Il pozzo del diavolo (Spada)

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Il pozzo del diavolo
1st publication: I Classici dell'Avventura #123 (1964)
# of pages: 32 pgs
Writer: n/a
Artist: Pini Segna
Producer: Fratelli Spada

"Il pozzo del diavolo" is an Italian made Mandrake story from 1964. The story is signed by the artist on page five.

This story is the only one that draws Narda with a short haircut like Phil Davis drew her in the early 1950s.

Plot summary

Narda was out shopping and Mandrake accompanying her. They saw a poster outside the Russell Gallery advertising an art auction and decided to go in. When a painting by an Italian artist from the 16th century was about to be announced, the art expert Mr Bunk stood up and claimed that the painting was a forgery. The auction was stopped and the gallery owner invited Mr Bunk to his office to hear what he had to say about why he thought the painting was a forgery.

The next day Mandrake went to see the Police Chief and mentioned the incident of the previous day. The Chief said that he had just been contacted by Mrs Bunk who was worried about her husband. The husband had not returned home after the auction, but she had received a letter from him, which told he had gone to Miami. She did not believe that it was her husband who had written the letter and went to the police. Mandrake and the Chief examined the letter and compared it with another note that Mr Bunk had written. They immediately noticed that the writing was different and the Chief asked Mandrake to investigate further to find clues to what might have happened to Mr Bunk.

The gallery owner was not very cooperative but with the help of a little magic Mandrake got Russel to mention Ghost Castle. Russel sent Grubby and Timmy after Mandrake to stop him, but Mandrake managed to shake them off. Mandrake seeks out Lothar and they get on the train to get to the small town where Ghost Castle was located. When they arrived they immediately noticed that there was a strange atmosphere in the small town, it seemed as if the inhabitants were afraid of vampires. They found a hotel but were woken up in the middle of the night by a rock being thrown through the window. Around the rock was a note with a warning tied. The note urged them to leave the town before it was too late, the warning was signed with a drawing of a bat.

Arriving at the castle, they experienced many unexplained things before they were finally captured by a man. It turned out that Russel had built a studio where several artists worked. They made pictures and works of art in the style of famous artists, and Russel sold these forgeries as real in his gallery. Russel had set up several scarecrows such as vampires, ghosts and the like to scare curious people away from the castle. In addition, Russel kept Mr Bunk a prisoner in the castle. At the end Mandrake and Lothar managed to overpower the villains.

Appearances

Recurring characters

One-time characters

  • Mr Russel
  • Mr Bunk
  • Grubby
  • Timmy

Locations

  • New York City
  • a small town
    • Ghost Castle


Behind the scenes

  • signature
    signature

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Italy

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