The Octopus Ring

The Octopus Ring
Start date:	May 6th, 1940
End date:	December 21st, 1940
# of strips:	198 (33 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"The Museum Mystery"
Followed by:	"Dr Griff's Invention"

"The Octopus Ring" is the 22nd 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 six newspaper columns, the other to span five.

Plot Summary

Mandrake is asked by the government to track down a vast spy-ring, ruled by a mysterious leader. The spy-ring leader, The Octopus, kidnaps Narda, and on the threat of killing her he forced Mandrake to join him.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• Narda
• Segrid, in Cockaigne only

One-time characters

• "The Octopus", leader of the spy-ring
• Mr. Foote, chief of an intelligence agency
• Mr. Roark, agent of an ntelligence agency
• Karl, a draftsman and spy at an airplane plant
• Pete, a sandwich man at an airplane plant
• Luga, member of the spy-ring
• Sonya, glamorous member of the spy-ring
• Bill, a young naval officer
• Old Ned, worker at a distant air field

Locations

• New York
  • National Bank
  • 243 West Street, headquarters of the spy-ring

Behind the scenes

Title

• The title for the story is taken from the strip of May 6, 1940 (Beginning - The Octopus Ring !).

Mystery

• In the newspapers the seventh week is correctly dated June 17 to 22. But then, the eighth week is dated July 1 to 6 - thus skipping June 24 to 29! Week nine has the strips without any date, before the correct dates again appears in the tenth week. What happend?

Signifiant covers

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Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• no title, El Libro de la Historieta #4 (1949)

Australia

• "The Octopus Ring" Mandrake the Magician #9 and #10 (1991)

Brazil

• "A Quadriha do Polvo", Almanaque do Mandrake (1955)
• "A Gang do Polvo" & "A Volta do Polvo", Mandrake, o Mágico #8 & #9 (1971)
• "A Quadrilha do Polvo", Mandrake Coleção #18 – #19 (1991)

France

• "La ligne noire", Mandrake #23 and "Echec et mat au Général", Mandrake #24 (1963)
• "La ligne noire", Mandrake #341 and #342 (1971)

Italy

• "Nel covo delle spie", L'Avventuroso #355 - #375 (1941)
• "La fine del Polipo", L'Avventura (1944-1945)
• "La fine del Polipo", Albi delle grandi avventure - Mandrake #4 (1946)
• "Nel covo delle spie" & "La piovra" & "La linea nera", Mandrake #21, #22 and #23 (1947-1948)
• "La linea nera" & "Scacomatto al generale", Mandrake #38 and #39 (1964)
• "La linea nera", Mandrake #15 and #16 (1971)
• "Nel covo delle spie", Collana Albi grandi avventure #17 & #18 (1975)
• "Il covo delle spie", Mandrake - New Comics Now #149 (1985)
• "Il covo delle spie", Mandrake 18 (Comic Art) (1993)
• "I tentacoli della Piovra", I fumetti del Giallo Mondadori #2 (2000)
• "I tentacoli della Piovra", Mandrake e il mistero dell'orchidea tigrata (2001)
• "Il covo delle spie" & "La fine della piorva", Club dei Trenta #26 & #27 (200?)

New Zealand

• "The Octopus Ring", Mandrake the Magician #76, Mandrake the Magician #77, Mandrake the Magician #78, Mandrake the Magician #79 and Mandrake the Magician #80 (1954)

Norway

• "Blekkspruten", Spøk og Spenning #31/1941 - #1/1945

Spain

• "La raya negra", Grandes Clásicos de los Comics del Pasado #37 - Mandrake #12 (1986 ?)

Sweden

• "Bläckfisken", Allers Familj-Journal #51/1940 - #49/1941

USA

• "The Octopus Ring", The Official Mandrake the Magician #7, – #8, – #9, – #12, and #13 (1988 - 1989)
• "The Octopus Ring", Comics Revue #441-442, Comics Revue #447-448, Comics Revue #449-450, Comics Revue #451-452 , Comics Revue #453-454 (2023/2024)

Yugoslavia

• Jutarnji list March 9, 1941 – April 10, 1941 (interrupted after the first half of the strip of June 3, 1940)