Spécial Mandrake (Mondes Mystérieux)

Mandrake Spécial was the title of two French comic series dedicated to "Mandrake".

First series

The first series was based on the Italian series Mandrake Super Albo. The French series was published by Les Editions des Remparts, a French comics editor based in Lyon, but it was printed in Italy by Fratelli Spada. It was also occasionally distributed in Quebec, Canada by Presses Selection Limitée in Montreal.

99 issues were published from 1963 to 1972. It was published in a larger format than the regular Mandrake series, and was monthly for most of its run. Unsold copies were later glued together with a new outer cover and sold as "albums". There was to different series of the "albums". First there was 16 albums, containing issue 5 to 46. Next a total of 21 albums, containing issue 47 to 97, were published.

The issues featured dailies and Sundays, from Phil Davis to Fred Fredericks, and occasionally other back-up comics.

Issue overview

Regular series

1963	1	2	3	4
1964	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1965	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
1966	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
1967	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52
1968	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	63	64
1969	65	66	67	68	69	70	71	72	73	74	75
1970	76	77	78	79	80	81	82	83	84	85	86
1971	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95
1972	96	97	98
1973	99

Albums

1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21

Second series

Mandrake Spécial Nouvelle Série #2 to #5 have the same covers and format as the Italian I Quaderni del Fumetto series, but with other Mandrake stories. Strangly it seems that # 6 never was printed. #7 to #22 are identical with #4 to #19 from the Italian Mandrake Selezione series.

One find various back-up stories with; Agent X9, Big Ben Bolt, Captain Kate, Cino e Franco, Cisci Kid, Flash Gordon and Rip Kirby.

After the last issue (#22) the series (from #7) was was collected into Album Spécial Mandrake with "new" covers.