Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist, Vol. 1

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1-10

by Eric Trautmann, Ron Adrian (Artist), Daniel Indro (Artist)

A classic of science-fiction is reborn in Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist. Inspired by Alex Raymond's legendary tales of invasion, action, and romance on the distant planet Mongo, and under the artistic supervision of renowned artist Alex Ross, Zeitgeist returns Flash Gordon to his two-fisted, thrill-packed roots. The year is 1934, and Earth is attacked by a powerful alien invasion force, led by the sinister, all-seeing Ming the Merciless. And this time, he does not fight alone. Allied with the sinister spymaster Klytus, his exotic and treacherous daughter, Princess Aura... and Adolf Hitler! Three valiant humans -- iconic hero Flash Gordon, the tough, determined Dale Arden, and the brilliant scientist Hans Zarkov -- are plucked from our world and rocketed into another universe of fearsome creatures, noble and savage alien species, ancient science, and titanic threats.

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2012

About the author

Eric Trautmann is a comic book writer, editor, and graphic designer also know as Eric S. Trautmann.

For several years, Eric was a writer and editor for West End Games' acclaimed Star Wars roleplaying game line. After leaving dice-and-paper gaming behind, Eric then moved into videogames, an early recruit into Microsoft Game Studios' nascent entertainment licensing apparatus.

While at Microsoft, Eric wrote and edited in-game dialogue, story bibles, marketing materials, and original fictional content for the web.

Among the titles that Eric helped develop were the smash-hit HALO: Combat Evolved (including editing chores on the first three HALO novels for Ballantine / Del Rey, as well as writing The Art of HALO, also for Del Rey); Crimson Skies (creating a strongly immersive in-universe website for the pulpy, two-fisted adventure setting; editing weekly serialized online pulp novellas; and editing and contributing to Del Rey's mass-market paperback fiction anthology based on the setting); MechWarrior 4; and Perfect Dark Zero, acting as a story consultant to the property and helping to develop a fiction publishing program in support of the game.

In addition, Eric has consulted on videogame properties for EPIC (drafting a story bible for the Gears of War franchise), story development for Radical Entertainment, and delivering talks on the craft of writing in games to various publishers (notably, Blizzard Entertainment).

After leaving Microsoft, Eric wrote a six-issue miniseries for Perfect Dark (titled Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears), published by Prima Games, as well as editing and lettering an original graphic novel prequel to the hyperviolent videogame Army of Two, titled Army of Two: Dirty Money (written by John Ney Rieber and illustrated by Brandon McKinney).

While developing Perfect Dark Zero's novel program, he edited Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and Perfect Dark: Second Front, scribed by Greg Rucka (and published by TOR). The collaboration proved fruitful, and Eric was later invited to write a fill-in issue of Greg's DC Comics superhero/espionage title, Checkmate (which led to a half-year stint as co-writer on the title, ending his run with issue #25).

Checkmate led to several other DC Comics projects (as both writer or co-writer), including Final Crisis: Resist, JSA Vs. Kobra: Engines of Faith, The Shield, Mighty Crusaders, Adventure Comics and others.

Eric currently writes the continuing adventures of classic sword-and-sorcery heroine, Red Sonja, for Dynamite Entertainment.

In November 2010, Eric's debut issue of a revitalized Vampirella (also published by Dynamite Entertainment) was released to widespread critical praise and excellent sales (Vampirella #1 was the best selling non-premier publisher title for Diamond Comics Distribution in the month of its release).

In addition to writing comics, Eric is a graphic designer and marketing consultant, through his Fedora Monkey Studio, which offers (among other services) logo and branding design, intellectual property development, and viral marketing (such as the infamous "Montoya Journal" to promote the DC Comics' series The Question: The Five Books of Blood).

Eric splits his time between Raymond, Wa (where he resides) and Lacey, WA (where his wife runs the best comic shop ever).

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit one of my guilty pleasures is the 1980 Flash Gordon film. Campy as hell but I loved it. I remember seeing it in the theaters as a kid, and the very first album I ever bought was the Flash Gordon Soundtrack by Queen. This comic series was loosely based on the plot of the film but not a direct adaptation. In fact, some of it is very different but if you are familiar with the 1980 film you will see the similarities. The ending wasn't what I expected but overall this was a good read. The art wasn't my personal favorite but wasn't bad and did fit the story well. Overall a nice piece of nostalgia, but more than that at the same time.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept for this book seemed very well worth my time to read, but the execution of that concept was far from spectacular. It's still Flash Gordon though.

[Bluesman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist


Back in 2013 Dynamite Comics produced a Flash Gordon comic unlike anything that had been seen up to that point. For the hardcore fans there was Mongo in all its splendor. There were the various kingdoms and the overblown egos of its royalty, too. For the casual fans there were references to the Cult Classic 1980s movie Flash Gordon and there also were references to The Adventures of Flash Gordon from 1979. From Dr Zarkoff’s ship to some of the clothing, including Ming’s flaming sword, it was all there. But, there was the spin…this takes place on Earth 1934. Read your history and you’ll see why that’s important! Ming and Adolf Hitler? How is that for a bad combination?

The story is by Eric Trautman and the plot and art is directed by Alex Ross. Just that alone should have you up and out of your seat. As you’re reading the book you can’t help but hear Queen’s Flash Gordon playing in your head. With the pulpy goodness and sweet art coming at you, you can’t help but enjoy the ride! And, this isn’t just typical good vs evil going on. There’s the questions of Nature vs Nurture, Brains vs Brawn, and Faith vs Reason. I thought I know mostly everything there was to know about Flash Gordon, but this book proved me wrong!

I highly recommend this TPB. Along with a great story you get the alternate covers and some of the concept art. If you’re looking for a classic story with some modern sensibilities, step right up! Plus, the bits of nostalgia makes reading this an absolute joy and you’ll find yourself wanting to watch the theatrical release and the animated series of Flash Gordon. If you do give this a read, let me know what you think!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

FLASH!!!! AHHH-aaaaaa!! This is a kind of amalgamation of the original Alex Raymond comic, the series black and white live action, and lastly the epic Mike Hodges/Dino De Laurentis 1980 film. The love, knowledge, and appreciation for that Alex Ross has for all things Flash Gordon comes out in this.

[Robert Gilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and pretty Flash Gordon story. I like how it takes aspects from the original source, the cartoon, and the movie with a little bit of WW II thrown in for good measure. It is just fun read.

[alexia mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!

Wow, I really enjoyed vol. 1! How can I read the next vol.??? It doesn't seem to be available to buy on Kindle.

[Devendra Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure Nostalgia

Fantastic Graphics! Story line never out of date. Feels like it is written in today's technology world. Wow !! Wow !!

[John Tommasino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lot of fun.

[Sr B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un gran Remake del cómic clásico.

[Robert Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Famed comic artist Alex Ross loves the 1980 Flash Gordon movie. He proudly proclaims this love in one edition of the film’s dvd. Now, he gets to play in the Flash Gordon “toy box,” and the result suggests that he loves the titular character as much as the movie.

FLASH GORDON: ZEITGEIST credits Ross with “plot and art direction.” The volume’s contents originally appeared as a ten-issue mini-series, and Ross’ ten original covers, along with his sketches of the characters, are included. Eric Trautmann is the credited writer, with artists Daniel Inoro and Ron Adrian providing the kind of detailed, “painterly-looking” art that Ross’ fans might expect.

Since Trautmann is credited as a “writer” and not a “scripter,” I do wonder how detailed Ross’ plot was. Perhaps it doesn’t matter, as you can certainly sense Ross’ hand in the story. It’s a pretty “old school” approach to Flash Gordon, and nods to the 1980 film abound. Fortunately, ZEITGEIST takes the character seriously and does not emulate that film’s campy approach.

The book provides yet another retelling of Flash, Dale and Zarkov’s initial arrival on Mongo and encounter with the villainous Ming. This time, the setting is January 1934, when the Flash Gordon comic strip debuted. Ming decides that he needs a proxy to rule Earth for him, and so, he chooses Adolf Hitler. While Flash and company battle Ming on Mongo, three Mongo citizens appear on Earth to strike at Ming through the Nazis.

Ultimately, the Hitler scenes are mostly to the side. The main story is the familiar one of Flash Gordon encountering the usual Mongo denizens (Prince Barin, Vultan and the Hawkmen, Thun the Lion Man, etc.) and convincing them to join him against Ming. The characterizations are all straight out of Alex Raymond, with little added, although Dale Arden does understandably play a more active role than she did in the old days. Frankly, I was relieved that Ross and Trautmann didn’t do any great tinkering. The changes that they did make – such as moving Mongo to another universe – mostly make sense and even eliminate some flaws in Alex Raymond's original version.

One of the best – and most surprising – additions comes in the relationship between Ming and Klytus, Ming’s right hand man. Klytus never appeared in the original Raymond stories and is lifted from the 1980 film. Despite this, the character actually fits quite well in the story. He schemes against Ming, but Ming is aware of his scheming and works to stay a step ahead of him. Ming feels that Kyltus’ talents as a schemer actually make Klytus a useful lieutenant, and so, he tolerates them.

Overall, I enjoyed FLASH GORDON: ZEITGEIST quite a bit, despite the perhaps overly familiar story elements. I really only have two complaints:

1) The story has a number of unnecessary “false endings” and could actually have ended sooner,

And

2) There are references to a prequel series detailing Ming’s rise to power, making this yet another case of a reader being expected to buy something else. Fortunately, the references didn’t overly detract from the main story.

I would like to see where Ross and company take the characters next. Unfortunately, it seems that Dynamite has elected to reboot Flash Gordon yet again ( http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=50560 ), a step that baffles me, since it seems so unnecessary. Regardless, FLASH GORDON: ZEITGEIST works as a pretty fun story on its own, and I'm happy to have read it.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma curiosa revisão das histórias de Flash Gordon, cuja estética mescla o exotismo elegante de Alex Raimond, traços de dieselpunk e a extravagância anos oitenta do filme. Aqui, o imperador Ming diverte-se com a Terra, fornecendo armas a um certo ditador alemão para se entreter com a conquista do planeta. Apenas Zarkov, o cientista, suspeita que algo mais estará por detrás de estranhos eventos atmosféricos, e coopta Flash Gordon e Dale Arden para, num foguetão, investigar a sugestão de bizarros universos ligados ao nosso por forças maléficas. O resto é história, bem conhecida e estabelecida na cultura pop. Trautmann não se desvia muito das narrativas clássicas. O que dá mérito a esta série é a direcção artísticas de Alex Ross, que lhe confere um visual clássico e deslumbrante, que homenageia a elegância e exotismo do melhor de Raimond.

[Sverre · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is 1934 Earth time. Ming the Merciless of Mongo and the Known Universe is bored and has agreed with his Grand Vizier Klytus to dispatch emissaries to Earth. A suitable proxy has be chosen, one Adolph Hitler, who will be coerced to govern Earth in Ming’s name. As a result numerous unnatural disastrous phenomena disrupt life on Earth. Flash Gordon and his gf Dale Arden get caught in the melee having to parachute when their plane explodes. A paranoic physicist, Dr Hans Zarkov, involve Flash and Dale in his plan to escape the alien invasion by means of his space rocket Copernicus. They become his hostages as they take off towards the known universe. The time portal which allows Mongo’s minions to arrive on earth also allows the Copernicus to land on Mongo where the three earthians are met by the Mongo hierarchy which represent the numerous racial clans including the Frigia, the Crimson Claw Lion Men, the Sharkmen, the Tree people of Arboria and the Hawkmen. Meanwhile Klytus, appearing as a hologram, has a tête-à-tête with Herr Hitler about his role as Ming’s henchman. So begins this nostalgic retro sci-fi opus told in ten chapters written by Eric Trautmann with plot and art directed by the famed Alex Ross, illustrated by Daniel Indro and Ron Adrian, colored by Slamet Mujiono.

As far as the plot and writing are concerned I thought there was too large a cast of characters and overlapping conflicts between them. But this is a good action adventure with all the essential elements of intrigue, mystery, wonder, risk, betrayal, greed, insanity as well as bravery, loyalty and love. The ending does have some surprises. I would have liked to see Hitler play a greater role in the story. For a great series of alternate history books involving the invasion of earth by an alien species during WWII, read Harry Turtledove’s Worldwar series, first book is titled “In the Balance.”

The back of the book features twenty eight magnificent pages of Alex Ross sketches and all twenty alternative covers by various artists as featured on the original comics. I was not impressed by the art in this book. The “painted” effects which work very well for Ross’ art does not generally provide a pleasing result with all of Indro, Adrian and Mujiono’s work. Although there are many good pages there are more that are much too dark, lacking in highlights or contrast. An annoyance when this type of borderless art is made into a soft cover book is that art and text close to the spine is difficult to read without forcefully prying the book open. The artists and letterer should take this into consideration when working on the original pages.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the aesthetic and how the book kind of synthesized the movie and the comic strips. It got repetitive quickly, though.