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Checker Flash Gordon Reprints #4
Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Vol. 4
Brilliantly illustrated by the legendary Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon epitomizes the golden age of the newspaper comic strip. Thanks to Raymond's unrivaled gift for gorgeous, spawling artwork and rapid-fire plotting set on a world of unrivaled wonder, Flash Gordon quickly became a household name, a name which still resonates in film, literature and cartooning to this day. Volume 4 collects strips from June 12, 1938 to January 21, 1940, continuing the saga of Flash, Dale and Ming on the planet Mongo.
- GenresComicsScience Fiction
100 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2006
24 people want to read
About the author
Alex Raymond
720 books39 followersAlexander Gillespie Raymond was an American comic strip artist, best known for creating the comic Flash Gordon in 1934. The serial hit the silver screen three years later with Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers as the leading players. Other strips he drew include Secret Agent X-9, Rip Kirby, Jungle Jim, Tim Tyler's Luck, and Tillie the Toiler. Alex Raymond received a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1949 for his work on Rip Kirby.
Born in New Rochelle, New York, Alex Raymond attended Iona Prep on a scholarship and played on the Gaels' football team. He joined the US Marines Corp in 1944 and served in the Pacific theatre during World War II.
His realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists.
Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in Westport, Connecticut while driving with fellow cartoonist Stan Drake, aged 46, and is buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.
During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle.
He was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
Born in New Rochelle, New York, Alex Raymond attended Iona Prep on a scholarship and played on the Gaels' football team. He joined the US Marines Corp in 1944 and served in the Pacific theatre during World War II.
His realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists.
Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in Westport, Connecticut while driving with fellow cartoonist Stan Drake, aged 46, and is buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.
During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle.
He was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 24, 2013
his volume reprints strips from June 12, 1938 to January 21, 1940. First, Flash and Ming take turns having the upper hand. Finally, Flash and company flee to Barin's forest kingdom. There, we learn that Barin and his wife Aura (who is also Ming's daughter) now have an infant son. Ming has a spy infiltrate Barin's kingdom and attempt to steal the baby, who is his grandson. Some unintentional silliness follows, but naturally, Ming is thwarted. Fleeing Ming (again), Flash, Dale, Zarkov and Barin's cousin Ronal head to the frozen land of Frigia. There, they meet Queen Fria, who naturally falls for Flash. Meanwhile, Ronal has a crush on Dale. Love triangles, court intrigue and the usual battles with monsters follow (You wonder how any people can live on Mongo when there are so many monsters running around!).
Those who, like me, are more familiar with the old movie serials, might appreciate some chronology. The second serial, FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS, was showing in theaters when the earliest strips in this volume originally appeared. The third serial, FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE, debuted in 1940 and took some elements from the 1939 strips reprinted here. Ronal, Queen Fria and the ice kingdom of Frigia all feature in the 1940 serial.
Back to the strip: The supporting cast have undergone some changes. Ming's daughter Aura debuted in 1934 as a sort of no-good temptress. By 1939, she's a loving wife and mother. Meanwhile, Ming, Barin and Aura - all of whom originally had yellow skin and oriental features - suddenly seem very Caucasian. Ming does still have Chinese-style facial hair but isn't wearing the old "dragon robes" (or whatever you call them) so much, anymore. The characters were all portrayed by Caucasian actors in the serials, so perhaps this is the reason for the change. It's also true, however, that Japan was then waging war in China, and American sympathy for China was growing. Suddenly, the Chinese weren't the villains, anymore. I recall Ming acting more like a European fascist dictator than a Fu Manchu-ish mastermind in the 1940 movie serial, and there are hints of this in the 1938-1940 strips, as well.
Regardless, these old strips are still entertaining me. As I get older, I seem to develop a greater appreciation for these old-fashioned adventure stories, with their idealized fantasy heroes.
Those who, like me, are more familiar with the old movie serials, might appreciate some chronology. The second serial, FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS, was showing in theaters when the earliest strips in this volume originally appeared. The third serial, FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE, debuted in 1940 and took some elements from the 1939 strips reprinted here. Ronal, Queen Fria and the ice kingdom of Frigia all feature in the 1940 serial.
Back to the strip: The supporting cast have undergone some changes. Ming's daughter Aura debuted in 1934 as a sort of no-good temptress. By 1939, she's a loving wife and mother. Meanwhile, Ming, Barin and Aura - all of whom originally had yellow skin and oriental features - suddenly seem very Caucasian. Ming does still have Chinese-style facial hair but isn't wearing the old "dragon robes" (or whatever you call them) so much, anymore. The characters were all portrayed by Caucasian actors in the serials, so perhaps this is the reason for the change. It's also true, however, that Japan was then waging war in China, and American sympathy for China was growing. Suddenly, the Chinese weren't the villains, anymore. I recall Ming acting more like a European fascist dictator than a Fu Manchu-ish mastermind in the 1940 movie serial, and there are hints of this in the 1938-1940 strips, as well.
Regardless, these old strips are still entertaining me. As I get older, I seem to develop a greater appreciation for these old-fashioned adventure stories, with their idealized fantasy heroes.
February 26, 2014
I mentioned how I ran across one of the old Flash Gordon movies (as opposed to the serials) the other night and found myself nostalgic. Flash was one of the earliest science fantasy "heroes" to fire my imagination. I still flash back from time to time.
Here we're still involved in interplanetary daring do. Hawk-people, galactic empires, ray guns vs. swords vs. spears vs. bows facing evil soldiers, giant lizards strange alien races. This series was the definition of "cool".
In this series of strips still from the '30s we now include spies. Thus Flash also gets credit for the introduction of "spy-fi".
So as always I recommend you try these. The art is amazing though sadly you can see that these are reprints of reprints as the lines aren't that precise. It's till a great experience. So follow the adventures...noting that the last strip in this book leaves Flash yelling that he needs pants.
Here we're still involved in interplanetary daring do. Hawk-people, galactic empires, ray guns vs. swords vs. spears vs. bows facing evil soldiers, giant lizards strange alien races. This series was the definition of "cool".
In this series of strips still from the '30s we now include spies. Thus Flash also gets credit for the introduction of "spy-fi".
So as always I recommend you try these. The art is amazing though sadly you can see that these are reprints of reprints as the lines aren't that precise. It's till a great experience. So follow the adventures...noting that the last strip in this book leaves Flash yelling that he needs pants.
June 6, 2008
Duh photonya Kaisar Ming gak nahan bow. Sayang doski matinya tidak hepi. Ketusuk idung pesawat. Uuuuh...kualat sama Bang Flash a-aaah dia. Berani-beraninya menculik kecengan bang Flash.
Makanya sejak itu ada aturan hidung pesawat gak boleh runcing, harus pesek kayak yang sekarang. Biar Tragedi Ming tidak terulang...
Jangan-jangan di badan pesawat itu ada tulisan "...Air". hehehe
Makanya sejak itu ada aturan hidung pesawat gak boleh runcing, harus pesek kayak yang sekarang. Biar Tragedi Ming tidak terulang...
Jangan-jangan di badan pesawat itu ada tulisan "...Air". hehehe
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews