In the Cobra's Grip

In the Cobra's Grip
Start date:	April 19th, 1937
End date:	September 11th, 1937
# of strips:	126 (21 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"Mandrake in the Lost World"
Followed by:	"Mandrake in America"

"In the Cobra's Grip" is the 9th 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

Mr. Duchamp found a package at the back door, with a mysterious block of glowing metal. Soon Duchamp is under the spell of the Cobra, a dangerous man with an obsession for power. The natives call him The Wizard. He is adept at hypnosis and telepaty and is a genious in mechanics and chemistry. And he have a dream, - to be the first emperor of the Earth.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• The Cobra

One-time characters

• Monsieur Duchamp, a world famed chemist.
• Suzette, daughter of Mr. Duchamp
• Dr. Andre Petain, Suzette's fiancé.
• Henri, a waiter.
• Marie, Duchamp's housekeeper.
• Igor, one of the Cobra's men.
• Efraim, a scientist.
• Oaks, a scientist.
• Holtz, a scientist.
• Melankoff, a scientist.

Locations

• France
  • Paris
    • Hotel de Roi
  • Gravet
• Tibet
  • Ruhai, a village
  • The eastern cave-land, where the five red rivers rise, the Cobra's hide-out.

Behind the scenes

Title

• The title for the story is lifted from the plot.

Real Life References

• In 1930 the Epstein family's cook (servant) was the 31 years old Marie Latimore.

Signifiant covers

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Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• "The Evil Spirit of the Cobra", Mandrake The Magician (1938)

Canada

• (no given title), Classic Adventure Strips #1 (1985)

France

• "Dans les griffes du Cobra", Hop-là! (1939-1940)
• "Dans les griffes du Cobra", Mandrake le Magicien Vol. 4 (1985)

French Polynesia

• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "La fine del Cobra", Mandrake #26 & #27 (Comics Stars in the World 1977 or 1978) note: Italian text.

Italy

• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Giungla! #152 to #171 (1938)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Collana Albi grandi avventure - Mandrake #9 (1940)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "Il covo misterioso" & "La vittoria di Mandrake", Mandrake #7 & #8 & #9 (1946)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "La fine del Cobra", Mandrake #25 & #26 (1960)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "La fine del Cobra", Il Vascello #43 supplemento (1961)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "Ritorno alla Luce", Special Mandrake #170 & #171 (1966)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra" & "La fine del Cobra", Mandrake #26 & #27 (Comics Stars in the World 1977 or 1978)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Mandrake - New Comics Now #117 (1984)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Mandrake 9 (Comic Art) (1992)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Mandrake il mago Volume 2 (2015)
• "Nelle spire del Cobra", Superfumetti #9 (2015)

Mexico

• "??", Paquito #11025 to Paquito #11028 (195?)

Spain

• "El fin del Cobra", Grandes Clásicos de los Comics del Pasado #31 - Mandrake #8 (1986)

Turkey

• "Kobra'ya Karşı", 1001 Roman #167 - 196 (1942-1943)
• "no title", Kara Maske #10 &.... (1947)

USA

• "In the Cobra's Grip", Comics Revue #389-390 (2018)
• "In the Cobra's Grip", Volume Two : the complete newspaper dailies 1936-1938 (2024)

Yugoslavia

• "Kobra", Jutarnji list August 29, 1937 – November 22, 1937