Literature student gave us first caped crusaders
Lee Epstein, recent literature graduate from University of Illinois and aspiring writer, had a great idea. Colourful, fictional crime fighters used deductive powers, subterfuge and manual dexterity to solve crimes and beat crooks. So what if someone with the skills of a magician turned their hand to battling criminals?
Epstein pitched the idea to King Features Syndicate, the US’s biggest publisher of comic strips, part of the huge William Randolph Hearst newspaper empire. They liked it and
Mandrake the Magician first appeared in June 1934.
Born Leon Harrison Gross he used the pen name Lee Falk – Falk was his stepfather Albert Epstein’s middle name.
Mandrake, with his top hat, cape, pencil moustache, hypnotic powers, ability to make things disappear and reappear, conjure tricks, and his powerful African sidekick Lothar, was a huge success.
Although there were some superficial similarities to The Shadow, the cape-wearing, hypnotist of radio shows and pulp magazines who had first appeared in 1930, Mandrake was a more multifaceted and colourful creation. His ability to communicate telepathically gave him superhuman powers.
Mandrake, whose face was modelled on Falk’s own, is considered the first real comic book superhero. The man who made capes fashionable.
In 1936 Falk created an even more successful character – The Phantom – a man who seemingly could not die, who wore a mask, tights, and budgie smugglers over the tights (a look that inspired Superman in 1938). He initially called his creation The Grey Ghost, but later renamed him The Phantom. He had a secret identity, a secret cave lair and superior fighting skills. The Phantom first appeared in 1936 and continues to this day.
Falk is considered one of the great pioneers of the superhero genre. He was also an advertising man, worked in radio during the war and was a playwright, theatre producer and director.
He was born in St Louis,
Missouri, on April 28, 1911. His parents Benjamin and Eleanor divorced in 1913 and his mother married Albert Epstein.
In his theatre roles, Falk worked with great actors including Marlon Brando and Paul Newman.
He died in 1999.