as the wise wizard of Uther Pendragon's court who raises and tutors young Arthur to be King of the Britons. Many of the Arthurian romances are told from Merlin's point of view, and Merlin seems to be the archetype for both Gandalf the White in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars dramas. A less-acknowledged inheritor of Merlin's mantle is Q, the master of technological wonders in the James Bond films, whose role is very much like that of Merlin in the Arthurian tales—a scolding paternal figure who is also the source of the ingenious tricks and gadgets that regularly save the day. Likewise, Obi-Wan Kenobi can be seen as a Christlike, sci-fi Merlin who sacrifices himself to save Luke and Leia and their companions. Obi-Wan and Q (like Gandalf) are both members of a brotherhood—in Obi-Wan's case, the suppressed Jedi, in Q's, the Secret Service.
Of course, the most popular magus today is Harry Potter, created by J. K. Rowling. In a time when most children can't be bothered to read anything, Rowlinghas created a series of runaway bestsellers devoured by millions of young readers the world over. Sociologists have wasted volumes trying to explain Harry Potter's unprecedented success, when they need not have looked far at all. The answer lies in the hearts and imaginations of all insecure young children (and adults) who want to believe that they—like Harry, Ron, and Hermione—have latent magical powers that can help them negotiate the horrors of adolescence (and life). And as we'll see later, Harry has a direct ancestor in the comics.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
The character generally seen as the comics' first superhero is Mandrake the Magician. Created by Lee Falk in 1924, Mandrake didn't find his way into the funny pages until a decade later. True to form, Mandrake studied with ascended masters in Tibet, and returned to the West to ply his trade as a stage performer. Along the way, he picked up a sidekick named Lothar, an African prince who acted as Mandrake's personal bodyguard, and is generally acknowledged as the first heroic black character in American comic strips.
In his early adventures, Mandrake is an occult magician who uses hypnotic suggestion to convince others he is a true conjurer. Falk incorporated many interesting occult themes into his storylines. Mandrake fights a death cult in 1935 in Kingdom of Murderers , and masters the arcane art of inter-dimensional travel a year later in Mandrake in the X Dimension . In Mandrake on the Moon (1938), the magician discovers that the ancient Atlanteans escaped and built a new civilization of domed cities on the dark side of the Moon. Starting in 1939, Mandrake strips were reprinted in magazine format in Magic Comics . Mandrake never hit the big time outside the funny pages, however, despite attempts at a movie serial (1939), a radio program (1940), a TV series (1954), a TV movie (1979), and a TV cartoon (1986).
Mandrake did, however, inspire a whole host of warlocks in both comics and the strips. The first costumed character that can be definitively called a superhero is the Phantom Magician, who first appeared in Mel Graff's syndicated comic strip The Adventures of Patsy in 1935. As comics historian Dick O' Donnell notes, the Phantom Magician “was clad in the outfit of tights, cape, and domino mask favored by so many later adventure heroes, including the Phantom and Supermanand Batman.” 98 Although Phantom Magician appeared in only one Patsy story-line, he caught the attention of Mandrake creator Lee Falk, whose next hero also donned a mask and costume.
Another supermagus character inspired by Mandrake is DC Comic's Zatara, created by Fred Guardineer. Like Superman, Zatara premiered in the first issue of Action Comics . DC seemed to have high hopes for Zatara and allowed him to push Superman off the cover of Action for several issues. Like Mandrake, Zatara is essentially a hypnotist who casts spells by gniklat drawkcab. 99 He
Of course, the most popular magus today is Harry Potter, created by J. K. Rowling. In a time when most children can't be bothered to read anything, Rowlinghas created a series of runaway bestsellers devoured by millions of young readers the world over. Sociologists have wasted volumes trying to explain Harry Potter's unprecedented success, when they need not have looked far at all. The answer lies in the hearts and imaginations of all insecure young children (and adults) who want to believe that they—like Harry, Ron, and Hermione—have latent magical powers that can help them negotiate the horrors of adolescence (and life). And as we'll see later, Harry has a direct ancestor in the comics.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN
The character generally seen as the comics' first superhero is Mandrake the Magician. Created by Lee Falk in 1924, Mandrake didn't find his way into the funny pages until a decade later. True to form, Mandrake studied with ascended masters in Tibet, and returned to the West to ply his trade as a stage performer. Along the way, he picked up a sidekick named Lothar, an African prince who acted as Mandrake's personal bodyguard, and is generally acknowledged as the first heroic black character in American comic strips.
In his early adventures, Mandrake is an occult magician who uses hypnotic suggestion to convince others he is a true conjurer. Falk incorporated many interesting occult themes into his storylines. Mandrake fights a death cult in 1935 in Kingdom of Murderers , and masters the arcane art of inter-dimensional travel a year later in Mandrake in the X Dimension . In Mandrake on the Moon (1938), the magician discovers that the ancient Atlanteans escaped and built a new civilization of domed cities on the dark side of the Moon. Starting in 1939, Mandrake strips were reprinted in magazine format in Magic Comics . Mandrake never hit the big time outside the funny pages, however, despite attempts at a movie serial (1939), a radio program (1940), a TV series (1954), a TV movie (1979), and a TV cartoon (1986).
Mandrake did, however, inspire a whole host of warlocks in both comics and the strips. The first costumed character that can be definitively called a superhero is the Phantom Magician, who first appeared in Mel Graff's syndicated comic strip The Adventures of Patsy in 1935. As comics historian Dick O' Donnell notes, the Phantom Magician “was clad in the outfit of tights, cape, and domino mask favored by so many later adventure heroes, including the Phantom and Supermanand Batman.” 98 Although Phantom Magician appeared in only one Patsy story-line, he caught the attention of Mandrake creator Lee Falk, whose next hero also donned a mask and costume.
Another supermagus character inspired by Mandrake is DC Comic's Zatara, created by Fred Guardineer. Like Superman, Zatara premiered in the first issue of Action Comics . DC seemed to have high hopes for Zatara and allowed him to push Superman off the cover of Action for several issues. Like Mandrake, Zatara is essentially a hypnotist who casts spells by gniklat drawkcab. 99 He
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