The Connoisseur

The Connoisseur
Start date:	March 24, 1969
End date:	July 12, 1969
# of strips:	96 (16 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Fred Fredericks
Preceded by:	"Battle of Xanadu"
Followed by:	"The Bribe"

"The Connoisseur" is the 140th Mandrake daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Fred Fredericks.

Plot Summary

The rich and eccentric Count Lode has got himself a new hobby, as a collector of the world's best. He has acquired electric platinum collars to control his victims, and and a chemical amnesia substance so he can return his victim when he is bored of them. Regrettably, the chemical substance have a side effect, the victim will forget his art.

Count Lode's new hobby was a great success, until he decided to kidnap the world's greatest magician and the world's strongest man.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• Mandrake
• Lothar
• Narda
• Jed
• Hojo, at Xanadu only
• The Police Chief, at the phone only.

One-time characters

• Count Lode, one of the world's ten richest men.
• Grischa, Count Lode servant.
• Vivari, the world's greatest violinist.
• Piotre, the world's greatest pianist.
• Caretta, the world's greatest tenor.
• Cy, the world's best pole-vaulter.
• Orsella, the world's greatest ballerina.
• Mrs. Vanderbuck, chief of United Charity.
• Mrs. G, working for Count Lode.

Locations

• London
  • Metcalf's ltd, an exclusive London shop.
• New York City
  • Xanadu
• Count Lode's private island just of Africa's east coast.

Organizations

• Inter-Intel

Behind the scenes

Title

• The title for the story taken from the strip of March 24, 1969 (Beginning: The Connoisseur).

Mandrake Lore

• A new way to Inter-Intel, through a butcher shop, down a long slide, on a speeding sidewalk, then up a high escalator.
• On Jed's office door: Jed Carr - Bureau Head (strip of Mars 11,1966).

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• "Extraño coleccionista", Fantasía #221 (1973)

Brazil

• "O Colecionador", Mandrake #159 (1969)

Finland

• "Taiteen tuntija", Mustanaamio #10 and #11 (1984)

France

• "no title given", Spécial Mandrake #2 (1974)
• "Le collectionneur", Le Journal de Mickey #1623 to #1635 (1983)
• "Le collectionneur", Donald Magazine #83-32 to #83-44 (1983)

India

• "The Missing Celebrities" Indrajal Comics #132 (1971)
• "The Island of No Return", Indrajal Comics Vol. 24 No. 2 (1987)
• "கலாரசிகனின் கதை!" , Mutu Comics #466 (2022)

Italy

• "L'intenditore", Mandrake #175, #176 and #177 (1970)
• "L'intenditore", I Quaderni del Fumetto #7 (1974)

Norway

• "Mannen som samlet på verdens beste", Fantomet #3 and #4 (1990)

Portugal

• "O Misterioso Conde Lode", Mundo de Aventuras #1076 (1970)

Sweden

• "Konnässören", Fantomen #27 and ' #1 (1983/1984)

Turkey

• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake #38 #39 (1975)
• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake Albüm #13
• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake Albüm #217 #218
• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake #38
• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake Süper Albüm #11
• "Çılgın Milyarder", Mandrake Süper Albüm #49 #50

Yugoslavia

• "Otmičar iz dosade", Super EKS Almanah #9 (1980)