Mandrake the Magician

Mandrake the Magician is a U.S. comic strip created in 1924 by Lee Falk and mainly appearing in syndication in newspapers. In 1934 Falk gave the job of drawing the comic strip to artist Phil Davis , whilst continuing to write the storylines. Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964; Falk then recruited current artist Fred Fredericks. On Falk's death in 1999, Fredericks took over writing the strip as well.

Mandrake was an illusionist whose work was based on an impossibly fast hypnotic technique. As the narrator informed us: "Mandrake gestured hypnotically" and the subject or subjects of this hypnosis would suddenly see a cane transformed in a bouquet of flowers or a cat into a tiger. Mandrake also worked against crooks and other bad guys in his spare time. In their case, he would gesture hypnotically and they would see their guns change into snakes or red hot irons.

Leon Mandrake, the stage magician, who was known for his top hat, pencil line moustache and scarlet-lined cape, bears a strong resemblance to the comic strip character. In fact, Leon Mandrake had been performing for well over ten years before Lee Falk introduced the comic strip character and today most people would acknowledge the striking resemblance between them. Many diverse sources assert that the comic character was drawn to resemble Leon. Davis did meet Leon Mandrake, they became good friends and corresponded for years afterwards.

In the cartoon Defenders of the Earth, Mandrake the Magician teams up with fellow King Features adventurers Flash Gordon and The Phantom. Mandrake's valet Lothar also has a prominent role.

External links

• Mandrake the Magician at King Features
• Toonopedia entry