Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dynamite, entertainment, King; Mandrake the Magician, peter milligan, roger langridge

"Wait Until He Turns On The Real Magic" – Roger Langridge Talks Mandrake The Magician

In shops today is King: Mandrake The Magician #1 from Dynamite. It's part of the King Features Syndicate crossover involving Jungle Jim, The Phantom, Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon. Here we have a writer to writer interview with Peter Milligan of Terminal Hero talking about the new series with writer Roger Langridge.

PETER MILLIGAN: I'm a fan of some of the classic comic book magicians, from Doctor Strange – one of my favorites – to John Constantine – naturally – but where would you place your magician Mandrake in this magician's list?

ROGER LANGRIDGE: I'd put him first! Mainly because, since he's been around since the 1930s, he's effectively the inspiration for most of the ones who came after him. Really, he's inspired by an earlier tradition – that of the stage magician – so I'm playing up that charming, flamboyant side of his personality a bit to distinguish him from his descendants.

PM: That said, there are some very Doctor Strange-like tropes – like the "occult chamber" – in Mandrake, is that a deliberate homage to Doctor Strange or simply the kind of thing a magician like Mandrake would have?

RL: I inherited the occult chamber from Jeff Parker, who gave it to Mandrake in Kings Watch last year, but it seems logical; if you have magical adventures, you're going to pick up a few artifacts along the way and you'll want somewhere to put them. The newspaper strip version of Mandrake kept souvenirs from his escapades, although as a rule they tended not to be magical. But our story picks up a few years after the strip ended, so we can infer he's had a few more eldritch encounters since then. If nothing else, it makes for a more interesting collection.

PM: I'm intrigued that you have a backstory about a "merciless conqueror" Ming attacking Earth, knocking technology back 100 years.  Why did you feel that this was the best environment for Mandrake to operate in?  He could just as easily have functioned in our present reality.

RL: I completely agree! Again, Kings Watch is your bluffers' guide there – the worldwide technological breakdown was established in that book, and incorporating those events was part of the hand I was dealt when I started writing my story. But I think it works to Mandrake's advantage. I'm playing Mandrake as an early 20th-century man in an ageless body, and I imagine him not being altogether comfortable with modern gadgetry as a result – like my dad, who won't touch a computer. A world where technology is like it was when he was a boy would seem to place him in his element. In an environment without satellites, computers and flatscreen TVs, a conjuring trick might seem nothing short of miraculous. Then wait until he turns on the real magic…

PM: By calling your evil conqueror "Ming," are you suggesting that the Chinese will assume global dominance and the days of Western hegemony are at an end?

RL: I'm suggesting the world will be conquered by a vase bought at auction at Sotheby's, a steal at a mere £500,000.

For more on King: Mandrake The Magician #1, click here.

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