Origins American newspaper strips, 1895–1981
Mandrake the Magician
Lee Falk, Phil Davis · newspaper strip, 1934–2013
Mandrake is a stage magician in top hat and tails whose hypnotic gestures make his enemies see whatever he wants them to. With his partner Lothar, he takes on gangsters, mad scientists and the odd visitor from another dimension.
He's often called the first superhero of comics, four years before Superman, and he proved that a hero could win with his mind rather than his fists. That was a lesson the superhero business took decades to relearn.
