Supporting Lothar is Mandrake's best friend and crimefighting companion, who Mandrake first met during his travels in Africa. Lothar was the Prince of the Seven Nations, a mighty federation of jungle tribes but forbore becoming king to follow Mandrake on his world travels. Lothar is often referred to as "the strongest man in the world", with the exception of Hojo — Mandrake's chef and secret chief of Inter Intel. Lothar is invulnerable to any weapon forged by man, is impervious to heat and cold, and possesses the stamina of a thousand men. He also cannot be harmed by magic directly (such as by fire bolts, force bolts, or spell incantations). He can easily lift an elephant by one hand. One of the first African crimefighting heroes ever to appear in comics, Lothar's début alongside Mandrake was in the 1934 inaugural daily strip. In the beginning, Lothar spoke poor English and wore a
fez, short pants, and a leopard skin. In a 1935 work by King Features Syndicate, Lothar is referred to as Mandrake's "giant black slave." When artist Fred Fredericks took over in 1965, Lothar spoke correct English and his clothing changed, although he often wore shirts with leopard-skin patterns.
Narda is Princess of the European nation
Cockaigne, ruled by her brother Segrid. She made her first appearance in the second
Mandrake story. Even though she and Mandrake were initially infatuated with each other, they did not marry until 1997, when they held an extravagant triple wedding ceremony at Mandrake's home of Xanadu, Narda's home country Cockaigne, and Mandrake's father Theron's College of Magic (
Collegium Magikos) in the Himalayas. Narda learned martial arts from Hojo.
Theron is the headmaster of the College of Magic (Collegium Magikos) located in the Himalayas. He is hundreds of years old and may be kept alive by the Mind Crystal, of which he is the guardian.
Hojo, who knows six languages, is Mandrake's chef at his home of Xanadu and the secret chief of the international crimefighting organization Inter-Intel. As such, he has enlisted Mandrake's help with many cases. He is also a superb martial-arts expert. Hojo's assistant at Inter-Intel is
Jed.
The Police Chief is named Bradley but mostly called Chief. Mandrake aided him on several occasions. The Chief created the S.S.D. (Silly Stuff Dept.) for absurd and unbelievable cases that only Mandrake could solve. He has a son, Chris.
Magnon, the emperor of the galaxy, is Mandrake's most powerful friend and, with his wife Carola, has a daughter, Nardraka. She was named after Mandrake and Narda and is their godchild.
Lenore is Mandrake's younger half-sister. She is a world-renowned explorer.
Karma is Lothar's girlfriend, an African princess who works as a model.
Villains The Cobra is Mandrake's most evil and dangerous foe, apparent from the start of the story. In 1937, the Cobra seemed to be defeated, but returned in 1965, wearing a menacing silver mask. The Cobra's main goal is to acquire one of the two powerful Crystal Cubes, which increase mental energy. Mandrake and his father Theron guard them. Mandrake learned that The Cobra was secretly
Luciphor, Theron's oldest son and, thus, Mandrake's half-brother. In later years, the Cobra was able to abandon his silver mask because his face had been reconstructed through surgery. He is sometimes accompanied by his assistant
Ud, later revealed to be Octon, the leader of the 8.
Derek is Mandrake's twin brother and, thus, similar to Mandrake in appearance. He used his magical powers, which were nearly the same as Mandrake's, to achieve short-term personal satisfaction. Mandrake tried to remove Derek's knowledge of magic but never entirely succeeded. Derek's son Eric, with an unknown mother, shows no signs of following in his father's footsteps.
The Clay Camel, real name
Saki, is a master of disguise, able to mimic anyone and change his appearance in seconds. His name comes from the symbol he leaves at the scenes of his crimes, a small camel made of clay.
The Brass Monkey, daughter of the Clay Camel, has a similar talent for disguises.
Aleena the Enchantress is a former friend of Mandrake's from the College of Magic and a much-married spoiled temptress who uses her magic powers to benefit herself. She sometimes attempts to seduce Mandrake, but fails and, afterward, attempts to cause him trouble.
8 is an old and very powerful crime organization originating in medieval times. Members are known to often incorporate the number 8 in their crimes or leave the number 8 as a mark. They are organized like an
octopus with eight arms, as in its headquarters, which are spread all over the world. One head — the mysterious leader
Octon — is only shown as a menacing image on a computer screen. Over the years, Mandrake destroys the various headquarters one by one. In one episode, the Octon of 8 is revealed as Cobra, but the name later refers to an
artificial intelligence wielded by
Ming the Merciless in the television series
Defenders of the Earth.
Ekardnam,
Mandrake spelled backward, is Mandrake's "evil twin", who exists on the other side of a mirror. Like his world, in which the government is run by the Private of the Armies and generals do menial tasks, Ekardnam is an exact opposite and uses his "evil eye" to work his magic.
The Deleter is an extraterrestrial contract killer who will "delete" anyone for a price but will inflict justice on anyone who tries to cheat him out of his contract fee.
Nitro Cain is a mad bomber who throws sticks of explosives at people, including Mandrake. After the Mandrake comic strip appeared in the Australian newspaper
Sunday Telegraph, the series was later abruptly withdrawn with the last panel showing that Nitro Cain had blown Mandrake off a horse, with Mandrake exclaiming: "Blast you, Nitro Cain", a clever reference to the explosive's blast. ==The newspaper strip==