Doctor Congo

Doctor Congo

Start date:	June 26th, 1944
End date:	October 7th, 1944
# of strips:	90 (15 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	"The Dome"
Followed by:	"The Mirror People"

"Doctor Congo" is the 32nd 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 four newspaper columns, the other to span five. The five-column variant is cropped in the lower part.

Plot Summary

Mrs Dower, an old friend of Narda, believes that the doctor Congo - who has been presented to her by John her nephew - is a brilliant and highly respected physician. In fact the man is a witch-doctor and tries to kill Mrs Dower for her personal money. But Mandrake intervenes to fail the plan.

Appearances

Recurring characters

One-time characters

Mrs. Dower, an old friend of Narda
John Dower, Mrs. Dower's nephew
Dr. Congo, the only practising witch-doctor in America
Marie, Mrs. Dower's maid
Joe, one of Dr. Congo's thugs
Jerry, one of Dr. Congo's thugs

Locations

New York (?)
- Air Port
Reedville
- Grimm House, Dr. Congo's private nursing home

Behind the scenes

The title for the story is taken from the strip of June 26, 1944 (Beginning: Doctor Congo!).
In 1930 the Epstein family's cook (servant) was the 31 years old Marie Latimore.
In 1943 Cambridge Summer Theatre staged "The Emperor Jones" by Eugene O'Neill the week of August 9, with Lawaune Kennard in the role as "Congo Witch Doctor".