MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN The Complete Dailies Volume 2 1936-1938

This second volume of the series presents six stories: “Return of the Clay Camel”; “The Slave Traders of Tygandi”; “Mandrake in the Lost World”: “In the Cobra's Grip”; and “Mandrake in America.” Featured are two staple characters in addition to the master magician: Lothar and Princess Narda (princess of the mythical European kingdom Cockaigne).  Narda is similar to Flash Gordon’s Dale Arden: beautiful, constantly in need of rescue, and the love interest of our hero. A Prince of the Seven Nations of Africa, Lothar is Mandrake’s devoted servant, friend and companion. He is, “the strongest man in the world,” decked out in a fez, shorts, and a leopard shirt. Mandrake the Magician began as a daily strip on June 11, 1934, and whether Lee Falk knew it as a sophomore at the University of Illinois, he was making history. The daily strip ended after a 79-year run, and the Sunday strip, which started in 1935, ran for 68 years. Any fan of comic strips is almost certainly familiar with Falk’s other creation, The Phantom, which started in 1936 and continues to this day. Mandrake the Magician whisked readers to exotic locales (often fictional amalgams of the Orient, the Middle East, India or Eastern Europe) and immersed them in extended narratives with memorable villains and a colorful support cast. These early strips are wild and totally unappreciated. Mandrake is practically a superhero. He and Lothar and a bevy of beautiful co-stars range from one adventure to another, even going to unexplored lost lands and into a science fiction epic or two. And the artwork will surprise you too -- it's very, very good. This was on a par with The Phantom, Flash Gordon and the very best of the 1930s adventure strips. Mandrake as we see him here, is far more than just the first magician in comics; he’s an inventive, smart, unique hero who is continually rescuing (or battling) beautiful ladies and femme fatales. Lots of fun. – Bud