The Old Ones

The Old Ones
Start date:	April 2nd, 1945
End date:	June 30th, 1945
# of strips:	78 (13 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"The Ice Lady"
Followed by:	"The Mysterious Prince"

"The Old Ones" is the 35th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis.

Plot Summary

Mr. Digge invites our friend to see his marvel of engineering, the construction tunnel under the river. And help him to solve an odd mystery with workers that have been disappering from the tunnel.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• Narda

One-time characters

• Mr. Digge, chief engineer of the Mid-Town traffic tunnel
• A sabre-tooth tiger
• A tyrannosaurus rex
• Pterodactyls
• A cave bear
• Cavemen
• Senator Hook, kidnapped by the cavemen in 1909
• A giantic brontosaurus
• A giant mastodon

Locations

• New York
  • Mid-Town Traffic Tunnel
    • A giant cavern of natural crystal

Behind the scenes

• The title for the story is taken from the strips of April 2, 1945 (Beginning: The Old Ones).
• Mandrake use the interjection of surprise: Great Scott!

Signifiant covers

• 
  Australia
• 
  Argentina
• 
  Brazil
• 
  Italy
• 
  Italy
• 
  Italy
• 
  New Zealand
• 
  Portugal
• 
  Spain
• 
  Spain
• 
  USA

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• "Los hombres de las cavernas", Album Pif-Paf #2 (1954)
• "Contra los hombres de las cavernas", Super Album de la Historieta #26 (?)

Australia

• "The Old Ones", Mandrake Annual (1952)

Brazil

• "O Mistério do Túnel", Mandrake, o Mágico #18 (1972)
• "O Mistério do Túnel", Mandrake #248 (1976)

Finland

• "Maaron ja Luolaihmiset", Kippari Kalle #2 (1955)

France

• "Retour a l'âge de pierre", Spécial Mandrake #59 (1968)
• "Retour a l'âge de pierre", Spécial Mandrake Album #5 (1968)

West Germany

• "Die Höhlenmenschen", Phantom-Heft #24 (1953)

Italy

• "Nell'età della pietra", L'Avventura (1946)
• "Ritorno all'età della pietra", Super Albo #22 (1962)
• "Ritorno all'età della pietra", Special Mandrake #187 (1966)
• "Nell'etá della pietra", Mandrake - New Comics Now #214 (1988)
• "Nell'etá della pietra", Mandrake 29 (Comic Art) (1993)

New Zealand

• "The Old Ones", Mandrake the Magician #1 and Mandrake the Magician #2 (1949)

Portugal

• "Um Mundo Desconhecido", Mandrake #9 (197?)

Spain

• "Antepasados prehistóricos" & "El templo cavernícola", Merlin el Mago Moderno #41 & #42 (194?)

Sweden

• "Grottmännen", Mandrake #1 (1962)

United Kingdom

• "The Old Ones", Mandrake the Magician #2

USA

• "The Old Ones", The Classic Mandrake Series / Episode: "The Old Ones" (Pacific Comics Club) (20??)