Indrajal Comics 46 - 60 The Phantom, Mandrake The Magician

Book excerpt: Indrajal Comics began publishing self-titled monthly issues in March 1964. Each of the first 10 issues had 16 pages of Phantom comics. The stories had to be edited to fit this short format. The remaining 12 pages were dedicated to other content, similar to Gold Key's style. In the next 19 issues it became 20-24 pages. As the series continued, different characters would share the spotlight. Characters such as Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Bahadur, Kerry Drake, Rip Kirby, Garth, Mike Nomad and Buz Sawyer appeared - as well as Disney characters Robin Hood and Mickey Mouse along with Goofy, but the majority of the series spotlighted The Phantom. So much so that the series is often erroneously referred to as "The Phantom" instead of the correct "Indrajal Comics". In due course the publication became fortnightly and then weekly by 1981. The numbering of books which was simply sequential in the beginning then changed to have the typical volume and a number. Indrajal Comics #444 was labeled as Vol.20 and No.1. The front cover design changed with distinct banner containing the title "Indrajal Comics" with a small circle showing the face of the main charracter. A total of 803 Indrajal Comics were published, excluding #123 and #124 which were not printed due to industrial strike action. More than half of these issues contained Phantom stories. The publishing stopped in 1990. The cover artwork for the first 50 or so issues of Indrajal Comics was done by B.Govind, with the back cover featuring a pin-up poster. His artwork became very popular and even said to have matched the artwork on the covers of international phantom publications such as Gold key or Frew. To avoid confusion among Indian readers, there were some minor changes done to the name of the Phantom's location and some characters in stories published in Indrajal Comics. The term " Bengali" or "Bengalla" or "Bengal" was changed to "Denkali" and in some issues "Dangalla" as well. This was since there is a state called "Bengal" in India and this may lead the readers to wonder about the "Pygmy" people that don't exist in Bengal. The name of the "Singh Brotherhood" was changed to "Singa Brotherhood" and the killer of the father of the current (21st) Phantom was changed from "Rama" to "Ramalu" although the latter too is one of the common names in India. Apart from English, Indrajal Comics published the stories in at least a dozen other Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Kannada. Contents: Issue #60 The Phantom And The Cold Fire Worshippers Issue #59 The Phantom And The Sleeping Giant Issue #58 The Sixth Man Issue #57 The Terror Tiger Issue #56 The Phantom And Delilah Issue #55 The Villain's Challenge December 1, 1967 Issue #54 The Great Riddle Issue #53 Thugs In The City Park Issue #52 The White Goddess Issue #51 The Phantom And The River Pirates Issue #50 Mandrake And The Black Wizard Issue #49 The Secrets Of The Phantom Issue #48 The Magic Mountain Issue #47 The Adventures Of The Girl Phantom Issue #46 Mandrake And The Doomsday Issue #45 The Phantom And The Deadly Web