This was an illustrated-strip adaptation of the first two Fu-Manchu books and most of the third, each strip consisting of four panels.   Each panel was a pen-and-ink drawing accompanied by a caption closely adapted from Rohmer's text.   The main departure from the original was the introduction, part way through the series, of an adolescent boy as companion to Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie, in an evident attempt to capture or retain a youthful audience.
    Each of the first two Fu-Manchu books was converted into ten lettered episodes (A through J and K through T) closely matching the magazine serial installments.   This pattern was continued for approximately two-thirds of the third book (six complete episodes and part of a seventh).   Then, at a point corresponding to the midpoint of Chapter XXVII of The Hand of Fu-Manchu (top of page 197 in the McBride hardcover edition), Rohmer's original text was abandoned and the story was brought to a hasty and absurd conclusion (Dr. Fu-Manchu is run over by a train!) in the final five strips.
   The first episodes were later reprinted in Detective Comics starting with issue #18. The story continued through at least issue # 27 which contained six panels from the C series, "The Fighting Missionary"). Issue #27 is highly sought after because the Batman made his first appearence in this issue. As a result, DC Comics has reprinted this issue in its entirty as a Famous First Editions issue in 1974 and as a Millennium Edition in 1999. The DC versions were colored by an unknown DC artist.    
   The first two episodes (strips A-1 through B-30) were collected in book form by Malibu Graphics in 1989.

Fu Manchu : Two Complete Adventures by Sax Rohmer. Illustrated by Leo O'Mealia. Introduction by John Wooley; compiled and edited by Tom Mason. 
Newbury Park, CA: Malibu Graphics, 1989. 108 p. : ill. ; 17 x 26 cm. Call no.: PN6728.F77R6. 
Originally sold for $12.95.

    About the artist:Leo O'Mealia was born on March 31, 1884, and died on May 7, 1960.   He began his career as a political cartoonist for the Rochester (N. Y.) Herald in 1907 and the Rochester Times in 1909-1911.   In 1912 he worked as a sports cartoonist for the New York Journal.   From 1912 through 1929 he drew the syndicated strip "Wedlocked" for ANS (Associated Newspapers Syndicate).   He returned to sports and political cartooning for the New York Daily News in 1929.   His Fu-Manchu daily strip made its debut on Monday, April 20, 1931, in newspapers such as the Detroit News.   In some other papers (the Mobile Press-Register in Mobile, Alabama, is an example) publication lagged by as much as eight months.

The original strips were copyright "Sax Rohmer and The Bell Syndicate, Inc."

Episode Summary

[The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu]