Leonid Kovar...
,
Ray BaileyRaymond Frederick Bailey is a former member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. He was first elected to the now abolished Division of Cornwall on the 26 May, 1990...
and others. Mandrake stories also ran as back-up features in other King titles.
Italian publisher Fratelli Spada produced a considerable amount of original Mandrake comic book stories in the 1960s and 1970s. A few of these were even published in the American Mandrake comic book mentioned above.
MarvelMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
released a Mandrake mini-series in 1995, written by
Mike W. BarrMike W. Barr, is an American writer of comic books, and mystery, and science fiction novels.-Biography:Mike W. Barr was born on May 30, 1952. His introduction into comics writing came in DC Comics' Detective Comics #444, for which he wrote an 8-page back-up mystery feature starring the Elongated...
and with painted art by Rob Ortaleza. However, only two of three planned issues were published.
Mandrake has also enjoyed great success in comic books published in Britain, Australia, Brazil, India, France, Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden (although in the case of the Nordic countries, most often as a back up feature in
The PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many forms of media, including television and film, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the African jungle...
comic books).
Mandrake is popular in India through
Indrajal ComicsIndrajal Comics was a series launched by the publisher of The Times of India, Bennet, Coleman & Co in March 1964. The first 32 issues contained Lee Falk's The Phantom stories, but thereafter, the title alternated between various King Features characters, including Lee Falk's Mandrake, Alex...
.
In the early
MadMad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and hugely influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The...
, Mandrake was spoofed as "Manduck." He lives in a hovel, which he convinces visitors is a palatial home by "gesturing hypnotically". In the story he matches wits with
The ShadowThe Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of fictional vigilante The Shadow. One of the most famous pulp heroes of the 20th century, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, comic strips, television,...
; he, Lothar, and The Shadow all gesture hypnotically at each other and only Lothar (looking like Manduck) remains. In a later article, Manduck pulls off the (enviable!) trick of turning Lothar into a six-foot-tall blonde woman.
"In Pictopia" (first published in
Anything Goes! #2, August 1986) is a short story by Alan Moore and illustrator Don Simpson, which takes place in a limbo world of comic book characters. The main character, Nocturno the Necromancer, is based on Mandrake. The story was reprinted in George Khoury's
The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore (TwoMorrows, July 2003)
Mandrake is featured together with
the PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many forms of media, including television and film, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the African jungle...
in
The Phantom Annual #2, written by
Mike BullockMike Bullock is an award-winning writer of poetry and creative fiction, a published lyricist, and an accomplished non-fiction writer. He has been writing creatively for over 20 years and has nearly two decades of promotional experience in the music and comic industries...
and
Kevin GreviouxKevin Grevioux is an American actor, screenwriter, and comic book writer. He is most known for his role as "Raze" in the Underworld movies.-Biography:...
and published by
Moonstone BooksMoonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales....
.
Radio
On radio as a 15-minute program,
Mandrake the Magician aired on the
Mutual Broadcasting SystemThe Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. Of the four national networks of American radio's classic era, Mutual had for decades the largest number of affiliates but the least certain financial position. In the golden age of U.S...
from November 11, 1940, until February 6, 1942. Originally a three-day-a-week serial, it expanded to five days a week in 1941. Uttering the incantation "invovo legem magicarum" was
Raymond Edward JohnsonRaymond Edward Johnson was an American radio and stage actor best remembered for his work on Inner Sanctum Mysteries....
, who starred as Mandrake. Juano Hernandez portrayed Lothar, and Francesca Lenni took the role of Princess Narda. The series was directed by Carlo De Angelo.
1939 movie serial
In 1939, Columbia produced a 12-part
Mandrake the MagicianMandrake the Magician was the seventh serial released by Columbia Pictures.-Plot:Mandrake in this serial works with conjuring tricks and sleight of hand instead of all the all powerful hypnotism in the comics. Lothar is portrayed as an Asian with hair instead of a giant bald African...
, based on the King Features strip, starring Warren Hull as Mandrake and Al Kikume as Lothar. The serial is available on DVD.
On television
NBC made a pilot for a
Mandrake the Magician TV series in 1954, but no other episodes were made. Stage magician Coe Norton starred as Mandrake and
Woody StrodeWoodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star before finding even greater fame as a pioneering African-American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...
as Lothar.
Anthony HerreraAnthony Herrera is an American actor.Among roles in various movies, he is most known for his role as James Stenbeck on the soap opera As the World Turns, a role he has played off and on from 1980 to 1984, from 1986 to 1989, in 1996, from 1997 to 1999, in 2001 and 2002-2005...
had the title role in the TV movie
Mandrake (1979) with Ji-Tu Cumbuka as Lothar. Magician Harry Blackstone Jr. was featured in the cast.
In the animated series
Defenders of the EarthDefenders of the Earth is an animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, the Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician—battling the Flash Gordon villain Ming the Merciless in the year 2015...
(1986-87), Mandrake the Magician teams with fellow King Features adventurers
Flash GordonSteven "Flash" Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, which was first published on January 7, 1934. The strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were...
and The Phantom. Mandrake's friend Lothar also has a prominent role, as well as a teenage son nicknamed L.J. who was also a martial artist. Mandrake has an adoptive son of Asian blood named Kshin, whom he's training as his apprentice and heir.
Peter RenadayPeter Renaday is an American voice actor.-Film:*The Aristocats as the truck driver*Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost as McKnight-TV series:*Angel as The Beast's Master...
was the voice of Mandrake and
Buster JonesEdward L. "Buster" Jones is an American voice actor.His roles include:*Black Vulcan in Super Friends*Blaster in The Transformers*Doc in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero*Lothar in Defenders of the Earth...
the voice of Lothar. The entire series has been released by BCI Eclipse in two DVD sets.
In the animated series
Phantom 2040Phantom 2040 is an animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom...
, featuring a future Phantom, Mandrake has a brief, unnamed appearance in the episode "The Magician". He is presented as an old friend of that Phantom's father, and his remarkably well-preserved shape is compatible with the longevity-conferring properties of the Crystals.
Unrealized and unauthorized projects
An unauthorized
Mandrake movie produced in Turkey was made in 1967,
Mandrake Killing'e karsi, directed by Oksal Pekmezoglu and starring Güven Erte as Mandrake.
In the 1960s,
Federico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian film director. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century.- Rimini :Federico Fellini was born on January 20, 1920 to...
, a close friend of creator Lee Falk, intended to make a
Mandrake movie, but the project never got off the ground.
Within two weeks of signing with his first agent, American filmmaker
Michael AlmereydaMichael Almereyda is an American film director. His most well known work is Hamlet , starring Ethan Hawke.-Early life:...
was hired by
Embassy PicturesEmbassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Lion in Winter and Escape from New York....
to rewrite a script for
Mandrake the Magician. He told
Filmmaker that upon receiving the assignment, he flew to New York and checked himself in at the
Chelsea HotelChelsea Hotel can refer to:*Hotel Chelsea in New York City*"Chelsea Hotel #2", a song from the 1974 Leonard Cohen album New Skin for the Old Ceremony*Chelsea Hotel, a book of photographs by Claudio Edinger, published in 1983See also...
to work on the rewrite. Three weeks later, he emerged with new draft in hand, but by then the studio had changed heads, and in as little time as his revision took, the project was dropped.
Theatre
The musical
Mandrake the Magician and the Enchantress was produced during the late 1970s at the Lenox Arts Festival in Massachusetts with music by George Quincy, script by
Lee FalkLeon Harrison Gross, more known by the alias of Lee Falk , was an American writer, director and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity secured him over a hundred million readers every...
and Thayer Burch, and lyrics by Thayer Burch.
Mandrake is also a character in the play
King Kong Palace, written by Chilean playwriter Marco Antonio de la Parra. In the play, Mandrake is now a performer in birthday parties and attempts to seduce Jane, the ambitious wife of
TarzanTarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by fictional great apes, who later returns to civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
, in order to satisfy his lust for power.
Forthcoming live-action film
In 2007, it was announced that Baldwin Entertainment Group and Hyde Park Entertainment purchased rights to make a
Mandrake movie, to be directed by
Mimi LederMimi Leder is an American film director. She was the first female graduate of the AFI Conservatory in 1973.Born in New York City to parents Paul and Etyl Leder, Leder began her career as a television script supervisor, working on such projects as Spawn of the Slithis and Hill Street Blues...
. The two companies own the rights to Lee Falk's
The PhantomThe Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many forms of media, including television and film, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the African jungle...
. Jonathan Rhys Meyers was on board the project as the title character with
Chuck RussellChuck Russell is an American film director, film producer and actor.-Filmography:*Ramayana *Mandrake the Magician *Collateral...
being set to direct.
In 2009,
Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a...
replaced Rhys Meyers in the title role of the film, with Djimon Honsou co-starring and
Mimi LederMimi Leder is an American film director. She was the first female graduate of the AFI Conservatory in 1973.Born in New York City to parents Paul and Etyl Leder, Leder began her career as a television script supervisor, working on such projects as Spawn of the Slithis and Hill Street Blues...
directing.
Software
A software company called MandrakeSoft started in France in 1998. Their biggest product was the
GNUGNU is a computer operating system composed entirely of free software. Its name is a recursive acronym for “GNU's not Unix!” This name was chosen because GNU's design is Unix-like, but differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code...
/
Linux distributionA Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications...
Mandrake Linux. In February 2004, MandrakeSoft lost a court case against
Hearst CorporationHearst Communications, Inc. is a privately-held American-based media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower in New York City, USA. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, owners of King Features Syndicate. Hearst contends that MandrakeSoft is infringing upon King Features' trademarked character
Mandrake the Magician. The word
MandrakeMandrake may refer to:* Mandrake , a plant of the genus Mandragora* Mandrake , a music album by Edguy* Mandrake , a Latin American TV series* the NATO designation for the Soviet aircraft Yakovlev Yak-25...
is not unique to the King Features character, and MandrakeSoft appealed the decision. However, the Linux-tool
Lothar which was developed in a project sponsored by MandrakeSoft also has a name inspired by the comic strip, where Lothar is the longtime friend of Mandrake the Magician. The use of a magician's top hat and magic wand in images and logos also showed that MandrakeSoft wanted to associate the name with a magician, and not (for example) the
mandrake root"Mandrake Root" is a song by Deep Purple that featured on their debut album Shades of Deep Purple.It is one of the few Mk I tracks that was a regular feature of Mk II's early setlist, as it provided a vehicle for lengthy organ and guitar solos from Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore respectively...
. Consequently and due to the acquisition of the Linux company called
ConectivaConectiva was a company founded on August 28, 1995, in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, by a group of friends, among them Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo, who was a pioneer in the distribution of Linux and open source software in Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and English for all of Latin America...
, MandrakeSoft and its product have changed names to
MandrivaMandriva S.A. is a publicly traded Linux and open source software company with its headquarters in Paris, France and development center in Curitiba, Brazil. Mandriva, S.A...
and
Mandriva LinuxMandriva Linux is a French Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva . It uses the RPM Package Manager. The product lifetime of Mandriva Linux releases is 18 months for base updates and 12 months for desktop updates...
respectively.
Leon Mandrake
Leon MandrakeLeon Mandrake was a Canadian-born magician.He began his magic career in 1922 performing a magic act in vaudeville, in New Westminster, British Columbia. He later joined the Ralph Richards touring Magic show in 1927. In the late 1930s, he toured extensively in the U.S. with his full-evening show,...
, the stage magician, who was known for his top hat, pencil line moustache and scarlet-lined cape, was the basis for the strip. Leon Mandrake, who toured as Mandrake the Magician, was accompanied at the time the strip began by Narda, his first wife and stage assistant who appears in the strip. Velvet, his life-time partner would also later make appearances in the strip along with his real-life side-kick, Lothar. In fact, Leon Mandrake had been performing for well over ten years before Lee Falk introduced the comic strip character. Davis, the strip's creator became good friends and corresponded for years afterwards.
Reprints
- Dragon Lady Press
Toronto-based Dragon Lady Press was the publishing wing of the Dragon Lady Comics store. Its publications were distributed through the direct market throughout the United States and Canada. This company was known for its reprints of classic newspaper comic strips in various forms...
reprinted a 1937 Mandrake daily story in Classic Adventure Strips #1.
- Pacific Comics Club reprinted two Mandrake daily stories from 1938 Feature Books #18 and #23.
- Nostalgia Press
Woody Gelman , the publisher of Nostalgia Press, was a cartoonist, an artist-writer for animation and comic books, a novelist and the co-creator of Bazooka Joe for Topps Chewing Gum...
published a hardback book reprinting two 1938 daily stories.
- Pioneer Comics reprinted a large number of Mandrake stories in comic book
A comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
form.
- Comics Revue
Comics Revue is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press. As of 2007, it has published more than 250 monthly issues, making it the second longest running independent comic book...
has reprinted several Mandrake daily stories.
- JAL Publications has reprinted several Mandrake stories
Popular culture references
Baseball player
Don MuellerDonald Frederick Mueller is a retired outfielder who played 12 seasons in American Major League Baseball . The first ten of those years were spent with the New York Giants, for whom he batted over .300 for three consecutive seasons and led the National League in hits in 1954...
, an outfielder for the
New York GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California who currently play in the National League West Division. One of the oldest baseball teams, the Giants hold the honor of having won the most games of any team in the history of baseball...
on their 1951
National LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league...
pennantA pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
winners and
1954 World ChampionshipThe 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since 1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the...
teams, was known as "Mandrake the Magician" for his hitting ability.
Mandrake the Magician also appears in
the BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
film
Yellow SubmarineYellow Submarine is a 1968 animated feature film based on the music of the Beatles. It is also the title for the soundtrack album to the feature film, released as part of the Beatles' music catalogue. The film was directed by animation producer George Dunning, and produced by United Artists and...
briefly.
The Mandrake Mechanism, a term coined by
G. Edward GriffinG. Edward Griffin is an American film producer, author, and political lecturer. Starting as a child actor, he became a radio station manager before age 20. He then began a career of producing documentaries and books on often-debated topics like cancer, Noah's ark, and the Federal Reserve, as well...
to describe the process by which money is created by the Federal Reserve.
External links