Easter Eggs – Cameos

A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person, sometimes appearing as themselves. An easter egg is an in-joke that a comic book creator (typically the artist) has hidden in the pages of the comic for readers to find (just like an easter egg).

In Mandrake stories

Several of Lee Falk's manuscripts contain elements that fall under the designations Easter Eggs or Cameos. Like names of characters whose are borrowed from people in the circle around Lee Falk, either directly or slightly rewritten. Occasionally one can find place and street names in stories that are clearly related to where Lee Falk stayed when the story was written. Now and then also the artists have added easter eggs and cameos into some panels.

Easter Eggs

by Lee Falk

• Real Life References - Locations

by Fred Fredericks

• Prison Number 39013
• The Phantom

by Fratelli Spada artists

• Fratelli Spada stories - Easter Eggs

Cameos

by Lee Falk

• Eleanor Allina Epstein, mother of Lee Falk.
• Louise Falk, first wife of Lee Falk.
• Valerie Falk, daughter of Lee Falk.
• Constance Falk, second wife of Lee Falk.
• Diane Falk, daughter of Lee Falk.
• Conley Falk, son of Lee Falk.
• Elizabeth Moxley, third wife of Lee Falk.
• The Phantom/Kit Walker, created by Lee Falk and Ray Moore.

by Fred Fredericks

• Ed Rhoades, longtime phan of the Phantom.

Appearances in other comics

by Randolp Holmes

• In the story "And here he is.. The artist himself" by Randolp Holmes (Death Rattle #2 from Kitchen Sink, December 1985) Lothar turns up. The artist said that he hired Lothar when the old Mandrake strip folded.