Mandrake in Cockaigne

Mandrake in Cockaigne
Start date:	May 15th, 1939
End date:	September 2nd, 1939
# of strips:	96 (16 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"The Deep South"
Followed by:	"Mandrake in North Africa"

"Mandrake in Cockaigne" is the 18th 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

Many years ago, in far-off Cockaigne, the good Queen Isabel died. Mourning by her nation and her husbond, King Karl, and leaving two children, the infant Narda and young Prince Segrid. A few years passed, in his loneliness, King Karl fell in love with a beatiful commoner. He married her, at the price of his throne. He was the last King of Cockaigne, now under parlamentary rule.

Now Prince Segrid has forced Princess Narda to engagement to the rich and powerful Avery, Duke of Hectares. In return the Duke has agreed to help Segrid to regain the throne, but Narda disappears the night before the wedding.

Mandrake and Lothar enter S.S. Tyronus and later a plane and finaly reach Cockaigne. Avery manage to find Narda and throw Mandrake into his prison. With some help from Segrid, Mandrake escaped and disguised as the best man Mandrake manage to swipe Narda at the altar.

At the airport Mandrake and Narda plan to be married on the plain. But in the air Segrid reached Narda by radio, ex-King Karl had a severe relapse and was very ill and Narda had to return.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• Narda
• Segrid, brother of Narda.
• Avery, Duke of Hectares.

One-time characters

• Karl, Ex King of Cockaigne and father of Narda and Segrid.
• Oliver, one of the agents of Avery.
• S.S. Tyronus, ship New York - Europe.
• Miss Bonn, Narda's assumen name when she worked as a sales girl at Notion Counter.
• Mr. Strudel, the proprietor at the Crown Department Store in Cockaigne.
• Count Brumph, best man of Avery.

Locations

• New York
• Cockaigne
  • Hotel Royal, in Cockaigne.
  • Notions Counter, at the Crown Department Store.

Behind the scenes

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

Signifiant covers

• 
  Australia
• 
  Brazil
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  Brazil
• 
  Brazil
• 
  Brazil
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  Brazil
• 
  Brazil
• 
  Italy
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  Italy
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  Italy
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  Italy
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  Italy
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  New Zealand
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  New Zealand
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  Spain
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  Yugoslavia
• 
  Yugoslavia

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• "Mandrake Defeats the Duke", The Supercomic Series #30 (1950)

Brazil

• "O Casamento de Narda", Mandrake #67 (1962)
• "O Casamento de Narda!", Mandrake, o Mágico #1 (1970)
• "O Casamento de Narda", Mandrake #237 (1975)
• "O Casamento de Narda", Mandrake Coleção #10 (1990)

France

• "Le mariage retardé", Aventures et Mystère #94 (1949)
• "Mariage à suprise", Spécial Mandrake #12 (1964)
• "Mariage à surprise", Mandrake le Magicien - L'intégrale 5 (Soleil) (1994)

Italy

• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne", Super Albo - Mandrake #96 (1964)
• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne" & "La sposa rapita", Mandrake #22 and #23 (Comics Stars in the World 1978)
• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne", Mandrake - New Comics Now #148 (1985)
• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne", Mandrake 15 (Comic Art) (1992)
• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne", Mandrake il mago Volume 2 (2015)

French Polynesia

• "Matrimonio a Cockaigne" & "La sposa rapita", Mandrake #22 and #23 (Comics Stars in the World 1978) note: Italian text.

New Zealand

• "Mandrake in Cockaigne", Mandrake the Magician #70, Mandrake the Magician #71 and Mandrake the Magician #72 (1954)

Spain

• "Matrimonio en Cockaigne", Grandes Clásicos de los Comics del Pasado #36- Mandrake #11 (1986 ?)

Turkey

• "no title", Mandrake #3 (2017)

USA

• "no title", The Official Mandrake Annual #1 (1989)
• "Cockaigne", Comics Revue #421-422 (2021)
• "Mandrake in Cockaigne", Volume Three: the complete newspaper dailies 1938-1939 (2025)

Yugoslavia

• Jutarnji list October 26, 1939 – March 4, 1940
• Mika Miš #348 – #396 (1939-40)