Hojo

Hojo
First appearance:	"The Meeting of Mandrake and Lothar"
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 appears for the first time when he at Xanadu serves dinner to Mandrake, Narda, Lothar and Jed. He was presented as chief extraordinaire, also tenth-degree black belt judo and karate expert.

When the ganglord Dice attacked Xanadu to take revenge on Mandrake and Lothar, Hojo first time actively helped in the fight against the villains.

After a while, Narda and Karma begin to wonder what Hojo really does during the day. They know him as the master chef and majordomo of Xanadu. They know he has the 10th degree black belt in judo and karate, and often train in martial arts together with Mandrake and Lothar. And that he is fluent in 12 languages and can read 8 more, and also studies philosophy and history.

Each working day he prepared breakfast at Xanadu, but precisely 9:00 a.m. he takes off and returns precisely at 5:30 to prepare dinner.

When the girls try to ask Mandrake if he knows anything, he replies that Hojo's job at Xanadu is to make breakfast and dinner and Sunday lunch. The rest of time is Hojo's. That was their arrangement, and he respect Hojo's privacy.

Hojo occasionally has a few days off during the week, like the time he was alone at Xanadu, relaxing by the swimming pool. A little girl suddenly appears, speaking a completely unknown language.

On another of his days off, Mandrake and Lothar are down at Inter-Intel talking to their Robot Chief. Some villains manage to sneak into Xanadu under the guise of being from an electricity company. They tie up Hojo, Narda and Karma before they start searching through the mansion for valuables. Hojo manages to get free and overpowers the villains before Mandrake and Lothar return.

Hojo continues his studies and it is now revealed that he speaks 14 languages and read 10 more. He excels in higher math and is judo-karate 10th degree black-belt master.

Narda and Karma have long wondered what Hojo did on weekdays when he left Xanadu. Now Jed is also starting to speculate about what Hojo is really doing. He asks Mandrake to come down to Inter-Intel to discuss something with him and the Robot Chief. Jed has a suspicion that Hojo could be Octon, the master-mind of the worldwide criminal league 8. When Mandrake thinks back, he remembers who once recommended Hojo as his chef, Jeds's secretary, Ms. Laurel. When asking her she said that she was given a memo to call Mandrake and recommending Hojo. And when he learns that the memo came from the Robot Chief, Mandrake realizes that Hojo is not Octon, but the mysterious chief of Inter-Intel.

Lothar has a suspicion that Hojo is the secret chief of Inter-Intel, and Mandrake confirms that the suspicion is correct.

There is a slight uncertainty about how many languages Hojo speaks. It is also said he is fluent in 10 languages and read 12 more.

Hojo's office at Inter-Intel is behind a door that says "Private - No Admittance". From his office, he controls the robot and gives orders to his assistant chief, Jed, through a speaker in it. To get in and out of his office at Inter-Intel unnoticed, Hojo works there as as a janitor.

In this way he actually has several secret identities; as the secret Chief of Inter-Intel and as a janitor at Inter-Intel. Even his work at Xanadu is 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.