The Cobra (Daily story 1934)

The Cobra
Start date:	June 11th, 1934
End date:	November 24th, 1934
# of strips:	144 (24 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Phil Davis
Preceded by:	none
Followed by:	"The Hawk (Mandrake Meets Narda)"

"The Cobra" is the 1st Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Phil Davis. According to an anecdote by Lee Falk the first few weeks were only printed in two US newspapers: The New York Evening Journal and a newspaper from Little Rock in Arkansas (The Arkansas Gazette ?).

Plot Summary

Mandrake chases the Cobra, a mysterious and powerful black magician. He is the fanatical leader of a powerful secret society of faceless slaves that seeks to control the world.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• The Cobra

One-time characters

• Ralph Sheldon, inspector in the U.S. Secret Service
• Barbara Sheldon, daughter of Ralph Sheldon.
• Tommy Lord, Ralph Sheldon's assistant
• Mr. VanderGriff, ambassador of ?
• Mee-Kee, VanderGriff's servant
• Gordini Talon, one of The Cobras men (turned into a rat by Mandrake)
• Captain Merriweather, onboard the ship
• Lieutenant Rogers, onboard the ship
• Dr Heath, onboard the ship
• Prince Saud of Tejei, son of the late Emir Ibn-Rehr
• Kâri, High Priest of the Sun (4 800 B.C.)

• Viscount Largy, chairman of the Council of Nations.
• General Stuldiloff, commander of a half million troops.

Locations

• U.S.A.
  • New York City (?)
    • Home of VanderGriff
• Three oceans (according to Mandrake)
  • Atlantic Ocean
    • Mediterranean Sea (?)
• The Orient (Egypt ?)
  • Tejei, agless and mysterios walled privately owned city, key to the orient.
  • The Great Desert (Sahara ?)
    • Kilgar Pass
      • The old castle, home of the Cobra.

Behind the scenes

Title

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

Artist(s)

• In interviews after 1972 Lee Falk says that he himself did all the art work for the two first weeks of this story. It is difficult to find evidence that this is correct, so one has to assume that this statement probably is intended to be an anecdote.

Swiping

Looking at some panels one can see that elements are swiped, a few from the "Secret Agent X-9" strip by Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond.

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  Sample

Censorship

• Most reprints are censored due using the print from L'Avventuroso #15 - #43 from 1935 as source for the reprint.

Signifiant covers

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Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• Australian Women's Weekly (1934/35)

Argentina

• "El Cobra", Biblioteca Clarín de la Historieta #20 (2004)

Brazil

• "O Cobra", Mandrake #1 (1986)
• "O Cobra", Mandrake Coleção #1 (1989)

France

• "L'homme du mystère", Mandrake roi de la magie #1 (1965)
• "L'homme du mystère", Spécial Mandrake #32 & #33 (1966)
• "Le Cobra", Mandrake le Magicien Vol. 1 (1981)

French Polynesia

• "Mandrake l’uomo del mistero" & "Mandrake contro il Cobra", Mandrake #1" and " #2" (1976) note: Italian text.

Italy

• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", L'Avventuroso #15 - #43 (1935)
• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", Collana Albi grandi avventure - Mandrake #1 (1935)
• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", Collana Albi grandi avventure - Mandrake #1 (1945) (note: starting with the strip of September 9, 1934)
• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", Ristampe di grande successo #4 (1949)
• "Mandrake contro il Cobra" & "La ciurma dei sicari" & "La morte volante", Mistero! #4, #5 and #6 (1948) Note: Only strips to 10 September 1936.
• "Mandrake contro il Cobra", Mistero Raccolta #10 (1949)
• "Il Cobra si manifesta" & "Gli uomini senza volto", Il Vascello #21 and #22 (1960)
• "Il Cobra si manifesta", Il Vascello #43 supplemento (1961)
• "L'uomo del mistero", Super Albo #150 #152 (1965)
• "L'uomo del mistero", Eureka Pocket #2 (1969)
• "L'uomo del mistero", Mandrake (1974) (part only)
• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", Collana Albi grandi avventure - Mandrake #1 (1975 reprint)
• "Mandrake - L’uomo del mistero" & "Mandrake contro il Cobra", Mandrake #1" and " #2" (1976)
• "L'uomo del mistero", Mandrake - New Comics Now #115 (1984)
• "Contro il Cobra", Mandrake #1 (1991)
• "Mandrake contro il Cobra", Mandrake (1999)
• "Mandrake - L'uomo del mistero", Club dei Trenta #12 (2004 ?)
• "L'uomo del mistero", Mandrake il mago (2014)

Norway

• "Mystikkens mann", Fantomet #10 and #11 (1988)
• "Kobraen", Klassikerserien (2003)

Portugal

• "O Caso do Embaixador", Jornal do Cuto #98 (1973) Incomplete: ends July 7, 1934

Spain

• "Contra el Cobra", Grandes Clásicos de los Comics del Pasado #8 - Mandrake #1 (1981)
• "La Cobra", Mandrake el Mago: Daily strips 1934-1936 (Dolmen Editorial) (2022)

Turkey

• "Mandrake - Şimşek Adam, Ateş #14 - # 52 (1937)
• "Esrarengiz Adam", 1001 Roman #197 - 246 (1943-1944)
• "Kobra'ya Karşı", 1001 Özel #205 (1956) Note: Traced editions from 1001 Roman #197 - 246.

United Kingdom

• "The Cobra", Mandrake the Magician - The Dailies Volume 1: The Cobra (2016)

USA

• "The Cobra", Comics Revue #281-282 – #303-304 (2009/2011)
• "The Cobra", Volume One: the complete newspaper dailies 1934-1936 (2024)