Mandrake in North Africa

Mandrake in North Africa
Start date:	September 4th, 1939
End date:	December 23rd, 1939
# of strips:	96 (16 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"Mandrake in Cockaigne"
Followed by:	"The Mountain Bandits"

"Mandrake in North Africa" is the 19th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis.

Plot Summary

Mandrake and Lothar are in North Africa heading to Paris when Libie Carr fools our friends aboard a plane that goes to Central Africa. They arrive at Fort Radi and are told an amazing story. Besa, the sorcerer, has killed Colonel Carr using black magic and now he threatens to kill Captain Tod Brownell. Nearby is the Wambesi village where Lothar grew up as son of the king. The people of Wambesi were under the tyranny of the jungle sorcerer and when Lothar came to visit they saw a glimpse of hope. As son of their great dead king Lothar was their prince. As the strongest of the Wambesi only Lothar could drive out the evil Besa.

Lothar manages to defeat Besa and becomes the crowned King of the great Wambesi tribe. But soon Lothar found the King stuff boring. Then when he inherited two dozen wives of the last king, and was told he had to marry them all, he fled while he shouted: "Me abdicate".

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar

One-time characters

• Libie Carr
• Captain Tod Brownell, Libie Carr's fiancé.
• Besa, a sorcerer.
• Colonel Carr, was the commandant of Fort Radi.
• Narob, a houseboy at Fort Radi.
• Oogubay, the previous King of Wambesi.
• Gugu, wife of the king.
• Lala, wife of the king.
• Tradi, wife of the king.
• Madi, wife of the king.

Locations

• North Africa
• Central Africa
  • Fort Radi
  • Wambesi village.

Behind the scenes

Title

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

Mandrake Lore

• Lothar become King of Wambesi, one of the major tribes in the land of the Phantom.

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• "Mandrake in Africa", The Supercomic Series #34 (1950)

Brazil

• "A Maldição do Feiticeiro", Mandrake #71 (1962)
• "Magia Negra", Mandrake, o Mágico #1 (1970)
• "Mandrake na África", Mandrake #238 (1976)
• "Mandrake na África", Mandrake Coleção #11 (1990)

France

• "Un drame de la sorcellerie", Aventures et Mystère #54 & "Lothar 1er", Aventures et Mystère #56 (1948)
• "Le sorcier des Wambesi", Spécial Mandrake #13 (1964)

Italy

• "L'inesorabile Besa", Super Albo #98 (1964)
• "Besa lo stregone" & "Re Lothar contro Besa", Mandrake #16 & #17 (Comics Stars in the World 1977)
• "Besa, lo stregone", Mandrake - New Comics Now #148 (1985)
• "Besa, lo stregone", Mandrake 16 (Comic Art) (1992)
• "Besa lo stregone", Mandrake il mago Volume 2 (2015)

French Polynesia

• "Besa lo stregone" & "Re Lothar contro Besa", Mandrake #16 & #17 (Comics Stars in the World 1977) note: Italian text.

New Zealand

• "Mandrake in North Africa", Mandrake the Magician #72, Mandrake the Magician #73 and Mandrake the Magician #74 (1954)

Spain

• "Besa el hechicero", Grandes Clásicos de los Comics del Pasado #36- Mandrake #11 (1986 ?)

Turkey

• "untitled, Mandrake (Hürriyet Hediyesi) #4 (2017)

USA

• "no title", The Official Mandrake #10 – #11 – #12 (1989)
• "North Africa", Comics Revue #423-424, Comics Revue #425-426 (2021)

Yugoslavia

• (romanized as "Princ Lotar"), Zabavnik #106 (1941)
• (no given title), Strip #1, #2, #3 and #4 (1951) (Note: ending with the strip of October 5, 1939)