Flash Gordon is among the most well-known and beloved figures in the history of comics. If not for Gordon, many of the greatest superheroes from Marvel and Detective Comics (DC) may not have gained the fame they did. He was the forebearer to so many of today’s greatest superheroes and this year, his legacy (and that of his creator, Alex Raymond) us being celebrated through the recently released anthology, Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937. Released Aug. 13 through Mad Cave Studios, this expansive collection of comic strips is a must for any Flash Gordon fan and for any fan of the truly golden age of comics. That is due in part to the history provided in the presentation. This will be addressed shortly. The comics themselves make up the bulk of the book and are obviously of note. They will be discussed a little later. Rounding out the most important of the book’s elements is the general presentation of the stories. This will also be discussed later. Each item noted here is key in its own way to the whole of this anthology. All things considered they make the collection a wonderful presentation for comics fans across the board.
Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937, the recently released collection of classic Flash Gordon comic strips, is a winning presentation that comics fans of all ages will enjoy. The first of two sets planned for release this year, its success comes in part through the background provided about the Flash Gordon comic strip and its creator, Alex Raymond. Perhaps the biggest note of all in the provided history is that really, if not for the stock market crash of 1929, Raymond may never have made the decision to take on a career in art, thus leading to his creation of Flash. The story is deeper than that, but in essence, the crash really is at the root of it all. As noted by Doug Murray, the creation of the pulp presentation, Amazing Stories and its eventual star Buck Rogers, also played into Gordon’s creation by Raymond, too. Speaking of science fiction, fellow wrier Alex Ross adds even more interest as he notes that Gordon’s influence in the science fiction and fantasy realm has been so great over the decades that before crating Star Wars, famed/legendary director George Lucas actually approached officials at King Features (which owned Gordon for such a long time) about making a Flash Gordon movie but no deal happened, leading him to eventually go on to create now what is one of the most timeless science fiction flicks of all time. Interestingly, as Ross additionally notes, because of the success of Star Wars, famed animation studio Filmation (which is responsible for the likes of The All New Superfriends Hour, The Adventures of Batman and The New Adventures of Batman, and Aquaman) would go on to create The New Adventures of Flash Gordon in 1979, two years after the debut of Star Wars. Simply put, this back and forth shows the influence of Flash Gordon even that far back. All of this history and more wonderfully sets up the comic strips that audiences get to enjoy here while also providing an equally wonderful appreciation for the legacy of Flash Gordon and his creator. Keeping all of this in mind, the whole of the history here makes for so much for readers to appreciate.
Strengthening the foundation for this anthology even more are the stories that flesh out the collection. In total there are nine stories spanning 186 pages presented in the exact chronological order in which they originally appeared in newspapers from 1934-1937. The whole begins with Flash’s unlikely journey to the planet Mongo when he and his love interest Dale Arden are essentially kidnapped by Dr. Zarkon and put on the rocket that he intended to use to deflect the planet that was believed to be on a collision course with Earth. The chronological order is outlined expertly in the table of contents, which is a bonus in its own right. It clearly states the story arc’s title, the page and the time frame over which the story arc ran. This aesthetic element is sure to please plenty of readers in itself.
Getting back on the subject at hand, the trio’s adventures are in fact exactly what readers were wanting at the time in regard to their exotic locales, action packed stories, and their artwork. Murray explains this at length in his notes as to how the creation of Buck Rogers and his adventures would lead to Flash Gordon’s creation. From Flash and company crash landing on the planet Mongo to fighting in a Coliseum type setting in another early story, to even going beneath the planet’s waves in ”The Undersea Kingdom of Mongo” and more, readers were taken over the course of just three years on so many exciting adventures. They are adventures that are just as exciting as what readers can get in any of today’s comic books if not more so. That is because it is not just Ming the Merciless who Flash faces throughout these stories but all types of creatures and characters.
As much as the stories do to ensure readers’ engagement and entertainment, they are just one part of what readers will appreciate. The general presentation thereof also plays into that appeal. The most notable of that general presentation’s item is the third person narrative approach taken throughout each story. There are no sound effects written into any cell. It makes reading the strips like reading an ongoing novel, just on the newspaper page. There is a certain sense of nostalgia that this writing style creates. It really allows the story and the art to take center stage. Speaking of the art, that element stands so well on its own merits, too. The rough, pencil-drawn style is really a lost art. From the lines used to emphasize movement of characters and vehicles to the coloring and even something as minor as the lines, the whole of the general presentation serves as another source of nostalgia, sure to make many readers pine for the return of such an art form in today’s graphic novels. That is because so much of today’s comic art just seems so spit shined. It is such a welcome return of sorts. Even something as minor as the “next week” banners plays into that. All things considered, the general presentation of these stories and their art does just as much as the stories themselves to make this collection of classic tales so immersive and enjoyable. When the stories and their presentation are considered along with the history of Flash Gordon and his creator, the whole therein makes this collection that much more enjoyable and worth its $50 price point. All things considered, Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937, proves to be a presentation that every true comics fan should have on their coffee table (as it is presented in coffee table format).
Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937, the recently released anthology of classic Flash Gordon comic strips, is a welcome addition to the library of every true comics fan. That is proven in part through the history provided ahead of the stories. The stories are themselves everything that once made comics so great—exotic locales, equally exciting adventures, and story divisions within the stories that expertly keep audiences reading. The general presentation of the stories rounds out the collection’s most important elements. It serves as its own reminder of what makes classic comics still the greatest form of comics. Each item examined here is important to the collection. All things considered they make Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937 a welcome addition to the home library of any true comics fan.
Flash Gordon: Classic Collection – The Complete Sunday Strips 1934-1937 is available now through Mad Cave Studios. More information on this and other titles from Mad Cave Studios is available at:
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