Deadman's Gulch

Deadman's Gulch
Start date:	February 13, 1950
End date:	March 11, 1950
# of strips:	24 (4 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"Mystery at the Bar-J Ranch"
Followed by:	"The Beauty Collector"

"Deadman's Gulch" is the 55th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis. This story exists in three variants, one made to span three newspaper columns, one to span four and one to span five. Compared to the four-column variant the five-column variant is cropped in the lower part. The three column variant is cropped less in the lower part and the panels are made wider by adding extra ink. The copyright line is almost always placed differently in the strip, as is the date. In addition, the shape and placement of the speech bubble can be different.

Plot Summary

A remnant of the old west, Deadman's Gulch, is the hangout for a hoodlum gang led by Bowleg Ben. The sheriff asks Mandrake for help to find out what the gang is up to.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar, last strip only.
• Narda, last strip only.

One-time characters

• The sheriff
• Bowleg Ben, a trainrobber.
• Janet, Narda's aunt. Last strip only.

Locations

• Mid west
  • Deadman's Gulch
  • Bar-J Ranch

Behind the scenes

• The title for this story is taken from the plot.

Signifiant cover

• 
  Mexico

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• "El Salvaje oeste", Libro de Oro - Mandrake el Mago #4 (1963)

Australia

• "Deadman's Gulch", Mandrake Comic #19 (1956)

Denmark

• "Banditbyen", Fantomet #139 (1980)

Finland

• "Rosvokaupunki", Mustanaamio #22 (1976)
• "Ryövärien kaupunki", Mustanaamio #12 (1981)

France

• (no given title), Roy Rogers #12 – Roy Rogers #13 (1953 )

Italy

• "Il cow-boy con due teste", Mandrake - New Comics Now #261 (1991)
• "Il cow-boy con due teste", Mandrake 45/46 (Comic Art) (1995)

Mexico

• "El rancho Bar J", Paquito #11010 (1952)

New Zealand

• "Deadman's Gulch", Mandrake the Magician #26 (1951)

Norway

• "Forbryterbyen", Fantomet #22 (1987)

Spain

• "Mandrake en el Rancho", Mandrake #15 (1997)

Sweden

• "Tågöverfallet", Mandrake #4 (1963)
• "Rövarstan", Fantomen #12 (1976)

Turkey

• "İki Başlı Haydut" (part 2), Haftalık Albüm #25 (1952)

USA

• "Deadman's Gulch", The Classic Mandrake Series (second series)/ Episode: "The Ice Lady" (Pacific Comics Club) (2015)