Mahesh's Comics Library

A unified catalog of comics from multiple collections — every issue scanned, sorted, cross-referenced. Click any cover to read the comic in Google Drive's preview.

1,116
Total Comics
27
Series · Characters
1,092
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A guided tour of every character and series in the collection — with creators, eras, and a short story behind each. Click "Browse all" to filter the search grid below.

The Phantom
277 issues
USA · Strip · Pulp Adventure

The Phantom

est. 1936 · Lee Falk

The Ghost Who Walks — created by Lee Falk in 1936, the first costumed superhero in comic strips, predating Superman by two years. He operates from the Skull Cave deep in fictional Bangalla, with the wolf Devil and horse Hero at his side. The mask has passed through 21 generations of the Walker family — each son taking it up after his father, building the legend of an immortal jungle hero. In India, Indrajal Comics published 803 issues from 1964 to 1990, making the Phantom one of the most beloved characters in Indian pop culture. His real strength isn't the fists — it's the legend: villains believe he is eternal, and that fear keeps the jungle safer than any weapon.

Amar Chitra Katha
240 issues
India · Mythology · History

Amar Chitra Katha

est. 1967 · Anant Pai

The pioneering Indian comic series founded by Anant Pai in 1967. ACK retells Indian mythology, history, folklore, and the lives of saints in vivid graphic form. With 400+ titles spanning the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Buddhist Jataka tales, Sikh history, freedom fighters, Indian scientists, and philosophers — ACK has been the visual gateway to Indian heritage for at least three generations of children. Pai created the series after watching Indian schoolchildren who could answer trivia about Greek gods but knew nothing about Indian classical figures. Today ACK is owned by Hachette and continues publishing — a quiet cultural institution.

Mandrake
83 issues
USA · Magic · Mystery

Mandrake

est. 1934 · Lee Falk

Master magician fighting crime through hypnosis and stage illusion. Created by Lee Falk in 1934, two years before The Phantom — making him Falk's first hit and one of the very first heroes of the comic strip medium. With his loyal companion Lothar (often cited as the first major Black hero in mainstream American comics), Princess Narda of the fictional kingdom Cockaigne (later his wife), and the manor at Xanadu, Mandrake set the template for the superhero strip. His "magic" isn't supernatural — it's rapid hypnotic suggestion that bends what people think they're seeing. A direct ancestor of Doctor Strange, The Spirit, and every trickster hero who came after.

Lone Ranger
78 issues
USA · Western

Lone Ranger

est. 1933 · Trendle & Striker

Masked Texas Ranger riding the great white stallion Silver, with his Native American companion Tonto. Originated for radio in 1933 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker — "Hi-Yo Silver, Away!" became one of the most recognizable calls in American entertainment. The Ranger uses silver bullets as a reminder of life's value, refuses to kill, and lives by a strict moral code. Adapted into novels, films, TV (1949–57), and decades of comics. Tonto, played by Mohawk-Canadian actor Jay Silverheels, was a rare and complicated example of a Native American hero in mid-20th-century mass media — heroic, wise, and absolutely the equal of his masked partner.

Modesty Blaise
55 issues
UK · Spy · Crime

Modesty Blaise

est. 1963 · Peter O'Donnell

British female crime-fighter created by Peter O'Donnell in 1963. Born stateless in a refugee camp, raised on the Mediterranean by a Hungarian professor, leader of "The Network" criminal organization by her mid-twenties, retired wealthy and bored. She comes out of retirement to fight worse criminals on behalf of British intelligence. Her partner Willie Garvin is a Cockney knife expert with surprising literary tastes. The daily strip ran in the London Evening Standard 1963–2001 — among the longest runs of any newspaper comic. A pioneer of the strong female adventure lead — sharp, deadly, deeply loyal to Willie, and decades ahead of her time.

Mad Magazine
46 issues
USA · Satire · Humor

Mad Magazine

est. 1952 · Harvey Kurtzman

The legendary American humor and satire magazine founded by Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. Home of Alfred E. Neuman ("What, me worry?") and ruthless parodies of pop culture, politics, and advertising. MAD invented modern American comedic writing — The Onion, The Daily Show, SNL Weekend Update, every late-night commentary owes MAD a debt. It taught a generation that the adult world deserved scrutiny, that ads were lying, and that politicians were performing. Famous bits: "Spy vs. Spy", the fold-in on the inside back cover, "snappy answers to stupid questions." Ran for 67 years; ceased regular new content in 2018.

Tamil (Indrajal)
43 issues
India · Tamil · Translation

Tamil (Indrajal)

est. 1970s · Indrajal Comics

Tamil-language editions of Indrajal Comics — Phantom, Mandrake and others adapted for Tamil readers in the 1970s. A unique cultural artifact bridging the global comic tradition with regional Indian publishing. The translations weren't always literal — they often reworked names, dialogues, and small plot elements to fit the Tamil cultural context. Reading them today is a quiet time capsule of how Indian regional language comics negotiated between imported pop culture and local identity.

Flash Gordon
37 issues
USA · Space Opera

Flash Gordon

est. 1934 · Alex Raymond

Space adventurer battling Ming the Merciless on the planet Mongo. Created by Alex Raymond in 1934 as King Features' direct competitor to Buck Rogers. Polo-playing Yale graduate Flash, his fiancée Dale Arden, and the brilliant Dr. Hans Zarkov travel through Mongo's medieval-styled but high-tech kingdoms — the forest realm of the Hawkmen, the underwater Sharkmen, the kingdom of ice. Famously inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars after he failed to obtain Flash Gordon film rights. Without Flash, no Han Solo, no Death Star — Mongo is the original galaxy far, far away.

Asterix
37 issues
France · Comedy · Classic

Asterix

est. 1959 · Goscinny & Uderzo

Tiny Gaulish warrior in 50 BC who resists Roman occupation through a druid's magic potion. Created by René Goscinny (writer) and Albert Uderzo (artist) in 1959. The lovable Obelix — who fell into the cauldron as a baby and became permanently super-strong — is Asterix's inseparable best friend. The setting: a small village in northwestern Gaul, the only one Caesar's legions cannot conquer. Each adventure typically takes them to a different country (Egypt, Britain, Spain, India, America), gently parodying that nation's clichés. Translated into 100+ languages including Latin and Esperanto — a rare global European phenomenon.

Commando
35 issues
UK · War · Pocket

Commando

est. 1961 · DC Thomson

British war comics from DC Thomson, started in 1961 and still running today. Pocket-sized format (about 4×5 inches), painted covers, gripping WWI/WWII narratives told in 64 black-and-white pages. Generations of British boys grew up on these — "Achtung! Jock McTavish!" became running shorthand for the genre. Despite the simple format, Commando employed serious researchers and artists; many later superstars of British comics (Dave Gibbons, John Wagner, Pat Mills) cut their teeth on its scripts. Still publishing eight new issues a month — over 5,500 issues to date.

Tintin
32 issues
Belgium · Adventure · Classic

Tintin

est. 1929 · Hergé

Belgian boy reporter and his white fox terrier Snowy, created by Hergé (Georges Remi) in 1929. Globe-trotting adventures with the alcoholic Captain Haddock, the absent-minded Professor Calculus, and the bumbling Thomson and Thompson detectives. 24 albums published from 1930 to 1976, plus an unfinished 25th when Hergé died in 1983. Translated into 70+ languages — among the most read comic series in the world. Hergé pioneered the "ligne claire" art style — clean uniform lines, bright flat colors, meticulous research — which influenced everything from European architecture comics to Pixar animation.

Bahadur
30 issues
India · Action

Bahadur

est. 1976 · Aabid Surti

Indian Indrajal hero created by Aabid Surti in 1976. A heroic civilian who fights bandits and dacoits in the Chambal valley alongside his fiancée Bela. Bahadur was Indrajal's most successful Indian-original character — a culturally rooted answer to The Phantom. He wears a saffron kurta and white pajamas (vs. Phantom's purple suit), uses a desi-style fighting form derived from local martial arts, and his stories tackled real social issues like caste, dowry, and tribal rights. For many Indian readers, Bahadur was the first comic hero who looked and lived like them.

Richie Rich
27 issues
USA · Comedy · All-Ages

Richie Rich

est. 1953 · Alfred Harvey

"The Poorest Little Rich Boy" — child of fabulously wealthy parents Richard Sr. and Regina Rich. First appeared in Harvey Comics in 1953 and got his own title in 1960. His dog Dollar barks "rich-rich" instead of "ruff-ruff." His butler is named Cadbury, his security robot is Irona. The series was a peak of mid-century American escapist comfort comics — gold-plated bicycles, money-fight pillow battles, vaults the family swims through like Scrooge McDuck. Richie himself is genuinely kind despite the absurd wealth, which is why the series worked so well.

Calvin & Hobbes
19 issues
USA · Strip · Newspaper

Calvin & Hobbes

est. 1985 · Bill Watterson

American newspaper strip by Bill Watterson, 1985–1995. A six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger who comes alive when no one's looking. Set in suburban America, the strip mixes slapstick (sledding accidents, Calvinball — the game with no rules) with surprising philosophical depth (consciousness, mortality, art, the alienation of modernity). Watterson famously refused all licensing — no plush Hobbes, no bedsheets, no movies — and walked away in 1995 at the height of its popularity. Widely considered one of the greatest comic strips ever created.

Miscellaneous
16 issues
India · Specials

Miscellaneous

est. Various · Indrajal Comics

Indrajal one-offs and themed specials — Treasure From No Man's Land (war), Tulsidasa's Ramacharit Manas (Indian devotional epic), Sukha Nallah (war), and other unique entries that don't fit a single hero series. Often the most interesting reads in any Indrajal collection precisely because they didn't follow a formula.

Lt. Drake
10 issues
USA · Crime · Strip

Lt. Drake

est. 1980s · —

Detective comic strip Indrajal featured in their later years (1981–83). Mid-century gumshoe sensibility imported into the dying days of Indian newspaper-strip comics — weekly mysteries with a Watergate-era American urban grit, repackaged for Indian readers.

Buz Sawyer
7 issues
USA · Adventure · Strip

Buz Sawyer

est. 1943 · Roy Crane

American adventure strip about a Navy aviator. Created by Roy Crane in 1943 for King Features — Crane was already legendary from Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy. Buz starts as a Navy fighter pilot in the WWII Pacific theater, then becomes a globe-trotting adventurer post-war: oil prospecting, espionage, jungle treasure hunts. Indrajal featured these stories in their last decade — wartime nostalgia turned travel adventure.

Walt Disney
6 issues
USA · Adaptation

Walt Disney

est. 1960s · Walt Disney Studios

Indrajal published Disney-licensed adaptations of Treasure Island, Robin Hood, Zorro, Rob Roy, and Man in Space — bringing Disney films to Indian comics readers in print form. These weren't direct comic-strip versions but Indrajal's own adaptations of the live-action films, often adjusted in tone and sometimes in story to fit a single-issue comics format. A unique side-project of the Indrajal era.

Rip Kirby
6 issues
USA · Detective · Strip

Rip Kirby

est. 1946 · Alex Raymond

Detective strip created by Alex Raymond in 1946 for King Features. Ex-Marine intellectual private investigator with a pipe, a manservant named Desmond, refined tastes. Raymond's pivot from Flash Gordon's space opera to noir-flavored mystery — and arguably his most artistically refined work. Tragically, Raymond died in a 1956 car accident at age 46; the strip continued under other hands until 1999 — a remarkable 53-year run.

Phil Corrigan
6 issues
USA · Spy · Crime

Phil Corrigan

est. 1934 · Hammett & Raymond

Originally Secret Agent X-9, created by Dashiell Hammett (yes, that Hammett — author of The Maltese Falcon) and Alex Raymond in 1934. Crime and espionage thrills from one of the most legendary creator pairings in comics history. Hammett left after a year over editorial disputes, but the strip continued through multiple writers and artists, eventually becoming Phil Corrigan: Special Agent X-9 in 1967 under Mel Graff.

Dara
6 issues
Indrajal Comics · Crime

Dara

est. 1988 · Indrajal Comics

Late-era Indrajal Comics character from the volume-numbered final years (1988–1990). Newspaper-strip detective imported into the dying days of Indian newspaper-strip comics distribution.

Mike Nomad
5 issues
USA · Crime

Mike Nomad

est. 1976 · Indrajal Comics

Indrajal-featured American crime-strip detective — gritty late-70s and 80s urban mystery stories. Lower profile than Rip Kirby but workmanlike pulp pleasure. The detective who clocked in, did the work, went home.

ACE Romances
5 issues
USA · Romance · Golden Age

ACE Romances

est. 1950s · ACE Magazines

American romance comic anthology from the golden age of romance comics, 1950s–1970s. Romance was once a massive genre — bigger than superheroes for a stretch in the 50s — featuring tales of heartbreak, secret crushes, weddings, and impossibly handsome strangers who walked into a girl's life and out again. ACE Magazines had a particular knack for melodrama in single panels.

Garth
4 issues
UK · SF · Strip

Garth

est. 1943 · Steve Dowling

British SF adventure strip in the Daily Mirror from 1943 to 1997 — over 50 years of strip continuity. A super-strong, time-traveling hero originally created during WWII as British wish-fulfillment, eventually evolving into a kind of UK precursor to Doctor Who: time periods, parallel worlds, philosophical aliens. Drawn for years by the brilliant Frank Bellamy.

Archie
4 issues
USA · Teen · All-Ages

Archie

est. 1941 · Bob Montana

All-American teenager Archie Andrews of Riverdale High, created by Bob Montana in 1941. The classic love triangle with Betty Cooper (the girl-next-door blonde) and Veronica Lodge (the rich brunette), plus best pal Jughead and rival Reggie. Archie Comics is a multi-decade institution — surviving every comics market crash by being the steady, quiet, gentle book that nobody talks about but everybody buys. Recently reinvented as the dark CW series Riverdale.

Bahubali
1 issue
India · One-off

Bahubali

est. 1975 · Indrajal Comics

A one-off Indrajal title featuring Bahubali — the only entry under this name in the collection. Different from the modern film franchise of the same name.

Aditya
1 issue
Indrajal Comics · Rare

Aditya

est. 1987 · Indrajal Comics

Late-era Indrajal Comics character — a single rare appearance in the v24 1987 series. Among the rarer Indrajal entries collectors look for.

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