Saki (The Clay Camel)

The Clay Camel
First appearance:	Saki, the Clay Camel"
Created by:	Lee Falk and Phil Davis

"The Clay Camel" is a character from the Mandrake the Magician comic strip that first appeared in "Saki, the Clay Camel".

Among Mandrake's archenemy the Clay Camel is the one most similar to himself. They both have their starting point from the stage. Mandrake uses illusion as a magician in his fight against crime and to escape a predicament. While the Clay Camel uses illusion as a master of quick perfect disguise in his crimes and to escape a predicament.

Fictional Character Biography

The Phil Davis Era

Saki

Arriving by train in Berain, in northern Arabia, Mandrake was attempted to be arrested by Inspector Duffy, believing that Mandrake was Saki. After clearing up the misunderstanding, Duffy explains that Saki is a notorious thief, the greatest in Arabia and probably in the whole world.

He was a master of disguise and constantly changed his disguise so that no one knew what he really looked like. Saki was also known as "The Clay Camel" because he always left a small camel made of clay at the crime scene. After an exhilarating game of cat and mouse in which the Clay Camel kept changing its appearance, Mandrake finally managed to overcome him and the Clay Camel ended up behind bars.

Saki

Mandrake and Lothar have travelled further and are near Shropshire on the west coast of England and once again Saki crosses their path. It turns out that the Clay Camel has escaped from prison and gone to England and used his skills of disguise to commit a series of thefts. After an exhilarating chase, where Saki keeps changing his appearance rapidly, Mandrake manages to overpower him. The Clay Camel is handed over to Inspector Duffy, who was also on his trail.

The Brass Monkey

The Police Chief had a new case he couldn't figure out and asks Mandrake for help. Lately, the police had been receiving notes warning that famous jewels were going to be stolen on a certain date and time. The notes were signed with a drawing of a monkey and at the crime scenes a small brass figure of a monkey was left.

Mandrake soon discovered that he was once again facing a lightning-fast master of disguise and no one could be sure who was who. Mandrake caught up with the Brass Monkey and she revealed that she had learned all her tricks from her father, the Clay Camel. Her father had died after contracting pneumonia in the cold prison. She blamed Mandrake and was out for revenge, but the Brass Monkey failed in her attempt to kill Mandrake and ended up behind bars.

The Clay Camel

The newspapers made a story about Narda being present at a charity ball, and that she was to wear her crown jewels. Soon after, she found a note stuck under the door: Will steal your jewles at the ball tonight. No hard feelings. Your old friend - signed with a drawing of a camel. Narda didn't recognize the signature, so Mandrake told her it was the calling card of the Clay Camel, the world's cleverest thief and a master of quick, perfect disguises.

Soon Mandrake and the Clay Camel found themselves in thrilling cat and mouse hunt. Where the Clay Camel tried to steal the crown jewels while Mandrake tried to catch him. At the end the Clay Camel again ended up behind bars.

The Fred Fredericks Era

When Mandrake moved into Xanadu, he dedicated a room as his rogues' gallery, where he hung paintings of all master criminals he had encountered, among them a painting of the Clay Camel - a thief and a master quick-change artist.

Five years ago, Mandrake nab the Clay Camel and since he previously had broken out of seven top jails he ended up at Singatraz, a maximum-security prison.

Clay

One day Professor Lipton came to visit to make an interview with the Clay Camel, the master of disguise and one of the most notorious thieves on earth. The professor brought with him Clay's disguise kit, asking for a demonstration. The Clay Camel took up a skin-like plastic film and in seconds he had made a mask copy of Professor Lipton's face. And shortly afterwards, he walked out of the prison, disguised as the professor.

Inside the prison, he had told all the convicts that when he managed to escape, he would kill Mandrake.

He headed to the city where Mandrake lived to seek his revenge. A newspaper story about an arrest of a women's liberation group, due to picketing without a permit, sparked his interest. Especially because Narda was one of the protesters. A plan took shape, and disguise as his aunt Aggie, the truck driver, he infiltrated the group and got them to have a sit-down protest in a jewelry store. Under cover of the protest, he managed to steal a million worth of jewels. He left behind his calling-card, a small clay camel, took Narda as a hostage and managed to get to his secret hideout. He planned to use Narda as bait to lure Mandrake, but Mandrake also had a plan. Mandrake convinced the Police Chief not to announce that it had been found a calling card at the crime scene. He said that the Clay Camel had an enormous vanity, and if he didn't get credit for the robbery he would become careless and hopefully make a mistake so that they could find and arrest him.

Frustrated, Clay began calling newspapers, the police station, and finally Mandrake to tell them that he was the mastermind behind the jewel theft. What he didn't know was that when he called Mandrake, the phone was tracked and he was soon captured by Mandrake and ended up behind bars again.

Clay

The crime organization 8 had devised a plan to kill Mandrake, and the plan involved the Clay Camel. They helped him escape from prison, and wanted him to disguise as the famous crime writer Mr. Stephens. The plan was to get close to Mandrake at Xanadu, under the guise of doing research for a new crime book, about the notorious villain, the Clay Camel. 8 wanted Mr. Stephens to give Mandrake two books that were tied together and watch as Mandrake untied the books. Afterwards he could kill Mandrake.

But both the Clay Camel and Mandrake quickly realized that there was something strange about these two books. 8's plan to get Mandrake to trigger the bomb hidden in the books failed and the Clay Camel confessed everything when Mandrake captured him.

Narda told Karma that she had met the Clay Camel one time. He had disguised himself as Mandrake and managed to fool Narda. But when he he tried his hand at her she understood that it was not Mandrake and threw him to the ground with a ju-jitsu throw.

To the warden Mandrake told that the Clay Camel was word's greatest master of disguise, and that he once changed from a jogger to an old lady while on the run.

When talking to the Clay Camel in disguise, Mandrake told that the name came from that there was left a small clay camel at the crime scene. Mandrake told that he often could tell the Police about a robbery in advance, like when he stole a fabulous ruby from a visiting Rajah. And when the Clay Camel had robbed a churce and was chased by the police he changed from a nun to a priest without losing a step.

Some Ganglords plan to kill Mandrake and Lothar and when they heard that Oswald was paroled they get an idea. Oswald, known as the Clay Camel, had done a few jobs for them before. Now they wanted him to disguise at the Police Chief, to get close to Mandrake and Lothar, and then kill them both.

To Lothar Mandrake retelling the story about the maharaja's famous ruby and that Oswald told the police that he would steal - and did it. Mandrake also referred to Oswald as the craftiest crook he ever knew, a master in disguise. To Mandrake Narda retold the one time she had met the Clay Camel, disguised as Mandrake. And that when Oswald's falce mustache slipped she threw him to the ground with a karate throw.

The Clay Camel and Bozo managed to get into Xanadu. But Oswald had not made the disguise perfect. He wanted Mandrake to expose him, because as he said, he had never been a killer.