Flash Gordon Holiday Special One-Shot

Spend the holidays with Flash Gordon in this amazing 2014 special from Dynamite Entertainment. 

There are 3 tales in this book. Story #1 has Flash and Dr. Zarkov visiting the people of Arboria. Being Flash's first Christmas away from planet Earth, he wants to play Santa to some of his allies from the galactic war against Emperor Ming. However, to Flash's surprise, Arboria already celebrates a primitive version of Christmas and the kiddies are all ready for a nightly visit from... Jungle Jim!

Story #2 returns to Earth. Here, one of Ming's stranded Beast-Men foot soldiers is trying to survive a Central European winter all alone. It just happens to be the 4th night of Hanukkah and it just goes to show you that a little warmth, some friendship across species and a couple of latkes can go a very long way!

Our last adventure stars Dale Arden. We get glimpses of Dale's previous 2 New Years Eves and how it contrasts with her new life as a freedom fighter on the frozen planet of Frigia. 

All 3 stories were fantastic. The only thing I had trouble with was instead of definitive endings, each story just bleeds into the next. That makes for a pinch of confusion and fear that maybe I've got another one of those blasted issues that has a printing order error. I also would have liked the Dale story to have Flash more involved in it. But the biggest issue for me was the seamless transitions that are secretly deceptive.

This issue has definitively peaked my interest in Jeff Parker, Evan 'Doc' Shaner and Jordie Bellaire's 2014-15 Flash Gordon miniseries. Shaner does the cover and Bellaire assists with some of the finishes. But there isn't any Jeff Parker here. Yet, if his story is 1/4 as excellent as this special, then I know that I am in for a treat. 

Oh! And I must give love for the use of Jungle Jim as an alien Santa Claus. Jungle Jim was an early creation of Flash Gordon's father Alex Raymond. So to throw JJ into this special as an Easter egg was an unexpected angel topper to my tree!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Flash Gordon on the Lost Continent of Mongo

Fierce warriors, ancient beasts and the forces of Ming the Merciless await Flash Gordon in this 1967 paperback!

Al Williamson (Star Wars) worked on the Flash Gordon comic strip in the 1960s. It's where he really honed his skills to where he became my all-time favorite Star Wars artist in the 70s and 80s. This book blows up the panels of the Flash Gordon daily strip to where only one or two segments appear on each page. But the art is incredibly crystal clear. Why today's publishers can't enlarge pictures without making things look fuzzy and pixelated in beyond me.

In this collection of 3 stories, Flash Gordon, along with Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov, embark on an expedition of an uncharted region of the planet Mongo. From just about the very start, the expedition goes poorly, being attacked by hostile natives. In the initial scuffle, Dale is kidnapped. Can Flash Gordon save his beloved? Will the expedition yield the secrets of Mongo? And why didn't the trio of heroes bring some extra muscle and weapons with them?

This was a visually enjoyable read. But there was an X-factor that I just wasn't a huge fan of. For one thing, Flash Gordon seems kinda stupid here. I remember that he was portrayed as a sort of dumb jock in the 1980 live-action movie. But I really thought that Flash was a near genius in the comics. I guess I remembered them wrong. 

Yet in the 1980s Guardians of the Earth comic book, Flash is the team leader and pretty straight-forward as the master planner. Maybe when Flash gets older, he gets wiser? Still, this is not the 'savior of the universe' that I am accustomed to.

The three stories also seem to follow the same plot. Flash and his team get attacked. Dale is kidnapped. Dr. Zarkov is no help as he gets injured. Flash scouts out his enemies. He then runs afoul of some monstrous beast and discovers something that will help him in the process. Gordon carries out his attack, saves the girl and returns to camp with Dr. Zarkov miraculously healed. The End. Repeat as needed.

Can you see why I wasn't such a fan of this book? Flash doesn't come close to ending his expedition in this book. The third story does have a happy ending. But more adventures on the lost lands of Mongo are teased in what I assume are further editions. While I would like to know what happens next, the predictability of these adventures haven't swayed me to scope out the internet to find book 2.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Defenders of the Earth #2

This second issue of Defenders of the Earth has the newly formed team creating a secret base. Meanwhile, Ming the Merciless has the same idea, choosing the North Pole as the locale of his operations on earth. 

Power Pack's Michael Higgins takes over storytelling from Stan Lee. It's like selecting a bench-warming roller blade enthusiast to replace Wayne Gretzky. There's just some mighty shoes to get filled here. 

One issue I have with Higgins isn't so much his talent, but his writing style. I think he must have been from the U.K. because the Defenders of the Earth are now starting to spout little bits of slang every once in a while and it's rather odd British bits of dialogue that's being thrown about. Last issue, Stan Lee had everybody sounding like a 1980s New Yorker. Now everyone sounds like they're from London's East End. It's rather an disjointed transition. 

Once again, the Phantom is grossly underused. He appears in the first act. But it's not until the third and final part of this story does he finally talk as well as spring into action. This issue is more about Mandrake and his bodyguard Lothar than anyone else. It's not so much a bad thing as poor use of all of your available characters. 

I think I am starting to see some cracks in this franchise's foundation leading to why both the comic book and TV series were quickly cancelled.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Defenders of the Earth #1

Defenders of the Earth- it was the crossover I never thought possible. I had grown up reading the adventures of Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. But I wasn't aware that those heroes knew each other.  

Then in 1985, Marvel Comics teamed with King Features Syndicate to create a 65-episode cartoon that teamed these legends together again for the first time as the Defenders of the Earth. The cartoon wasn't easy to find in my area of the country. But the occasional Saturday or Sunday that I was able to watch it, I was hooked. 

I never did purchase the action figures, mostly because Galoob's bulky sculpts just didn't appeal to me. But I really loved the comic book! Published by Marvel's Star Comics imprint, the series was a continuation of the series. 

This first issue was written by Stan the Man. It's entirely based on the pilot episode. In it, Ming the Merciless has kidnapped Flash Gordon's wife Dale and son Rick. Ming sends some of his robot sentries to capture Flash, who has sought refuge in the mansion home of renowned magician Mandrake. Along with his bodyguard Lothar and his son LJ and young apprentice Kshin, Mandrake agrees to help Flash recover his family. 

To do this, the heroes need a master tracker. So, they go to deepest, darkest Africa where they recruit the Phantom and his daughter Jedda to assist them in locating Ming's base on the planet Mongo. 

Needless to say, the heroes find Ming and manage to destroy his fortress. But the rescue of Dale and Rick takes a dark turn that I wasn't expecting, especially for kids' cartoons in the mid-80s. But the ending sets everything up for Flash, Mandrake, Lothar, the Phantom and their progeny to form the Defenders of the Earth as Ming now has his eyes set on conquering our planet for his newest throne world.

This was an enjoyable blast from the past. Having Stan Lee as writer for the first issue was a pleasant surprise. The artwork by Alex Suviuk was beautiful and the story itself was very good. 

The Phantom seems a bit of an afterthought though. He's not really needed in the story. I'm wondering if King Features demanded that the Phantom be added to the team as by 1985, his comic strip was the only one of the three characters in high rotation nationwide. Compared to Mandrake and Lothar, you must admit that the Phantom has better name recognition. Still, the purple clad hero feels more like an bit player in this book instead of star player that he really was.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.