The Short Cut

The Short Cut
Start date:	December 7th, 1981
End date:	March 13th, 1982
# of strips:	84 (14 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Fred Fredericks
Preceded by:	"Mandrake's Family"
Followed by:	"Haunted Road"

"The Short Cut" is the 177th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Fred Fredericks.

Plot Summary

Leaving the College of Magic traveling to the town Mandrake and Lothar deciding to take a shortcut through the mountains. They face the mad Queen Alisan, who rules her small queendom with only 45 soldiers, surrounded by mountains chiefs.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar

One-time characters

• Kaaal, a god and a incinerator.
• Puss, a white pet tiger.
• George, Queen Alisan's jester.
• Queen Alisan of Alisandra.
• Prince Spel-Vine

Locations

• Kadukah, landscape area where Alisandra is.
• Alisandra, a queendom in the mountains near CM.

Behind the scenes

• The previous story do not indicate that the story have ended; like "Next Week: New Adventures" or similar.
• The title for the story is lifted from the plot.

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Brazil

• "A Rainha excêntrica", Almanaque do Mandrake #11 (1982)

India

• "The Green-Eyed Monster", Indrajal Comics Vol. 20 No. 8 (1983)

Italy

• "Alisan, la matta", Mandrake - New Comics Now #81 (1983)

Spain

• "Alisan, Reina de Kadukah", Mandrake #29 (1998)

Turkey

• "Kutsal Görev", Mandrake Albüm #185 & #186
• "Kutsal Görev", Mandrake Süper Albüm #75 & #76

Yugoslavia

• "Tajna kristalne kocke", Super EKS Almanah #59 (1984)