Weekend Nostalgia Read: Why 'Mandrake' Was The Comic Strip That Saw Tomorrow

The narratives a civilisation crafts for its nascent minds offer a vivid insight into its being. Stories bequeathed to children and youth serve as potent measures, revealing the visions and values with which it wants to sculpt its future generations.

Within this context, the fascinating realm of twentieth-century comics — a medium that started flourishing amid the West's profound trials, from world wars to economic depressions — provides a unique lens.

These vibrant, sequential daily newspaper strip narratives, born of both imagination and societal reflection, reveal the creative spirit and scientific curiosity that shaped, and continue to forge, the minds of the young readers.

More than mere entertainment, they are a cultural archive, rich with seeds of scientific wonder and imaginative possibility.

Intriguingly, this dimension of comic literature resonates deeply with the intellectual landscape charted by Charles Percy Snow. A polymath whose life bridged the worlds of novelist and scientist, Snow brought into sharp focus the perceived chasm between the realms of science and the humanities, and in particular, art.

In his seminal 1959 lecture, The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, he posited the necessity of a 'third culture,' a harmonious synthesis that would not only connect these disparate domains but also guide them towards the creation of a true knowledge society.

It is within this vision that science fiction, a fertile ground for the 'third culture' to take root, finds its natural ally in the world of comics. For the very fabric of science fiction, with its speculative explorations of the possible, weaves seamlessly into the narratives of comics, as exemplified by the enduring legacy of iconic strips like Superman, where the tropes of science fiction are rendered into captivating visual narratives.

However, the narrative landscape of comics and science fiction, like any cultural creation, is not without its shadows. While a significant number of these works once served to perpetuate colonial stereotypes and Eurocentric narratives, mirroring the prevailing ideologies of their time, the seismic shift following the Second World War and the subsequent rise of the post-colonial world brought about a profound transformation.

These mediums, once instruments of cultural hegemony, began to evolve, becoming potent vehicles for the very 'third culture' that Snow envisioned. Within this evolution, one finds the comic strip Mandrake the Magician, which explored the interplay between the mystical and the scientific, hinting at the possibility of a more integrated understanding of knowledge.

Surprisingly, the character was created by Lee Falk (1911-1999), another of whose famous creations was The Phantom, which, quite famous throughout the world, probably as the first costumed hero, was also high on colonial stereotypes. Mandrake the Magician was not entirely free of such stereotypes but was relatively milder compared to The Phantom.

But what set Mandrake apart was the way the comic strip introduced extraordinarily exotic concepts to the minds of children, which would later resonate with the accelerating worldview of new physics.

Here are some novel concepts introduced in the comic strip:

Mandrake's power to distort reality through mass hypnosis, conjuring total illusions with a mere 'hypnotic gesture,' presented a radical concept to young minds.

He could make a person perceive an entirely different reality, while the 'true' reality remained hidden, sometimes even from those standing beside them.

This was more than mere entertainment; it was a subtle lesson in the subjectivity of perception, a playful exploration of how reality itself could be malleable.

Further enriching this conceptual landscape were the 'magical cubes' (initially spheres), safeguarded by Mandrake and his mentor, Theron, within a remote Himalayan cave. These cubes, instruments for amplifying mental power, underscored the notion that the human mind held the planet's greatest force.

Within the fictional universe of Mandrake, the origins of the mind-power-amplifying cubes are shrouded in legend, a tale recounted by Theron, the Guru of Mandrake. Intriguingly, Mandrake posits an 'ancient alien' theory as a potential explanation.

It is important to recognise that the concept of 'ancient aliens,' while often relegated to the fringes of serious inquiry, can serve as a valuable springboard for discussions about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

While ancient aliens, when presented as a historical fact, inevitably descends into crackpot theories, flawed history, and pseudoscience, its imaginative potential should not be dismissed.

As a fictional construct, it possesses the power to ignite a sense of wonder in young minds, prompting them to contemplate the vast expanse of the universe and the myriad mysteries it holds. In this context, it is important to remember what astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan said about using fringe ideas in pedagogy:

Mandrake's adventures extended beyond earthly boundaries, encompassing encounters with aliens, time travellers, and beings from other dimensions, each a unique manifestation of the boundless possibilities of the universe.

Consider, for instance, the tale of 'Goldman,' a metallic-yet-bipedal human-like alien from a distant world who arrived on Earth seeking gold, brazenly taking it from Fort Knox.

In their encounter, the alien posed a profound question: why did carbon-based humans, unlike his gold-constructed species, covet this element? Mandrake, caught in a moment of philosophical contemplation, found himself without a satisfactory answer.

The alien also pointed out that just as humans 'steal' honey from the bees, he takes away gold from the humans.

One is reminded of the lines from Blake's famous poem The Fly: 'Am not I A fly like thee? Or art not thou A man like me?'

Even Lothar, Mandrake's astute companion, admitted his own bewilderment. The alien then revealed his civilisation's unique currency: time, the most valuable commodity in the universe. Transactions were conducted by transferring units of time, meticulously tracked by a central computer.

When challenged about his 'theft' of gold, the alien responded with an ethical analogy, questioning whether humans, in taking honey from the bees, were not also guilty of a form of theft.

Thus, within the seemingly simple narrative of a comic strip, complex themes of science fiction, ethical dilemmas, and the relative nature of value were woven together, forming the building blocks of a child's expanding conceptual universe.

In the adventure 'Giant Man,' Mandrake confronts a colossal human, a being of towering stature and equally immense cerebral capacity, brought from the wilderness into the modern world. This extraordinary individual, the result of a mutation caused by nuclear testing close to where a Native American community lived, challenges the very boundaries of scientific understanding.

Mandrake, witnessing the emergence of a new couple, Kolosso and Janna, is left to ponder a profound question: could they be a new Adam and Eve, a testament to humanity's self-inflicted perils? Here, within the fantastical narrative, lies a veiled critique of atomic weapon testing, particularly its impact on vulnerable communities, and a somber reflection on the potential for humanity's self-destruction.

Mandrake also dared to explore the hypothetical, questioning the very nature of perception and power. What if animals possessed the innate ability to hypnotise? While the Basilisk, popularised by the book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is now a familiar figure, Hypnotic Beast, another one of Mandrakes adventures, presented a similar concept, exploring the idea of prehistoric creatures capable of freezing their prey with a mere gaze.

Could the legendary Medusa, with her petrifying stare, have been a creature of hypnotic power rather than myth?

Mandrake's adventures extended to encounters with a prehistoric 'half-bird, half-reptile' creature, initially met with scepticism. This narrative arc showcases Mandrake's own journey, from sceptic to believer, as he witnesses the strangest phenomena in the universe.

This consistent theme — the importance of remaining open to the extraordinary, of accepting evidence over preconceived notions — runs as a powerful undercurrent throughout the Mandrake comics, subtly teaching the young reader to embrace the boundless possibilities of the unknown.

The very fabric of reality, Mandrake comics suggested to its young readers, might hold unseen seams, gateways to dimensions beyond our own. What if realms, existing parallel to ours, were susceptible to accidental or intentional intrusion?

What if these alternate worlds were inhabited by beings whose evolutionary trajectories diverged radically from our own? Imagine creatures formed of crystalline structures, communicating through the ethereal language of thought transfer, their very sustenance derived from the resonance of sound.

And imagine, too, that a high-pitched sonic wave could become a weapon, a deadly force in their fragile ecosystem. Such an alien universe, a realm of crystalline beings and sonic sustenance, was unveiled to the curious comic-reader in the adventure The Crystal Creatures.

Remarkably, as early as the 1940s, the Mandrake comic strip ventured into the realm of mirror worlds, drawing inspiration from the occult notion that 'every man has an evil counterpart in the world behind the mirror.'

This exploration introduced "Ekardnam," Mandrake's malevolent double, and extended beyond the simplistic 'good versus evil' dichotomy to depict a world inverted, where trees bore roots skywards, and fruits, like apples, were unearthed from the earth.

This concept, first unveiled in a 1944 Mandrake strip, predates the more elaborate science fiction exploration of mirror universes featured in the Star Trek series episode, Mirror Mirror, telecast in the year 1967. Mandrake's early foray into alternate realities underscores the comic's ability to anticipate and even inspire later cultural explorations of complex scientific and philosophical concepts.

Mandrake's adventures also dared to explore the branching pathways of human evolution, posing the question: what if a segment of humanity had diverged, choosing the depths of the ocean as their evolutionary crucible?

What if a highly intelligent, ancient civilisation had retreated into the sea, adapting and thriving in its enigmatic embrace?

This submerged society, possessing the gift of telepathy, sought to communicate a vital message: the deep-sea mineral extraction undertaken by surface dwellers threatened their very existence.

A princess, leader of this underwater realm, conveyed their plea, their perception of deep-sea mining as an act of aggression and destruction. Yet, upon his return to the surface, Mandrake himself grappled with the veracity of his experience, questioning whether it was reality or merely a dream.

The adventure The Hangman's Knot imparted four profound concepts to its readers: the divergent possibilities of evolutionary paths, the richness of aquatic life's evolution, the imperative for ecological sensitivity, particularly regarding the delicate balance of deep-sea ecosystems and the luminal space between wakeful reality and dreams.

In Mystery of the Unknown Valley, one learns of Mandrake’s sister Lenore, an explorer in the company of a dwarf race of humans who, when tyrannised by a race of giants, innovated glider wings and then started fighting against their adversaries. Thus, we are shown one thing — human evolution can take shape in various ways, influenced and catalysed by various factors.

The legend of the 'Big Foot,' initially met with Mandrake's characteristic scepticism in Battle of the Giant, is ultimately transformed into a tangible reality. Mandrake, in a moment of unexpected intimacy, finds himself acting as a midwife to a pregnant Mrs Big Foot, witnessing the birth of her child.

The narrative further enriches the experience by depicting Big Foot creating cave drawings of his adventures, offering young readers a glimpse into the artistry of prehistoric expression and subtly reinforcing the importance of keeping an open mind.

Does this willingness to embrace the extraordinary render the reader susceptible to deception? Not necessarily. While Mandrake encourages a less sceptical approach to the exotic, it also imparts a crucial lesson in discernment.

The adventure Legend of the Giants serves as a cautionary tale, exposing a paleontological hoax involving a fabricated giant fingernail. Here, a real-estate fraudster exploits local legends, fabricating giant bones to manipulate and deceive. Thus, the reader, while immersed in a world of wonder, is simultaneously introduced to the necessity of critical thinking and the recognition of charlatanism, ensuring a balanced perspective between wonder and scepticism.

The enigmatic allure of cats, a mystique familiar to every feline aficionado, invites speculation. What if their otherworldly aura stemmed from a genuine extraterrestrial origin?

What if, contrary to conventional wisdom, cats had orchestrated their own domestication, subtly manipulating humanity to serve their needs?

This intriguing premise formed the heart of the Mandrake adventure Strange Banquet, where his fiancée, Princess Narda, discovers her pet cat attending a clandestine gathering. There, she learns that cats are denizens of a distant planet, initially served by robots upon their arrival on Earth.

As their robotic servants dwindled, they forged alliances with humans, particularly women, effectively domesticating the human species to ensure their continued care.

The adventure ends with the cliché of Narda waking up to the confusion of whether what she saw was a dream, a hallucination, or reality.

This fantastical narrative, conceived in the 1980s, resonates with an uncanny prescience. Decades later, in 2017, the National Geographic published an article whose headline proclaimed, 'Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows.'

A comprehensive study of ancient DNA, extracted from 209 cats spanning a 9,000-year period, revealed that cats actively facilitated their own domestication, strategically leveraging human interaction to spread and conquer the world.

In essence, the Mandrake comics, while ostensibly a work of fantasy, intuitively grasped and presented a profound truth, blurring the lines between imagination and reality.

Magnon's civilisation, with its technological prowess surpassing our own by 50,000 years, offered a glimpse into the potential trajectory of scientific advancement.

Notably, the narrative presented a crystal-ball-like 'sub-atomic computer,' capable of answering any question in any terrestrial language — a remarkable foreshadowing of modern artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language-processing technologies like Alexa.

This comic, The Rat Men, was first published in 1980, and in India in 1982 as Mandrake's Godchild (Indrajal Comics, No 422).

The striking resemblance between this fictional device and contemporary AI chatbots highlights the comic's ability to anticipate and perhaps even inspire future technological developments.

Here is yet another technological premonition:

In the adventure Secret Plot (Indrajal year of publication, 1976) Mandrake and Theron, using their mind-power-amplifying cubes, forged a world-spanning net, enabling them to search for a specific malefactor by detecting the traces of his activities within this mental web.

This conceptualisation of a network allowing for the real-time tracking of information and individuals across vast distances bears a remarkable resemblance to the modern internet.

In the adventure Ratmen of Rodencia, which also features Magnon, the reader is introduced to a diverse array of alien intelligences, each adapted to unique and challenging environments. The narrative thoughtfully presents these varied life forms, explicitly connecting their evolutionary paths to the specific conditions of their home worlds, ranging from liquid ammonia seas to radioactive atmospheres.

This approach not only expanded the reader's imagination but also subtly conveyed the fundamental principle of adaptation and the vast spectrum of possibilities within the universe.

In Floating Couple, Mandrake encounters descendants from a distant future, two hundred generations removed, who have journeyed to his present time in pursuit of a criminal.

This encounter, however, reveals a surprising truth: their presence is part of an elaborate future game.

They wield advanced, destructive weaponry, yet possess the ability to restore any damage inflicted upon the present, returning all things to their original state before their intervention.

This narrative, therefore, introduces the concept of time travel not as a linear, irreversible act, but as a form of controlled simulation, where the past can be manipulated without lasting consequence, a fascinating exploration of the fluidity of time and its potential malleability.

There is also a utopian future where all acts of humans are done by robots and future humanity needs geniuses to supervise the robots. So what do they do? They travel back in time and take the genius children to their own time. It is brain drain across a reversed time line.

It becomes evident that Mandrake, particularly the strips crafted during the transformative decades of the 1960s and 1970s, played a significant role in shaping a generation, introducing them to the nascent concepts of space, mind, and time.

A similar influence can be attributed to the Flash Gordon comics, which, in their own right, contributed to a form of future-oriented nation-building.

These narratives nurtured young minds, fostering an exotic understanding of the universe, subtly preparing them for the revolutionary concepts that would later emerge in quantum mechanics and new physics.

They encouraged a liberation from conventional notions of evolution, a transcendence of the human-centric view of intelligence, and an embrace of the boundless possibilities of the cosmos.

Within this unique comic phenomenon lies a wealth of insight, a valuable resource for contemporary child educationists, offering lessons on how to ignite curiosity, expand horizons, and cultivate minds capable of navigating the ever-evolving landscape of scientific discovery.