This biography not only gives you an idea of the brilliant career of Mandrake with over 100 show photos, but also provides a glimpse behind the scenes. What was it like to live on the road with small children while constantly performing magic shows? Mandrake's first son, Lon, at age 6 attended five different schools in grade one yet graduated from U.B.C. with a Bachelor of Science degree years later. Mandrake's performing partner and wife, Velvet, remembers: "One night we had a big show, with full orchestra and a packed house. At the end , the audience really liked us and they came up on stage and presented me with a bouquet of red roses. We took our bows and we felt like the toast of the town. Then back to the hotel room I went to relieve the sitter while Leon organized back stage. I rolled up my sleeves and thought what a contrast, as I spent the rest of the evening washing out dirty diapers in the bathroom sink." Then there was the time the elegant Vancouver hotel phoned Mandrake for help because another magician's doves had flown into the high chandeliers and no one could catch them. A banquet was planned for that evening and they were in a panic. Mandrake, with his great experience in magic, caught all the birds in no time. See the photo of Mandrake in Las Vegas in 1945 when the Last Frontier was one of only three casinos on the strip. Enjoy the adventures of Mandrake and the unusual people he met on the road. Meet the real Mandrake the Magician.

The comic book version of the 20th Century's most famous fictional magician sees print again in Hermes Press' deluxe version of King Features comics' Mandrake the Magician! Lee Falk's newspaper strip, Mandrake the Magician, offered readers, magic, occult and the fantastic and King Feature's comic book version, which saw print during the height of the Silver Age, was a worthy entry into the world of comic books. This first volume of the complete comic book run of Mandrake the Magician presents the first five comics in the series together with all of the back-up stories printed in King Features' Flash Gordon title. These stories feature artwork by such Silver Age luminaries as Don Heck, Werner Roth, and Andre LeBlanc with scripts by Dick Wood. Volume One also contains tons of extras including extensive essays on Lee Falk's Mandrake the Magician and the artists who created the comic book series. Also included (in addition to the comic book reprint of the story) is the complete original art to one of the back-up stories.

Indrajal Comics began publishing self-titled monthly issues in March 1964. Each of the first 10 issues had 16 pages of Phantom comics. The stories had to be edited to fit this short format. The remaining 12 pages were dedicated to other content, similar to Gold Key's style. In the next 19 issues it became 20-24 pages. As the series continued, different characters would share the spotlight. Characters such as Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Bahadur, Kerry Drake, Rip Kirby, Garth, Mike Nomad and Buz Sawyer appeared - as well as Disney characters Robin Hood and Mickey Mouse along with Goofy, but the majority of the series spotlighted The Phantom. So much so that the series is often erroneously referred to as "The Phantom" instead of the correct "Indrajal Comics". In due course the publication became fortnightly and then weekly by 1981. The numbering of books which was simply sequential in the beginning then changed to have the typical volume and a number. Indrajal Comics #444 was labeled as Vol.20 and No.1. The front cover design changed with distinct banner containing the title "Indrajal Comics" with a small circle showing the face of the main charracter. A total of 803 Indrajal Comics were published, excluding #123 and #124 which were not printed due to industrial strike action. More than half of these issues contained Phantom stories. The publishing stopped in 1990. The cover artwork for the first 50 or so issues of Indrajal Comics was done by B.Govind, with the back cover featuring a pin-up poster. His artwork became very popular and even said to have matched the artwork on the covers of international phantom publications such as Gold key or Frew. To avoid confusion among Indian readers, there were some minor changes done to the name of the Phantom's location and some characters in stories published in Indrajal Comics. The term " Bengali" or "Bengalla" or "Bengal" was changed to "Denkali" and in some issues "Dangalla" as well. This was since there is a state called "Bengal" in India and this may lead the readers to wonder about the "Pygmy" people that don't exist in Bengal. The name of the "Singh Brotherhood" was changed to "Singa Brotherhood" and the killer of the father of the current (21st) Phantom was changed from "Rama" to "Ramalu" although the latter too is one of the common names in India. Apart from English, Indrajal Comics published the stories in at least a dozen other Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Kannada. Contents: Issue #60 The Phantom And The Cold Fire Worshippers Issue #59 The Phantom And The Sleeping Giant Issue #58 The Sixth Man Issue #57 The Terror Tiger Issue #56 The Phantom And Delilah Issue #55 The Villain's Challenge December 1, 1967 Issue #54 The Great Riddle Issue #53 Thugs In The City Park Issue #52 The White Goddess Issue #51 The Phantom And The River Pirates Issue #50 Mandrake And The Black Wizard Issue #49 The Secrets Of The Phantom Issue #48 The Magic Mountain Issue #47 The Adventures Of The Girl Phantom Issue #46 Mandrake And The Doomsday Issue #45 The Phantom And The Deadly Web

From the creative mind of Lee Falk comes Mandrake the Magician! Created in 1934 with the story "The Cobra." Comics historian Don Markstein wrote, "Some people say Mandrake the Magician, who started in 1934, was comics' first superhero." Hermes Press is proud to continue their legacy of complete Lee Falk comic reprints, starting with the very first years of Mandrake. This first Volume includes five stories, "The Cobra" (June 11, 1934 - Nov 24 1934), "The Hawk (Mandrake Meets Narda)" (Nov 26, 1934 - Feb 23, 1935), "The Monster of Tanov Pass" (Feb 25, 1935 - June 15 1935), "Saki, the Clay Camel" (June 17, 1935 - Nov 2 1935), and "The Werewolf" (Nov 4 1935 - Feb 1936). Strips from this issue are taken directly from King Feature's proofs. Included in the volume is a comprehensive essay and documentary materials.