Hojo
Hojo | |
First appearance: | "The Meeting of Mandrake and Lothar" |
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Created by: | Lee Falk and Fred Fredericks |
Hojo is a character from the Mandrake the Magician comic strip that first appeared in "The Meeting of Mandrake and Lothar".
Fictional Character Biography
Hojo first appeared as the massive master chef and major domo of Xanadu. Later on he is revealed to have the 10th degree black belt in judo and karate. He often trained with Lothar and Mandrake. He is fluent in 12 languages and can read 8 more, he also studies philosophy and history.
Hojo is a man of mystery, if Narda ask him why he working as master chef at Xanadu he always says something like; "I like it here". Every morning at working days he sits on his motorcycle and go down to the city. It was later revealed that he was the secret Chief of the international crimefighting organization Inter-Intel, desguised as a robot. And when he arrives Inter-Intel he comes and starting with his work as a janitor.
In this way he actually have several secret identities; as the secret Chief of Inter-Intel and as a janitor at Inter-Intel. Even his work at Xanadu are a kind of secret identity, as he said: "Being your (Mandrake's) cook gives me the disguise I need. No one could suspect I head Inter-Intel."
What makes Hojo even more mysterious is that we never got to know any more about his background. Where does he come from, what did he do before he moved into Xanadu, when did he became secret chief of Inter-Intel ? We even do not know if Hojo has any last name, or if Hojo is his last name.
Family
There have been no stories where we have learn about any family of Hojo.
Notable appearances
Hojo has appeared in a majority of the stories featuring Mandrake after his first appeared. Some of the stories where Hojo has featured most prominently are:
Year | Dailies/Sundays | Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
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1970 | Dailies | "Hojo's Tale" | Falk | Fredericks | |
1971 | Sundays | "The Mystery of Hojo" | Falk | Fredericks | |
1976 | Dailies | "The Mysterious Chief" | Falk | Fredericks | Chief of Inter Intel |
1980 | Dailies | "Hojo and 8" | Falk | Fredericks | Mandrake tells Lothar that Hojo is the Chief of Inter-Intel. |
Characters | |
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Supporting |
Mandrake the Magician • Chief Bradley • Hojo • Jed • Karma • Lothar • Magnon • Narda • Theron |
Villains |
Aleena • Derek • Luciphor aka The Cobra • The Mole • The Octon • Saki aka The Clay Camel |