[Andrew999]

Who is the best comic book stage magician?

Some were based loosely on real-life magicians - Great Blackstone, Leon Mandrake, Harry Houdini, Thurston, Albini, Kellar and Alexander, the One Who Knows. (Not sure all of those were in strips) There may have been others - was Jasper Maskelyne ever captured in strip art? And what about Paul Daniels - I've a vague memory of seeing his gnomic features in a comic somewhere.

Then of course, there were those created especially for the comics - Dr Strange, Zatanna, Abra Kadabra, Hermann the Great, Lando. I think there was one just called The Magician and recently, there has been a series named The Magicians.

But which was the greatest of all? I think we should find out - or do you think the spell would be broken if we did?

[crashryan]

Replies to this thread should be written backward for maximum magical effect: ekil siht!

[paw broon]

ho, s'taht doog!
Didn't Paul Daniels appear in TV Comic? I remember a cover but it could have been a different comic.
As for the greatest, well, no doubt in my mind.  He gestures hypnotically:-


mind you, if only for these covers there's a case to be made for:-

[The Australian Panther]

Who is the best comic book stage magician?

If we limit the list to stage magicians we have a shorter list. Mandrake and Zatanna of course. There is Zatanna's Dad, Zatara and I haven't been able to locate him but I think she also has a brother, Zatara Juniour.
There are also many magicians on CB+ as that template seems as popular as Superman or Batman.
We have Blackstone the Magican, Chandu the Magician, Kid McBride, Magician Cowboy, Balbo the Boy Magician, Zanzibar the Magician, and Madge the Magician's Daughter [strip] and many more that don't come up when you do a search for 'Magician' We don't have Mandrake comics here but we do have episodes of the Radio program. Chandu was also a Radio Program. If we get on to 'Real Magicians' (who never worked on a a stage) that's a whole other ball game and includes a few from left field like Dr Doom, Constantine, the Scarlet Witch and Klarion the Witch Boy. To name a few.

Here is an interesting list
http://www.blastoffcomics.com/2013/10/the-top-10-magicians-in-comics/
1 to 5 are good choices but Shazam is a Wizard and the others are right out of left field.
One who pops up in comics all the time but never gets onto these lists and never had his own strip, is the daddy of them all, Merlin.
And here's 140 magician images, including many covers and many Zatanna images.
https://www.pinterest.com.au/davidgoode98/magiciansillusionists-and-escapologists/
And I was forgetting Michael Chabon's .'The Escapist' 
Obviously we can go on forever.
Cheers!