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Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Five

Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Five

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kurtzman_flash_gordon_cvr1MV5BMzk2NTI0Nzg3MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMTg3MjE5Mw@@__V1_SY317_CR3,0,214,317_“The Space Kids on Zoran” was Dan Barry’s first Flash Gordon storyline following the departure of Harvey Kurtzman from the strip. It was published by King Features Syndicate from April 21 to October 24, 1953. The storyline shows the influence of Captain Video and his Video Rangers, the seminal series that was to the first television generation what the Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon serials had been to their parents. As the storyline progresses, Barry incorporates another Biblical parable, this time offering up a space age twist on the Christ story.

Dan Barry had settled into a more comfortable style with the characters that was recognizably his own take on Alex Raymond’s original work. This style would remain constant until the early 1980s. The story begins with Flash and Dale driving to visit Ray Carson, who has set up a club called the Space Kids at an abandoned site. The boys have built a full-size model rocket out of wood and spare parts that Ray’s father gave him. Flash agrees to help the boys that weekend. There is a definite switch to a more juvenile approach to the strip, with the portrayal of the kids more reminiscent of Harvey Comics than a dramatic adventure strip. The sight of Flash smoking a pipe as he surveys the youngsters’ work is also somewhat disconcerting.

From there, Flash leaves for a meeting with aeronautics industrialist, J. B. Pennington, who is employing Ray’s dad to build a rocket and has hired Flash to fly it. Pennington is the stereotypical capitalist authority figure. He is dismissive of his employees and unloving to his young son, Cyril. Flash’s contemptuous attitude is meant to endear him to the young readers of the strip more than it is to offer social criticism as the generation gap becomes one of the major themes of the storyline.

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Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Four

Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Four

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kurtzman_flash_gordon_cvrflabarry“Mr. Murlin” was artist Dan Barry and writer Harvey Kurtzman’s follow-up to “The Awful Forest” and was published by King Features Syndicate from December 31, 1952 to April 20, 1953. The story would be the last pairing for the team, although Barry would continue on with the strip until 1990.

Their finale marks another departure from the formula. Flash and Ray stumble upon a medieval cottage in a forest clearing and, knocking upon the door, they encounter Mr. Murlin, an alchemist from 14th Century Earth who inexplicably recognizes Flash and Ray. The old man has an adolescent daughter, Marilyn, with whom Ray has his first crush. Murlin explains how he invented a time case through which he traveled far into the future and to another world.

Flash views the future by looking in the time case and sees he is reunited with Dale. Eager to know when the reunion will occur, Flash is startled to see Dale emerge from the back of the cottage. Murlin tells him he found her wandering in a dazed state in the forest and gave her refuge. Dale explains that she looked into the time case and saw that she would be reunited with Flash in the cottage and so has waited for him. This accounts for Murlin’s knowledge of Flash and Ray’s identities.

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Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Three

Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Three

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2526022-fla42528342-fla5“The Awful Forest” was artist Dan Barry and writer Harvey Kurtzman’s follow-up to “Tartarus” and was published by King Features Syndicate from October 20 to December 30, 1952. The story shows a marked step forward in quality in Barry’s artwork. At times, he equals Alex Raymond, barring his love of EC-style comic grotesqueries which likely reflect Kurtzman’s involvement in the creative process.

Flash, Marla, Kent, and Ray arrive on horseback at the edge of the Awful Forest along with a party of satyr porters from Tartarus. The rain is pouring down steadily and the setting is clearly meant to call to mind Germany’s Black Forest.

No sooner do they arrive in the Awful Forest, then they encounter the figure of a gibbering madman who pleads with them to turn back, before rushing off into the woods in abject terror. Their porters recognize this strange figure as the Black Duke, Lucifan’s cousin who abducted Dale from the deposed king’s court. What should be an effective sequence of mounting suspense is let down by the depiction of the mad Duke as a comic loony who would have been at home in an early issue of Mad.

The Black Duke’s pitiable condition is enough to cause their porters to desert them during the night. Flash sets off on a fruitless quest to retrieve them and leaves Kent to care for Marla and Ray. The trio is beset by night terrors in which the strange noises of the forest give way to nightmarish visitations from a crowd of goblins and gremlins.

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Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Two

Blogging Dan Barry’s Flash Gordon, Part Two

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2520373-ama1ggpb1542“The Butterfly Men” was artist Dan Barry and writer Harvey Kurtzman’s follow-up to “The City of Ice” and was published by King Features Syndicate from June 16 to August 9, 1952. The storyline is simple sci-fi hokum, but of a type not previously seen in the series. Flash and Queen Marla materialize on the planet Tanium in the Alpha Centauri system. Of course, it is sheer luck that has brought them to the same planet that Dale and the crew of the X-3 have journeyed to in their quest for the missing Dr. Carson. It is also sheer coincidence that Flash and Marla are met by Ray Carson, the doctor’s young son who broke away from the crew of the X-3 in his eagerness to search for his father. The trio reaches the X-3 only to discover the ship deserted with disturbing telltale signs of a struggle, including Dale’s torn, bloodstained clothing.

Weakened by their hunger and thirst, they scour the barren landscape where they encounter a giant insect. Marla shoots the creature with a heat ray, although Flash is convinced it is harmless. The wounded creature limps off and spins a cocoon around its injured body. The visitors then see the strange sight of giant butterflies with the bodies of men descending upon them from the air. The butterfly men are the dominant life form of Tanium and are the adult form of the strange giant insects following their natural metamorphosis.

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Blogging Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, Part Two – “Yeti”

Blogging Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, Part Two – “Yeti”

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Flash Gordon 1Flash Gordon 2Mac Raboy succeeded Austin Briggs in illustrating the Flash Gordon Sunday strip from 1948 until his death in 1967. As an artist, Raboy was heavily influenced by the strip’s creator, Alex Raymond, and did a fine job of continuing the series. Dark Horse reprinted the entire Mac Raboy run in four oversized monochrome trade paperbacks a few years ago. Titan Books will reprint the series in full color as part of their ongoing hardcover reprints of the entire run of the series. At present, I have only two Mac Raboy stories (one early and one late-period) as a sample of his two decade run on the strip.

“Yeti” was serialized by King Features Syndicate from July 21 to November 17, 1963. Raboy’s artwork was not as strong by this point as it had been earlier, but having succeeded Don Moore in writing his own scripts, it is clear that Raboy was taking a cue from Dan Barry’s concurrent daily strip in moving the series away from Alex Raymond’s original template.

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Blogging Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, Part One – “Polaria”

Blogging Mac Raboy’s Flash Gordon, Part One – “Polaria”

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Flash Gordon 4Flash Gordon 3Mac Raboy succeeded Austin Briggs in illustrating the Flash Gordon Sunday strip from 1948 until his death in 1967. As an artist, Raboy was heavily influenced by the strip’s creator, Alex Raymond, and did a fine job of continuing the series. Dark Horse reprinted the entire Mac Raboy run in four oversized monochrome trade paperbacks a few years ago. Titan Books will reprint the series in full color as part of their ongoing hardcover reprints of the entire run of the series. At present, I have only two Mac Raboy stories (one early and one late-period) as a sample of his two decade run on the strip.

“Polaria” was serialized by King Features Syndicate from September 18, 1949 to January 1, 1950. Raboy’s artwork never approached the grandeur of Alex Raymond’s vistas (to be fair, he wasn’t allotted the space), but the realism of his characters (particularly their windswept hair) exceeded the originals. Don Moore’s scripts remained unchanged fifteen years after the fact, as the storyline concerned yet another regional monarch’s desire to become Emperor of Mongo and follow in the footsteps of both Ming the Merciless and Kang the Cruel.

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Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – “The Storm Queen of Valkr” / “The Wizard King of the Fur Men”

Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – “The Storm Queen of Valkr” / “The Wizard King of the Fur Men”

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Flash_Gordon“The Storm Queen of Valkr” was the twenty-sixth installment of the Flash Gordon Sunday comic strip serial for King Features Syndicate. Originally published between March 24 and September 29, 1946, “The Storm Queen of Valkr” opens with Flash’s rocketship crashing down in the eye of the hurricane. Flash pulls Dale from the wreckage just as the ship explodes. They are rescued by a party of amazons riding giant wolves and discover their leader is Valkir, Queen of the Forbidden Kingdom of Valkr where they have landed.

Once they reach Valkir’s palace, Flash is placed in the Queen’s harem. He soon meets her royal consort, Marko, and her dwarf jester, Roki. At dinner, Flash offends Valkir by stating he is President of Mongo. She challenges him to a fencing match.

When Flash bests her, her oversized house cat pounces upon him. Flash fights off the great cat. Later, Marko confides in him that Kang’s rocketship has likewise crashed down in Valkr and the deposed Emperor is wooing the Queen and setting himself up as a rival to Marko. This marks an interesting departure from the established formula where the reader would expect the Queen to quickly fall for Flash with her consort becoming a jealous rival to our hero.

Flash and Marko go out riding on wolves and discover Valkir trapped by a flash flood while crossing a stream. Flash rescues the Queen who, unaccustomed to being dominated and then rescued by a man, kisses him passionately before recovering her royal bearing.

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Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – Part Twelve, “The Atomic Age”

Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – Part Twelve, “The Atomic Age”

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emperorMongo“The Atomic Age” was the twenty-fifth installment of the Flash Gordon Sunday comic strip serial for King Features Syndicate. Originally published between October 7, 1945 and March 17, 1946, “The Atomic Age” sees Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov taking the battle to Kang the Cruel, son of Ming the Merciless, who deposed Prince Barin from the throne of Mongo. Armed with weapons from King Radon, Flash sends word to the Freemen to gather at the border to prepare for an assault on Mingo City.

Believing he is only facing foot soldiers, Kang orders a combined air and ground assault to wipe out the army of Freemen. The Emperor discovers too late that the Freemen are protected by a force field barrier. The atomic rays the Freemen are armed with make short work of Kang’s tanks and rockets. Facing certain defeat, his own men turn on the Emperor and take him hostage. Flash is given a hero’s welcome when the Freemen arrive in Mingo City for having liberated Mongo from the despot. As is common with Austin Briggs’s tenure on the strip, the pace is far too fast and much drama is sacrificed to the detriment of the story.

Before Flash can take possession of his prisoner, Kang makes an escape by ruthlessly gunning down his captors. We are introduced to his queen, Evila, and his henchman, Grusom. The villainous trio escapes to the underground with Kang radioing Flash with the vow that he will reclaim the throne. While Flash orders all citizens to aid in the manhunt, he soon finds that not everyone is happy to see the Emperor deposed.

 

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Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – Part Eleven, “Kang the Cruel” / “The Skymen”

Blogging Austin Briggs’ Flash Gordon – Part Eleven, “Kang the Cruel” / “The Skymen”

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p101745754-3p30920910-3“Kang the Cruel” was the twenty-third installment of the Flash Gordon Sunday comic strip serial for King Features Syndicate. Originally published between February 11 and May 20, 1945, “Kang the Cruel” was the first strip without the story input of creator Alex Raymond. It was illustrated by Austin Briggs, who had succeeded Raymond as the strip’s artist the previous year, and was scripted by Don Moore.

The story gets off to a strong start with Flash, Dale, and Dr. Zarkov returning to Mingo City unaware that Prince Barin has been deposed and a usurper sits on the throne. The usurper is Kang the Cruel, the son of Ming the Merciless. This is a strong concept in the classic tradition. The only disappointment is that Austin Briggs’ artwork pales in comparison with Alex Raymond.

Zarkov’s rocketship is shot down by an air patrol led by Kagi, Kang’s lieutenant. Firefighters rush to the crash site as Kang has given orders the Earthmen are to be taken alive. Flash is spirited away by Darin, a freedom fighter who has infiltrated Kang’s air patrol. The new emperor proves he is as cruel a despot as his father, ordering the firefighter who allowed Darin to escape to be flayed, sprayed with ice, and then placed in steam until he dies.

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Three Against the Stars Blasts Off for Intergalactic Adventure

Three Against the Stars Blasts Off for Intergalactic Adventure

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3 against starsn21422Three Against the Stars is the second book I’ve read by Joe Bonadonna. Unlike his sword & sorcery work, this marks a venture into pure space fantasy. My knowledge of the genre is admittedly spotty. I was unfamiliar with the works of Edmond Hamilton and E. E. “Doc” Smith, who are both cited as influences, but part of the joy of genre fiction is that one does not need to have an encyclopedic knowledge of all that has gone before since the influences are so pervasive, much of it strikes one as easily recognizable.

This tale of space marines calls to mind the works of Robert Heinlein, while the space war itself strongly reminded me of Malcolm Hulke’s early seventies Doctor Who serial, “Frontier in Space” with the Earth Empire brought to the brink of war with the lizard-like Draconian Empire thanks to acts of terror committed by the apelike Ogrons. What sets Bonadonna’s work apart from so many others who share similar influences is that he is able to authentically capture the fun and innocence without sacrificing intelligent commentary on war and imperialism.

This is an Airship 27 publication and art director Rob Davis does his usual stellar job of ensuring that their titles stand out as the most eye-catching on the market today. Laura Givens’s cover art perfectly captures the space fantasy artwork from publishers like Ace, Lancer, Del Rey, and Ballantine from decades past. Interior black & white illustrations by Pedro Cruz have a classy retro-style that one associates more with slicks than pulps. The decision to go with a more sophisticated style of illustration is well-suited to Bonadonna’s story, which has familiar elements, but offers a more philosophical dimension than one generally finds in pulp fiction.

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