The Hitchhiker

The Hitchhiker
Start date:	June 10th, 1984
End date:	September 23rd, 1984
# of strips:	16
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Fred Fredericks
Preceded by:	"Dr Ffark's Cosmic Circus"
Followed by:	"The Central Galaxy"

"The Hitchhiker" is the 153th Mandrake Sunday story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Fred Fredericks.

Plot Summary

Once while speeding on a highway as Mandrake and Narda halt to call Lothar at Xanadu, a passing gang of rougues attemts to steal Mandrake's car as also kidnap Narda. Unaware of Mandrake's amazing skills, the treacherous, vain rougues disregard Mandrake's warnings and consequently Mandrake's stunning magic feats give them an unforgettable lesson of their lives. They are handed over to the police who caution Mandrake of the danger of phony hitch-hikers, trained in robbing motorists.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake the Magician
• Narda
• Lothar, at Xanadu only
• Karma, at Xanadu only
• Hojo, at Xanadu only

One-time characters

• Buck, member of The Purple gang
• Spike, member of The Purple gang

Locations

• Near Truro at Cape Cod.

Behind the scenes

• At the deepwoods.org index the title for this story is "The Hitchhiker", which is lifted from the plot.
• Truro, refering to Lee Falk's summer house near Truro at Cape Cod.

Signifiant covers

• 
  India
• 
  India

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

India

• "The Magic Spells", Indrajal Comics Vol. 23 No. 15 and Vol. 23 No. 16 (1986)

Italy

• "Gli autostoppisti", Mandrake - New Comics Now #108 (1984)

Turkey

• "Hirsız Otostopçu", Mandrake Süper Albüm #53