- published: 14 Nov 2014
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Al Kikume (9 October 1894 – 27 March 1972), born Elmer Kikume Gozier, was an American actor and stuntman of Hawaiian descent. He was born in either Honolulu or Kansas and died in Los Angeles. Beginning with his first credited role, in the independently produced Tarzan the Fearless (1933), Kikume was a regular performer in Hollywood jungle movies during the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
Mandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk (before he created The Phantom). Its publication began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964, when Falk recruited current artist Fred Fredericks. With Falk's death in 1999, Fredericks became both writer and artist.
Mandrake is a magician whose work is based on an unusually fast hypnotic technique. As noted in captions, when Mandrake "gestures hypnotically", his subjects see illusions, and Mandrake has used this technique against a variety of villains including gangsters, mad scientists, extraterrestrials, and characters from other dimensions.
Mandrake and the Phantom Magician in Mel Graff's The Adventures of Patsy are regarded by comics historians as the first superheroes of comics. Comics historian Don Markstein writes, "Depending on how you define the term, Patsy's recurring rescuer, The Phantom Magician, may have been the first superhero in comics... Some people say Mandrake the Magician, who started in 1934, was comics' first superhero."