Baron Kord: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:32, 3 November 2024

Baron Kord

Start date:	September 14th, 1942
End date:	April 10th, 1943
# of strips:	180 (30 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"The Rumor Factory"
Followed by:	"The Witch of Kaloon"

"Baron Kord" is the 28th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis. This story exists in two variants, one made to span four newspaper columns, the other to span five. The difference between the column variants is that they were scaled to fit four or five columns. On the twelfth of October, the strips change their aspect ratio, and the four-column variant becomes taller than before. This week, the 5-column variant is similar to the original drawings by Phil Davis, while the 4-column variant has the side of the panels cut down to fit the new format. From the following week (week of October 19) the 4-column variant is similar to the original drawings by Phil Davis, while the 5-column variant is cropped in the lower part.

Plot Summary

Narda meets Baron Kord, a mysterious stranger who falls in love with her at first sight. Baron Kord invites Narda and Mandrake to a costume ball, to be given in Narda's honor. Mandrake doesn't want to go, byt Narda insists. Soon are our friends on a strange island, where Baron Kord's workers are enslaved, drugged so that they appear as zombies. The Kordies are midless, lifeless and move only to work and obey. In secretly Baron Kord has made a large stock of his Kordie drug and plans to conquer the world by adding the drug into the water supply. In city after city, nation after nation, until he is the suprime master of millions without the will to resist him.

Appearances

Recurring characters

One-time characters

Baron Kord
Trina, sister of Baron Kord.
Rugg, a kordie.

Locations

New York
West Indies
- Kord Key, an island.

Behind the scenes

The title for the story is taken from the plot.
Mandrake is very jealous and angry at the beginning of this story.
A Cordie is a term for an army cadet from the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. An explanation of the origin of the term is: John R. Hall in The Real John Kerr (Sydney, 1978), pp. 70-71, explains how some administrators sent to New Guinea in 1945 by the Australian Minister for Transport and Territories, Eddie Ward, in order to set in train new policy initiatives, were disparagingly referred to by the 'old guard' as "Wardie's Kordies". Hall explains the term Kordies: The second word was taken from Korda, a sinister, slimey and manipulative character in the Women's Weekly cartoon "Mandrake the Magician".

Signifiant covers

Australia
Australia
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
France
France
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
Spain
USA
USA

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Italy

"L'isola degli uomini spenti" & "Tiranni alla sbarra", Super Albo #34 & #36 (1963)
"L’isola degli uomini spenti", Mandrake - New Comics Now #182 (1986)
"L'isola degli uomini spenti", Mandrake 22 (Comic Art) (1993)
"L’isola degli uomini spenti", Club dei Trenta #39 (200?)

New Zealand

"Baron Kord", Mandrake the Magician #91, #92, #93 and #94 (1955)

Spain

"Diabolica conjura", Los Clásicos Americanos de El Boletín - Mandrake #15 (1992)

USA

"no title", The Official Mandrake #3, – #4 and The Official Mandrake Limited #1 (1989)
- "Island of the Kordies", The Classic Mandrake Series (second series)/ "Two Thrills for Mandrake" (Pacific Comics Club) (2016)

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 |}}
 '''"Baron Kord"''' is the 28th Mandrake [[daily story]].
 The story was written by [[Lee Falk]] and drawn by [[Phil Davis]].
+This story exists in two variants, one made to span four newspaper columns, the other to span five.
+The difference between the column variants is that they were scaled to fit four or five columns. On the twelfth of October, the strips change their aspect ratio, and the four-column variant becomes taller than before. This week, the 5-column variant is similar to the original drawings by Phil Davis, while the 4-column variant has the side of the panels cut down to fit the new format. From the following week ''(week of October 19)'' the 4-column variant is similar to the original drawings by Phil Davis, while the 5-column variant is cropped in the lower part.
 == Plot Summary ==
 Narda meets Baron Kord, a mysterious stranger who falls in love with her at first sight. Baron Kord invites Narda and Mandrake to a costume ball, to be given in Narda's honor. Mandrake doesn't want to go, byt Narda insists. Soon are our friends on a strange island, where Baron Kord's workers are enslaved, drugged so that they appear as zombies. The Kordies are midless, lifeless and move only to work and obey. In secretly Baron Kord has made a large stock of his Kordie drug and plans to conquer the world by adding the drug into the water supply. In city after city, nation after nation, until he is the suprime master of millions without the will to resist him.
 ===Appearances===
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 *A Cordie is a term for an army cadet from the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra, Australia. An explanation of the origin of the term is: ''John R. Hall in The Real John Kerr (Sydney, 1978), pp. 70-71, explains how some administrators sent to New Guinea in 1945 by the Australian Minister for Transport and Territories, Eddie Ward, in order to set in train new policy initiatives, were disparagingly referred to by the 'old guard' as "Wardie's Kordies".  Hall explains the term Kordies: The second word was taken from Korda, a sinister, slimey and manipulative character in the Women's Weekly cartoon "Mandrake the Magician".''
+== Signifiant covers ==
+<gallery>
+Frew-mtm-02.jpg|[[Image:mini_australia.gif]] Australia
+Frew-mtm-03.jpg|[[Image:mini_australia.gif]] Australia
+Gibi-0606.jpg|[[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil
+Gibi611.jpg|[[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil
+Mandrake115rge.png|[[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil
+Mandrake10saber.png|[[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil
+Mandrake-pixel-02.jpg|[[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil
+Spécial-Mandrake 88.jpg|[[Image:mini_france.gif]] France
+Spécial-Mandrake 89.jpg|[[Image:mini_france.gif]] France
+Super Albo 034.jpg|[[Image:mini_italy.gif]] Italy
+Super Albo 036.jpg|[[Image:mini_italy.gif]] Italy
+Ncn-mandrake-182.jpg|[[Image:mini_italy.gif]] Italy
+Comart22.jpg|[[Image:mini_italy.gif]] Italy
+Mandrake FP 091.jpg|[[Image:mini_nz.png]] New Zealand
+Mandrake FP 092.jpg|[[Image:mini_nz.png]] New Zealand
+Mandrake FP 093.jpg|[[Image:mini_nz.png]] New Zealand
+Mandrake FP 094.jpg|[[Image:mini_nz.png]] New Zealand
+Mandrake esteve 15.jpg|[[Image:mini_spain.gif]] Spain
+Official-m-bw-04.jpg|[[Image:mini_usa.gif]] USA
+Official-M-limited.jpg|[[Image:mini_usa.gif]] USA
+</gallery>
 == Reprints ==
 This story has been published in the following publications:
@@ Line 49: / Line 73: @@
 === [[Image:mini_brazil.gif]] Brazil ===
+*"Na ilha do mistério",  [[Gibi 606|''Gibi'' #606]], [[Gibi 608|608]], [[Gibi 609|609]], [[Gibi 611|611]], [[Gibi 614|614]], [[Gibi 615|615]], [[Gibi 617|617]], [[Gibi 618|618]], [[Gibi 620|620]], [[Gibi 621|621]], [[Gibi 623|623]], [[Gibi 624|624]], [[Gibi 626|626]], [[Gibi 627|627]], [[Gibi 629|629]], [[Gibi 630|630]], [[Gibi 632|632]], [[Gibi 633|633]], [[Gibi 635|635]], [[Gibi 636|636]], [[Gibi 638|638]], [[Gibi 639|639]], [[Gibi 641|641]], [[Gibi 642|642]], [[Gibi 644|644]], [[Gibi 645|645]], [[Gibi 647|647]], [[Gibi 648|648]], [[Gibi 650|650]], [[Gibi 651|651]], [[Gibi 653|653]], [[Gibi 650|650]], [[Gibi 654|654]], [[Gibi 656|656]], [[Gibi 657|657]], [[Gibi 659|659]], [[Gibi 660|660]], [[Gibi 662|662]], [[Gibi 663|663]], [[Gibi 665|665]], [[Gibi 666|666]], [[Gibi 668|668]], [[Gibi 669|669]], [[Gibi 671|671]], [[Gibi 672|672]], [[Gibi 674|674]], [[Gibi 675|675]], [[Gibi 677|677]], [[Gibi 678|678]], [[Gibi 680|680]], [[Gibi 681|681]], [[Gibi 683|683]], [[Gibi 684|684]], [[Gibi 686|686]], [[Gibi 687|687]], [[Gibi 689|689]], [[Gibi 690|690]], [[Gibi 692|692]], [[Gibi 693|693]], [[Gibi 695|695]] (1943)
 *"O Estranho Barão Kord", [[Mandrake 115 (RGE)|''Mandrake'' #115]] (1966)
+*"Vivos-Mortos!", [[Mandrake, o Mágico 10|''Mandrake, o Mágico'' #10]] (1971)
 *"O Barão Kord", [[Mandrake 2 (Pixel Media)|''Mandrake'' #2]] (2014)
@@ Line 62: / Line 88: @@
 === [[Image:Mini_nz.png]] New Zealand ===
-*"Baron Kord", [[Mandrake the Magician 91 (Feature Productions)|''Mandrake the Magician'' #91]], [[Mandrake the Magician 92 (Feature Productions)| #92]], [[Mandrake the Magician 93 (Feature Productions)| #93]], [[Mandrake the Magician 94 (Feature Productions)| #94]] and [[Mandrake the Magician 95 (Feature Productions)| #95]] (1955)
+*"Baron Kord", [[Mandrake the Magician 91 (Feature Productions)|''Mandrake the Magician'' #91]], [[Mandrake the Magician 92 (Feature Productions)| #92]], [[Mandrake the Magician 93 (Feature Productions)| #93]] and [[Mandrake the Magician 94 (Feature Productions)| #94]] (1955)
 === [[Image:mini_spainunderfranco.gif]] [[Image:mini_spain.gif]] Spain ===