Comic #133 : The Scorpio Case(D152) - A Rip Kirby adventure from the late '80s

Another Rip daily and this time from the period of Indrajal Comics. This particular strip was the penultimate Kirby adventure published in the Indrajal(Vol. 26 No. 19; 1989 -  titled "The Cunning Scorpion"). Incidentally, Bengali version of this Indrajal - titled Kakra-bicher Hul(কাঁকড়া-বিছের হুল ) - was one of the earliest Indrajals I have purchased when I have had restarted the Indrajal-hunt, some around 20 years ago. Happy memory! :-)

Anyway, back to the story, it was a nice thriller, all was happening around a Caribbean casino. Like most Rip Kirby stories, there were some memorable one-off characters. Like Nina, who helped Rip to nab the frauds, and played as his better-half throughout the story! 

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Basic Information:

Title/Serial No.: The Scorpio Case(D152)

Writer/Artist: John Prentice

Publication Period(strips): 4-25-88 to 7-16-88(72 dailies)

Publication Period/Date(Indrajal Comics): 4-7-89 (Vol. 26 No. 19)

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DOWNLOAD D152

The cover & some inside pages of the Bengali Indrajal issue...

Comic #114 - LAST Mandrake Indrajal : গোপন আবিষ্কার(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 7 - Apr'90)

   Before going to the comic,I would (once again) like to share few words about this series,Indrajal Comics.
   After reading a quite a number of comic-publishers' out-put(both Indian and Western),I yet to find a series with so much variety in one place!Not their every effort clicked and I have my dislike-list from those 800 odd published issues,but have to agree that this series stands unique even after more than 24 years have been passed since the last issue released! And with every passing year,the interest associates with Indrajal Comics is only getting bigger and bigger,not restricted within Indian fans anymore!

 If we talk about the major heroes(cover-stories),you will find as many as 12-13 such. If we talk about the pin-up/one-off characters, mostly humor with few detective ones, there were at least 10+ of such,and then the numerous GK/informative articles those were regularly appeared in the back-pages of each issues(and let's not forget those memorable and vintage ads,although the purpose was solely commercial!)

  Then, top of the all,these were mixed of both Western and Indian flavors.

 While Phantom (Betal),Mandrake,Flash/Kirby etc represented the foreign league, Bahadur,Dara etc. represented the very Indian rooting!

  While Micky Mouse,Robinhood,Zorro etc were from Walt Disney classics, Henry/Gunodhar,Chalky,Little King etc introduced us with the western funnies,in the other hand Chimpoo,Timpa,Pasha etc were our kids!

 Same goes about those very informative and interesting articles like Ripley's believe it or not,Capree's animal world,Ancient World History to only name a few! 

  Now would request other fans to tell us if they have encountered with any other comic series throughout the world, where as much variety-of-contents were present??  Tell us if there is/was any other comic-series with so much depth and versatility?? And not to forget,all these happened for more than 25 years!
(It's a humble request to all fans as although I read several comics from different countries/continents,still there is a chance that I missed some,specially those which were not published in English!) 
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Now, the comic...

  গোপন আবিষ্কার was not only the last official Mandrake issue from Indrajal Comics,but it's also the last Bengali Mandrake Comic! After ToI cancelled the series, Diamond Comics bought the right,as we know.But they published Mandrake only in English and Hindi,so Bengali fans were left out.Later on 2000,after DC cancelled these comics,Egmont(India) bought the right,published as many as 15 old Mandrake stories(from Falk-Davis era) alongwith the Phantom,but all were in English only!

  So even after more than 24 years,if one looks back,he will find this issue,গোপন আবিষ্কার, dated 1-15 April 1990, as the last available Mandrake comic-book in Bengali - a very unfortunate truth(as I believe there are many Bengali fans who love this magician and his friends' adventures in a great extent!).

 Anyway,the story was fine,nothing great but that doesn't matter anymore...as it's the last time you are reading this magicians' adventure in Bengali in a prominent book-format! This story was the extended part of the previous tale 'ষড়যন্ত্রের জাল'(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 4/Mar'90) and this time the fantastic duo finally reached that small university named Harrison. There they met vastly talented and seemingly funny Prof.Ghagah who invented a fantastic device which will move matters through the air without any visible means! But soon after,he was kidnapped..!!

 For the rest,read the story....

DOWNLOAD গোপন আবিষ্কার(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 7 - 1 Apr 1990)

 Sometimes it happens that when you first obtain some books,you might haven't realized the importance of that issue,due to either lack of exposer or simply the fact that,we are not future-tellers!!;-) Same thing happened with me back on 1990,when I had this issue just withing the couple of days of the release,lost on very next day,felt bad but not too bad :-), and hence decided to buy the next issue as a substitute(which was ,as you know, eventually the last Indrajal issue).

 But years later when I was re-started my hunts for Indrajals,on and from 2005,bought plenty of issues from various sellers,when Indrajal Comics used arrive in the markets in 200-300 per bundle and they showcased those openly..
 In all those years while purchasing all other issues, I failed to manage a single issue of গোপন আবিষ্কার,even a coverless one! On 2008/9 Chandan(from Goa) gave me the English version but that's it....
Finally, on 2012, I have this rather elusive issue through exchange with Swagata,and this year another issue,this time,and for the first time in 9 years, from a seller!!
 I guess all these happened as a lesson that you should immediately purchase a 2nd copy if your original one(of any kind of book,specially magazine sort) is lost! Because you never know when that issue will vanish from market...for me,this period was lasted for only 21 years!! ;o)
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PS - In a 2011 blog-post(Can You ever forget your First Indrajal Comics(ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্)??), I have mentioned this incident,when still I was missing that issue....but soon after got this!! It's like if you desire something pretty hard,you ended up having that....isn't it?? :)

Comic #104 : A Goyenda Rip Indrajal AND A Question...

 Now time for a Rip Kirby aka Goyenda Rip Indrajal - ছায়ায় মোড়া ভয়ংকর(সংখ্যা ৩৭৬) - published on 1982. A nice (and quite funny) adventure through which our Goyenda Rip and his side-kick Desmond were introduced with us,the Indrajal readers!
A little info about RK stories in the Indrajal Comics can be found in this post.

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 Now time for The Question (Well friends,it may sound odd at first, and while I am sure most of you haven't faced it before,hopefully you will come-forward with your own stories):

When You Had MOVED ON From Indrajal Comics & WHY?

 Of course you are now reading Indrajal Comics like crazy,can't be without these titles for long and that's the reason why you are reading my post(ha ha) - but it's a fact that MOST OF US,GROWN-UP Indrajal Readers,ARE IN THEIR 2nd/3rd PHASE of the Indrajal reading,isn't it?? That is,most of us were introduced with these enchanting titles in our childhood,ranging from '60 to '80s,were hooked for some years and then moved-on from these for years due to several reasons.Finally, after many years, there was a come-back in this magical world and since then there is no looking back! :)

 I am lucky to have several interactions with such fans,either by on-line/cell or through personal meeting, who are just as much Indrajal-maniac as me,if not more! Some of them are like Sudhanshu, Zaheer, Aalok, Prabhat, Anupam, Sameer etc followed by Bengali readers like Samrat, Walker, Indranath, Devil, Suman, Mahasthabir etc to name a few!:)

 While I will eagerly waiting for your replies I can tell my side of story.
 I was bit late in this magical universe compare to my class-mates and that was on 1989. Although Indrajals were discontinued soon after on 1990,I kept reading and collecting old issues thanks to various friends till 1995 or 1996.Then due to majorly of higher-studies,cricket(I'm an addict) and of course lack-of-availability of old issues,I was slowly but steadily moved-on from reading Indrajals. Except few occasional reading from our local libraries' little collection,I wasn't there to think about this series or to start a collection. In my JU days I tried few times to collect the old issues but I wasn't looking at right places and hence got only negligibly small numbers and lost the interest!
 Then in the the final year of PG,on 2005,I suddenly felt this pang to collect old issues,felt a strange desperation that I can't explain! I guess that desperation,might be due to the fact that deep-down I was missing this series very much, itself forced me to search various odd places where I could get few copies.And after my introduction with old-book shops at College Street on 2006(there was a period when I used to visit CS 2-3 times a week!!) followed by our on-line blogs on 2007,I was completely hooked with Indrajals and hopefully I will remain hooked for the rest of my life..

 So once again,WHEN YOU HAD MOVED-ON and WHAT'S The REASON??
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DOWNLOAD ছায়ায় মোড়া ভয়ংকর

Comic #64 : Indrajal Comics(Bengali) : No.69(Betal) :Ghurni-Sagore Diana(ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা)

UPDATE(23/7): For all cricket fans & fanatics(like me),I'm sure you are watching the on-going Ind-Eng 1st test -  the historical 2000th TEST match - from Lords'!! (For those who came in late,this longest form of cricket on it's 134th year(since 1877) and for Team India,they are on their 79th year,since 1932.)

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 Another new Bengali Indrajal for this time.ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা based on a  dreaded plot against Diana and how Phantom finally saved her life! But, it was not another of those 'Diana-kidnapped-by-some-lover-prince' kind adventures,rather a gruesome murder-plot where that conman Dice tried to kill Diana, using a couple of ferocious killer sharks!

 Well,I am not going to elaborate further as don't want to ruin the suspense for those Bengali fans who yet to read this story in any language.And, if you already have read the English version,enjoy this Bengali counter-part! :-)

 Between,don't miss this following advertisement of the TEN EARLIEST ISSUES of 'Amar Chitra Katha(ACK)'!!And as you know very well,these are the rarest issues of ACK,based on much different stories - mostly western fairy tales - than what we got from #11(Krishna) onwards.(It's quite surprising that,while one will get plenty of old ACKs right from #11 from the old-markets,but NOT these issues!!Strange,ain't?? Personally,I have only a few issues incld. #2 - সিন্ডেরেলা . I donno if anybody has all of these 10 issues in Bengali/English!)

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 I have a special bonding with this Indrajal.Actually 2 Indrajals,in total. Besides ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা(সংখ্যা ৬৯), the other one is a Mandrake-Ijc in English - The Treacherous Gang(No.77).These two issues were the earliest 'below #100' Indrajals I read ever and purchased on the same day from one seller!

  Well,that Betal story was much exciting but plot-wise,nothing new.In the other hand,that Mandrake story was a land-marking adventure & one of the major reasons behind those huge changes in the Mandrake's universe(for better,of course) & pattern of the future stories(sundays+dailies) from mid '60s onwards!
 This was the FIRST ever encounter with that dreaded & international criminal gang, (in)famously known as "The League of 8"..just "8"(as Narda told Mandrake for the very first time!) Before this issue,I already read another '8' adventure with Dr.Dell(Ijc V23 N10) where it has been mentioned that it was Narda who proved the existence of this gang in the modern era!So reading 'that' actual story was something very special for me!! (And mind it,I'm talking about the time when there was NO Indrajal-List available on-line nor I had any idea about Xanadu back then!So my Indrajal-hunts in the old-markets were quite wild in those days/years.That was actually much different than what we are doing in the last 3-4 years i.e. preparing a wish-list much beforehand with own choice of  heroes/stories inside etc.)
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Now,to read the complete story of  ঘূর্ণি-সাগরে ডায়ানা,click the following link:

DOWNLOAD সংখ্যা ৬৯

Can You ever forget your First Indrajal Comics(ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্)??

 First of all,for Bengali Indrajal fans : I will post 2  Indrajals,one-by-one,in the coming weeks.There will be a Betal followed by a Flash Gordon adventure.
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 Before going into the actual topic,I should admit the reason behind this particular post. Since the last few weeks,I was again wondering why we are sooo crazy about 'only' Indrajal Comics??Now,just recently,we had a discussion on Indrajal(& our childhood memories associated with this) in a blog-post by fellow blogger Mahasthobir & other fans like Suman etc. More I think about this,more I become nostalgic,hence decide to share my thoughts here.I hope you will also share your own feelings & childhood experience as well!
 [Of course,I know the basic reason is you can read many *new* stories from old Ijcs,plus,many forgotten ones.But I wonder whether the "nostalgia factor" IS the major reason behind this craze,even more than the actual reading??(Because,technically, you CAN read all these stories in unedited strips from the various sites,plus 100s of Diamond's Phantom/Mandrake books etc.Still, ALL fans want only Indrajal's same old edited version!!)]
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 All Indrajal fans have their own set of 'special' Indrajal issues and that's does NOT depend on the year-of-publication/issue numbers etc.Yes,I'm talking about those introductory issues responsible for your fondness/addiction/attachment(or whatever you call it) with this series!
 So,let's share those experiences/memories when you were introduced with the magical world of Indrajal Comics(ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্)!! :-)
 Personally,I was one of those late-comers(considering that period when this series was still under publication) in the Indrajal universe.It was 1989. [However,we have only a few Ijc-crazies who were introduced years after the cancellation i.e. from the Post-Indrajal era,still addicted with this series,like Aalok from Mumbai,Swagoto(Walker) and my younger brother.(Well,he has allmost stopped reading Ijcs since last 2-3 years due to study and other interests like Games/FB etc!Earlier,he was the one who used to finish the whole lot of old Indrajals,even before me, within the couple of days of my purchase from the old markets! :-))]

 Even today,I can vividly remember that afternoon when one of the class-mates and my buddy, Amritanshu(অমরিতাংশু) showed me that issue - ব্যর্থ চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 29)  - was my first ever experience with Indrajal Comics!! Well,back then I was an ardent fan of Chacha Choudhary-Sabu/Pinki/Billo/Tintin/Nonte-Phonte etc fun-series only and hence initially ignored that 'unknown' series(with somewhat different format i.e. lesser pages,bigger size and much 'different' art than we used to see in the other comics!) Sometimes later,he flicked a few pages and asked me to read the 'other features' like cartoons/Ripley's etc!!As he was a close pal,so I reluctantly read some of those pages and kept that book aside!Then we were busy in our classes. After the last class,he said "বইটা আমায় দে(return me the book)".That was the moment when I felt asif he had asked something that is very dear to me!!
 I donno why I suddenly felt that way,but somehow requested him to lent that issue(and few more) in the coming days!Like a true buddy, he kept his promise and that's how I was introduced with the magical world of this adventure series - ইন্দ্রজাল কমিকস্!!

 As I have said,that introductory issue was ব্যর্থ চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 29)  - a Rip Kirby(রিপ কার্বি) story and eventually the last-Rip in the Indrajal. So,Amritanshu was one of the major reasons for my Indrajal addiction and I'm quite grateful to him for this!
[It's 99% probable that he is not reading this post(or any other comic-blogs,in that matter) as he had completely moved on from reading comics(Indrajal/others) from the 5th/6th standard itself(i.e. soon after Ijc's cancellation!)]

  Few weeks later,I bought my first Indrajal issue.It was a Betal(বেতাল) adventure with those little people - কালো বাক্সের রহস্য(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 33).. Incidentally,from this issue,ToI did change the format a bit(with a new banner,frequency was reduced from weekly to fortnightly,price hiked from 4.00 to 5.00 and page numbers were increased from 32 to 36!) Somehow I loved that previous banner style over this new one.Anyway, my next buy,actually the previous issue of কালো বাক্সের রহস্য,was a fitting Indrajal adventure - রক্তে ভেজা চক্রান্ত(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 32) . I loved this story so much that re-read the book many times within the first few days.:-) This story alone made me an avid fan of Flash Gordon(ফ্ল্যাশ গর্ডন) & his group(Dr.Jarkov,beautiful Dale & others!)

[I've scanned/clicked few covers from my 'old' issues and for the coverless ones,scans/clicks are from the copies I have collected only in the recent years.]

Next was Bahadur(বাহাদুর).And it was one of the best Bahadur adventure's from the late '80s - মৃত্যুর সাথে পাঞ্জা(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 18) . Unfortunately,I lost this book due to one careless aunt!!(I never forgave her as I loved that issue very much and worse,it was not my book but from Amritanshu! It's another thing that he never accused me for the loss.)
Now,why I read Bahadur??Well,I can tell you many reasons but major reason,specially on that age,was definitely the charming presence of Bela!!And this story was a great example. ;-) 

[Few years ago,I finally managed to have one copy of মৃত্যুর সাথে পাঞ্জা from our old-book market and that was quite a nostalgic moment for me.It was like,asif I've returned in those years.(Those who have managed to re-collect their old Indrajal issues, years after the loss of the actual issues,can understand this very well!)]

After few months,I read another Bahadur adventure from the same year(1989) - রক্তাক্ত অভিযান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 35).Then it was ক্রোধোন্মোত্ত শয়তান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 28)  where Bela did only a cameo but she was looking super-hot even in that short appearance! :o)

Next was our famous magician friend - Mandrake(ম্যানড্রেক).The first issue I can remember was গান-পাহাড়ের রহস্য(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 36)..  After that,সাগরতলের মৃতু্দূত(খন্ড 25 সংখ্যা 14-15) & রহস্যময় দম্পতি(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 1-3)   were few other titles from same period,but back then I read only the respective part-1(১ম পর্ব)  issues.

 Finally,the last Mandrake story in Indrajal - গোপন আবিষ্কার(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 7)  - was released on 1st April,1990 with a new price-tag(6.00).It was in my collection within a couple of days of the release - only for few hours though - as I lost this book during a long bus-trip on the very next day of purchase!! :(( And,the worst part of the loss is that, I'm yet to see another copy of গোপন আবিস্কার,even after 21 longgg years!! Quite unimaginable I know,but it's only a fact that I am yet to see even a torned Bengali copy of this issue,even after so many visits in the several old-book markets over the years.They have successfully arranged others issues except this one title!![UPDATE(11/1/12): Finally I have got this issue on this day from one of our Ijc friends through exchange! :)) ]

 ড্রাগ অভিযান(খন্ড 26 সংখ্যা 26)  was responsible for my introduction with Dara(দারা) - our own 007 Bond! This story was undoubtedly the best among the 8 Dara adventures,with much grimmer and blood-shaded plot!                                     

 Between,after that unfortunate loss of গোপন আবিস্কার,dad promised me to gift the next issue as a compensation and so he did.That was a Dara story : প্রতারণার ফাঁদ(খন্ড 27 সংখ্যা 8)  and eventually the LAST Indrajal,as you know!! That issue was released on 16th April,1990 and it's in my collection since 23rd April(Yes,I used to mention the 'date-of-purchase' on the inside cover on every issue(incld. any comics & books)! :-))

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So friends,it was my own experience with Indrajal Comics from those early days.What's your story??Do share with us!

The NEXT BEST thing to a LIVE Thriller....

....remember this famous caption of Indrajal Comics in the late '80s??(though it was applicable rightly from the beginning!!!isn't it friends??

Being an ardent Indrajal fan,I've cherished every bit of these 'long lost' gems.Thus,it's NOT only the original 'comic-pages' but those ads/other stuffs do matter a lot! In short,each & every "Indrajal Pages" are priceless gems for us! :)

From the last few days,I was just curious how many "Indrajal-pages" were published in TOTAL(incld.those Covers/Ads/Features etc besides the original comics ) in those 803 issues!
So I'd looked in this matter more seriously & matter of fact,after bit research I delighted to learn the exact 'figure'.

Now,while the first 28 issues(Ijc No.1 -No.28) were contained 28 pages each.Then Indrajals were published in conventional & most familiar 32-page format (except few 'bumper' issues in between,like No.49,272,278 etc) which ran for more than 23 years(Ijc No.29 -No.788/Vol.26 No.32) and it covers 757 issues(out of total 803).Then on August 1989,i.e. just before 8-9 months of cancellation their series,ToI briefly converted Indrajal Comics in a 36-pager(Vol.26 No.33/No.789 - V27 No.8/No.805) & this includes last 17 issues!

So,numerically the TOTAL 'Indrajal Pages' = 25,800+(covering total 803 issues) .

Personally,I don't prefer to collect books/comics just for the sake of collection(i.e. not intend to read actually).That's the reason why I'd rejected most of the times those B-graded Buz/Garth/Nomad/Corrigan etc with crappy Charlton/King-Phantom/King-Mandrake/King-Flash which covers ~200 Indrajals!Well,I'd collected some of these but never liked!
Anyway,things have been changed quite a lot in the last few months & nowadays I'm looking for any Indrajals which are missing(irrespective of titles/heroes) from my collection(physical) or even those I've as cover-less,i.e. missing those 4-page front/back covers!
I would like to check those 'other' stuffs like various ads & Henry(aka Gunodhar)/Chimpoo/Babua etc cartoons & of course Timpa's adventure series or that funny Magician Pasha & that Agent003(comic-Bond). Then,there are many various informative-yet-mind blowing Features like Riplies or Capries(contains 'amazing & unique infos' on animals from various parts of the world with funny displays in each of it's 45 episodes) or World's tale(valuable infos on 'Jurassic periods'....art-work was also and many more which are no less important/nostalgic for us...
Now coming to an another topic,do our Indrajals Lovers have noticed that the headers of 'Indrajal Comics' were changed for as much as four times!
Here's some display of covers in which headers were changed with times.After the glorious introduction in 1964,the first change was happened in 1967 .




Then in 1983, Indrajal converted in typical Vol.No. category from the individual No.s so also header converted in a pretty larger size! The last change was happened in 1989 when Ijc briefly returned in a fortnightly schedule from it's 7-year-long weekly pattern!


Finally,the price! I still remember,even that price-tag(it was at the bottom side of cover,earlier in a box & later in a circular or simply in an open-format) itself make me nostalgic,since I'd re-started my 'Ijc-hunt' few years back! In the glorious ~27-year-run,Indrajal-fans experienced a pretty cheap price(compare to 'other' comic-publications) which started with 0.6/- (in 1964) & finished at 6.0/- (in 1990) per copy!wow.. even those ordinary Diamond Comics were relatively higher rated!! :)


Cheers!!!

The Early Days.....

I guess everybody loved that Mandrake-thriller:'Headless Figure'. Thanks to all visitors for visiting & appreciating my small effort in this blog....more to come ! :-)
As am writing this post,the on-going Poll is just 9 minutes away from closing & 50 votes within 6 days is good enough to judge what's the most wanted! ;-) Surely,I'll post those Indrajals according to the visitor's choice.

Between,many years passed since that day I'd re-started my Indrajal collections .That was in 2002/03, I guess. Then ,IJC was allmost out of my mind as I thought it's impossible to get them after so many years! But,in that day,when I was just near the Sealdah Rail-station, suddenly I found a old-book seller selling some comics,magazine and holla! some old ijcs were lying wid other stuffs!!! I was in a hurry(to reach my University) ,but it was something for which I was ready to skip my classes. ;-) !Well, that day I got only 3 Indrajals ,each in a different language (Bengali,English & Hindi) & also different heroes(Phantom,Mandrake & Rip). Well,those mere 3 Indrajals sparked my enthusiasm to collect more of these gems which were my child-hood craze!It was like a revive of ol' memory ,allthough later I got only 1/2 more from that seller. Well,after a couple of years I found another seller near our JU & got many IJCs from him as well !Later,even I found so many other places where I collected a considerable numbers of Indrajals/ACKs etc ,but still those few initial collections are very close to my heart,as those were the early days of this craze for some apparently lost(& timeless) gems!

I still remember ,in 2005, during my project work of M.Sc., I was asked to do some on-line google search(for some study material).But,first thing hit my mind was nothing but to search these timeless gems;Indrajal Comics!! Well,with professors & scholars constantly around,it was not possible for me to do so ,neither I'd a PC then. ;-( Well,I'd finished my project work on a day,incidentally which was 'begining' of some revolution among Indrajal-maniacs!!!

Yup,I'm talking about that special day, 17th April,2005 ,when TCP had started his dream(n wild,then) project of digitizing some Ijcs of his collections!!! However,my Project-Seminar was on 18th April & even at that day I was on-line!!! But,wid shear bad-luck(& was tensed too) always accompanied by some senior scholars ! :-/ So,can't search for ijcs on net(neither I'd a bit idea how a revolution just began, silently!! ).I was rather more interested in my IJC-hunt in the old markets!

Then,there was a longggg gap for some professional reason.

Later in the February of the last year,2007, I had 'discovered ' TCP & ohh.....it's like my dreams have completed a full-circle!:o)

P.S.- Today I went through some of the earliest posts(& comments) at TCP & the nostalgia associated wid those posts charged me to share these thoughts finally(which were in my mind since long).
Between, IJC-Poll has been closed & Criminal Team(Mandrake) is the winner wid 19 votes. I'll put it soon...again,thanks for the visits.....and keep coming. :-)

Mandrake the Magician:Still Kicking! :-))

May be all most all fans aware of the Aman's On-line Mandrake-Site. Here you can find achieves of Mandrake dailies from 2000 onwards.There's another site did publish Mandrake's current Dailies -InsideMangic - which currently inaccessible for some reason unknown. :-/

Between,in these days only Mandrake's Daily strips are publish by KFS (scripted-n-illustrated by Fred Fredricks - the famous Mandrake-strip-Illustrator from last four decades!).

[At the Left-side you can see one panel of the On-going Mandrake Daily:D254:Captain Smash]

It's since March'1999 ,after Lee Falk passed away,he took the complete charge of Mandrake-strips.I'm NOT comparing his work with the great Falk's creation (neither am dared to!) ,but one thing must have to admit..... Fredrick's doing a nice job indeed,specially after so many years of continuous work-loads!If the fans of this fabulous magician have noticed carefully,it's very prominent that current Mandrake strips are NO LESS in any means (if we can ignore the slow-pace of stories and occasional lapse of art-work)......and the best part is,he keep originality by re-telling some fantastic Falk-Davis early Mandrake strips (late '30s to '60s) and then set-up a new direction based on those!!Thus the basic charms never lost neither readers felt otherwise!

A few such examples are like The Walking Man (D244 ;2003) which was originally based on a very early Mandrake Sunday strip:Chamber into the X Dimension(S005;1937)

[The COLORED PICS is from the 1936 strip while B/W strips are from 2003.It's just fact that,today I felt immensely nostalgic when read the BOTH strips again and just wanna share it! ]

Then we can see the strip:Blizzard of Crime (D249;2005) was based on another ol' strip of 1961:Mystery of the Bikini Girl (D110). There are few more examples in which early stories were re-told before had a new direction/angle.

Overall,we can say,even after His creator left us more than 8 years ago,Mandrake, the greatest Magician on earth,still alive and kicking proudly and keeps amazed the world with his fascinating tricks!

Hat's off to you!!! .....:-))

P.S.- Here I present a few current Mandrake strips (2006 & 2007) .....examples of some fabulous art-works,courtesy great Fredricks !!