Flash Gordon's 44th Anniversary: The Film

On this day in 1980, Flash Gordon made its feature film debut in the cinemas of a planet known as... "Earth." Starring Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon, Melody Anderson as Dale Arden, Topol as Dr. Zarkov, Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin, Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan, Peter Wyngarde as Klytus, Ornella Muti as Princess Aura, and Max von Sydow as the Emperor Ming, it was a truly spectacular adaptation of the comic strips and movie serials with one of the greatest rock soundtracks ever created. Today, we celebrate 44 years of Flash Gordon... the film.

Long live Flash!

Flash Gordon Inspiration: The Comic Strips (1944-1948)

Flash Gordon: The Storm Queen of Valkir (Sundays 1944-1948) is the fourth volume in the collected Flash Gordon Sunday comic strips and the first volume of Sundays featuring the art of Austin Briggs (who started on the dailies in 1940). This volume begins with Flash and Dale flying back to Mongo's capital in a triphibian rocket only to be diverted by a damsel in distress who is menaced by a giant scorpion. Once again, the damsel is the ruler of a kingdom (Marvela in this case) who is immediately smitten with Flash, thus sparking Dale's jealousy, and she, in turn, attracts the unwanted attention of another noble. It is a familiar tale because Don Moore, the ghostwriter of Flash Gordon, had established a formula by this point that he seemed unable or unwilling to abandon. In comparison to Alex Raymond's era, Flash Gordon became less fantastical, less heroic, less driven by a greater goal, and more a tale of recurring jealousy amidst a backdrop of hostile petty kingdoms and the clumsy machinations of Kang, the son of Ming the Merciless. The art is serviceable and, at times, impressive, but overall it matches the blandness of the writing.

SPOILER ALERT

The highlight of this volume is also its nadir, by which I mean the introduction of... the terrocrabs. Queen Valkir announces that Flash Gordon's reward for saving her is to become her husband. Flash politely refuses, Valkir calls him a traitor and orders her guards to seize him, Flash turns the tables on her and demands that he and Dale be freed, Valkir would rather die than release Flash and orders her guards to kill Dale, Flash surrenders, and Valkir declares, "Flash must die the 'Dozen Deaths' while I watch and laugh!" And all of that happens in the space of six frames. After surviving the fourth of the Dozen Deaths (an encounter with the octoshark), Valkir says, "I, too, am bored with these spectacles. I'll skip the rest of the 'Dozen Deaths' – and let Flash face the last and worst ordeal!" (Terrocrabs.)

"Now you face the last and surest of the 'Dozen Deaths'...We don't execute a rebel, we just sentence him to a day and a night among the terrocrabs. No man has ever survived," Valkir states in the strip of 1 September 1946. Then, in the third frame, the mighty terrocrab is revealed in all its terrible majesty. It's a lobster. A green and red lobster. A normal-sized green and red lobster. The terrocrab is soon joined by others, and Flash runs toward a tree to escape their fearsome claws. Prince Marko warns Flash to avoid the claws and tracks of the terrocrabs, which contain a paralyzing venom. Flash eludes them and climbs to safety, but no! Terrocrabs can climb!

The terrocrab is a close contender with the squirrelon for Silliest Creature of Mongo. Sadly, it is also the most memorable thing about the Flash Gordon Sunday comic strips from 1944 to 1948.

END SPOILER ALERT

By the mid- to late 1940s, the Flash Gordon comic strips had begun to stagnate. Would they recover and, if so, how soon? I would like to explore the answers to those questions, but I recently learned that Titan Books, the publisher of the Flash Gordon books I have been reviewing (and which had planned to reprint the newspaper comic strip in its entirety), no longer has the license to publish Flash Gordon. Mad Cave Studios now has the license and is publishing its own collections of reprints. I do not know whether it will be using the same scans and format as Titan Books, but it will once again be starting at the beginning. It might be years before a volume covering the comic strips after July 1948 is released. Until then, or unless I can find another way to access them, this series of articles will remain unfinished.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2024-08-16

I am pleased to report that despite my earlier concerns, I was able to pre-order the SWADE Science Fiction Companion, which means I have the PDF now, and the hardcover copy will be shipped to me as soon as it is released. It required sending an e-mail to Pinnacle Entertainment Group, but the deed is done! Eventually, I'll add the Horror Companion, and the savagery will be complete.

Savage News: Broken Earth Breaking Soon

Broken Earth, a postapocalyptic setting for Savage Worlds, will begin crowdfunding via Kickstarter in the near (hopefully not apocalyptic) future. You can sign up to be notified when it launches here. I'm interested in this one.

Worst Character Names of Mongo 4

I probably should have started the "Worst Character Names of Mongo" series of articles with the following offenders, but little did I know at the time that these were but harbingers of far worse nomenclatures to come (and in greater numbers). And so I bring you—from a single day in 1944—the following blinding burst of inspiration in the post-Alex Raymond Sunday strips of Flash Gordon:

• Lura
• Ardo

"The rescued girl quickly regains consciousness. 'You saved my life, handsome stranger. Lura will reward you!'" (3 September 1944)

"'Set a course 120° polar, to the palace in which my brother Ardo and I rule this land,' Lura says. Then, with unexpected speed, 'I'll borrow these guns... No tricks!'" (3 September 1944)

Worst Character Names of Mongo 3

The Flash Gordon Sunday strips of 1948 bring us these examples of not-so-creative character-naming:

• King Justo
• Princess Glitra
• Vilan

"'I told you the metalarm was right—It detected the metal of their weapons.' King Justo laughs. 'Doctor, will they survive the sleep-fog?'" (21 March 1948)

"Justo's weakness is his daughter. He can't refuse the sensation-hungry girl's demand to see the newcomers—so Flash's first sight is of Princess Glitra!" (28 March 1948)

"But Glitra thinks fast, too. 'Why, Dale, how nice—cousin Vilan wanted to meet you. Show her around, Vilan.' Flash and Dale can hardly object..." (4 April 1948)

Flash Gordon/Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2024-05-22

Once I acquire the new SWADE editions of the Horror Companion and the Science Fiction Companion, I think my Savage Worlds collection will be complete (except for any future releases for The Savage World of Flash Gordon—I'll buy any books they release in that line). I missed my chance to back the Science Fiction Companion crowdfunding project, which is a pity since it was the companion volume I wanted more than any other, but I'll buy it as soon as it is available. I think I'll feel more comfortable writing my own The Savage World of Flash Gordon material after I've read the Science Fiction Companion.

Table: City Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible persons (sample names included) the protagonists may encounter as they explore the cities of another planet. This is the twentieth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

City Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. An assassin (named Killo).
2. A common criminal (named Thefto).
3. A doctor (named Medo).
4. A guard (named Protec).
5. A laborer (named Kog).
6. A robot (named M.E.C.H.A.N.O.).
7. A scientist (named Invento).
8. An undercover rebel leader (named Sparto).
9. An undercover rebel scientist (named Eino).
10. An undercover secret police officer (named Susso).
11. A visiting dignitary (named Xeno).
12. A royal outing consisting of two armed guards, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Radium Mine Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the radium mines of another planet. This is the nineteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Radium Mine Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. A crew of radium miners.
2. A radium miner on lunch break.
3. A radium miner slacking off.
4. A radium miner foreman looking for slackers.
5. A fugitive rebel scientist in disguise.
6. A radiumegaladon on the prowl.
7. A radiumillipede minding its own business.
8. An out-of-control mining robot.
9. A group of devil-moles.
10. An electro-hydra.
11. A squad of guards searching for someone.
12. An inspection squad consisting of six guards, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Aerial Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the skies of another planet. This is the eighteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Aerial Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. A band of bandits using jetpacks.
2. A cloud city with or without cloud.
3. An enormormous sky-leviathan.
4. A flock of inferno-pigeons.
5. A fugitive rebel scientist in freefall.
6. A gliding gigantohawk.
7. A high-floating cluster of hydrogen sky-jellies.
8. An out-of-control rocketship.
9. A rocketship on patrol.
10. A squadron of rocketships.
11. A ravenous aeroshark.
12. A royal sky barge transporting six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Mountain Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the mountain ranges of another planet. This is the seventeenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Mountain Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. A crew of worker insect-people at work.
2. A drill-toothed tygor.
3. A fugitive rebel scientist stuck on a cliff ledge.
4. A nesting gigantohawk.
5. A herd of mini-rams.
6. A not-so-helpful throttle-vine.
7. A pack of horned woofins.
8. A sussquatch hermit.
9. A troop of warrior insect-people at war.
10. A voracious tyranodragon.
11. An ursowl mildly confused by its surroundings.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Desert Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the deserts of another planet. This is the sixteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Desert Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. A band of bandits on rocket-gliders.
2. A crashed flying saucer.
3. An erratic defense robot.
4. A fugitive rebel scientist buried to the neck in sand.
5. A giant fire-lobster.
6. A giant sand-squid.
7. A herd of solar camels.
8. A low-floating hydrogen sky-jelly.
9. A pack of octojackels.
10. A rampaging consumosaurus.
11. A ray-eating dimetrodon.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Grassland Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the grasslands of another planet. This is the fifteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Grassland Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. An aggrosaur.
2. A band of bandits on hover trikes.
3. A berserk agrirobot.
4. A crashed rocketship.
5. A fugitive rebel scientist caught in a pit.
6. A giant terrotrilobite.
7. A group of inviso-cheetahs.
8. A herd of armored thunderbison.
9. A herd of horned zebrons.
10. A swarm of giant radar-locusts.
11. A two-headed psyclops.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Jungle Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the jungles of another planet. This is the fourteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Jungle Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. An acid-spewing flower.
2. An armored trinoceros.
3. A band of bandits disguised as plants.
4. A flock of carnivorous razor-beaks.
5. A flying shock-eel.
6. A fugitive rebel scientist sinking in quicksand.
7. A grove of heat-seeking explosive fruit trees.
8. A horned jaguar.
9. An octorilla.
10. A saw-toothed tigor.
11. A venomous pantheron.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Subterranean Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the subterranean environments of another planet. This is the thirteenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Subterranean Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. An atomic tunnelship exploring.
2. A blind echohydra.
3. A colony of stalactitans.
4. A colony of stalagmitans.
5. A friendly giant jumping spider.
6. A fugitive rebel scientist trapped under some rocks.
7. A gang of criminals hiding.
8. A loud drillworm.
9. A raging rockbeast.
10. An unreasoning magmasaur.
11. The pyromaniacal Sacred Dragon God.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Aquatic Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the aquatic environments of another planet. This is the twelfth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Aquatic Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. A band of bandits on hydroscooters.
2. A clump of seizeweed.
3. A crazed gill monster that hunts intelligent prey.
4. A fugitive rebel scientist trapped by a giant clam.
5. A huge octosnail.
6. A herd of sea-lammas.
7. A school of vampiric cuddle-fish.
8. A scissorfish.
9. A slayfish.
10. A sunken rocketship.
11. A titanosquid.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Frozen Wasteland Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the frozen wastelands of another planet. This is the eleventh table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Frozen Wasteland Encounters

Roll 1d12

A band of bandits on rocket-skis.
A blizzard-lizard.
A ferocious woolly cryosaur.
A flying snow-yeti monster.
A flock of frostriches.
A fugitive rebel scientist frozen in ice.
A horrifying ice crab.
A hungry snow-grizzlon.
A lumbering carnivorous snow-orchid a.k.a. the carnosnorchid.
A squadron of snow-rockets on patrol.
A swarm of killer snees a.k.a. killer snow-bees.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Forest Encounters (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are least 12 possible things the protagonists may encounter as they explore the forests of another planet. This is the tenth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Forest Encounters

Roll 1d12

1. An amourosaur in heat.
2. A band of bandits who swing from vines.
3. A carnivorous beanstalk.
4. An enraged grizzlon.
5. A fire-breathing badgeron.
6. A fugitive rebel scientist caught in a snare.
7. A herd of feer.
8. A levitating oculus of extinction.
9. The mindlessly ravenous Sacred Serpent God.
10. An octodile.
11. A pack of woofins.
12. A royal hunting party consisting of six warriors, a high-ranking victim of unrequited love, and a haughty royal personage.

Table: Cultures from Beyond 2 (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different cultures beyond the first 12 the protagonists may meet. This is the ninth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Cultures from Beyond 2

Roll 1d12

1. The Bat People
2. The Cloud Dwellers
3. The Floral People
4. The Frost Fluorescent People a.k.a. Frostfluorestians
5. The Iguana People
6. The Magma People
7. The Metal People
8. The Mantidians
9. The Phosphorescent Forest People a.k.a. Phosforestians
10. The Radium-Eaters
11. The Secretins
12. The Sussquatches

Table: Earthling Occupations (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different kinds of Earthlings venturing—or stumbling—into the unknown. This is the eighth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Earthling Occupations

Roll 1d12

1. The Athlete ("Polo, anyone?")
2. The Doctor ("I'm a doctor, not a rocket scientist!")
3. The Explorer ("Dr. Zarkov, I presume?")
4. The Farmer ("How's the weather on this planet?")
5. The Mechanic ("I can jerry-rig something, but I can't guarantee how long it will last.")
6. The Pilot ("This seems simple enough. Sure, I can fly it.")
7. The Reporter ("What a scoop!")
8. The Scholar ("I've never encountered this language before, but give me an hour and I'll translate it.")
9. The Scientist ("I'm a rocket scientist, not a doctor!")
10. The Student ("Golly!")
11. The Soldier ("We can bivouac here.")
12. The Teacher ("Oh, dear.")

Table: Non-Ray Guns (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different kinds of non-ray guns the protagonists may find as they explore the unknown. This is the seventh table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Non-Ray Guns

Roll 1d12

1. electro-double-crossbow
2. fire streamer
3. hydro-liquidator
4. ice-e-emanator
5. magnetic nail gun
6. molten glue gun
7. obnoxo-gas passer
8. pneumatic leech thrower
9. slush projector
10. sparkiller
11. vintage (not retro) rocket gun
12. web caster

Flash Gordon's 88th Anniversary: The Serial

I didn't think I would be interrupting a month-long Build Your Own Space Opera mega-table when I decided to start observing Flash Gordon Day, but I am, in fact, doing it (and retroactively at that, as I am writing this on the 11th).

On this day in 1936, Flash Gordon made its cinematic debut in the form of a serial with thirteen exciting chapters starring Larry "Buster" Keaton as Flash Gordon, Jean Rogers as Dale Arden, Frank Shannon as Dr. Zarkov, Priscilla Lawson as Princess Aura, and Charles Middleton as Ming the Merciless. Based on the comic strip by Alex Raymond and Don Moore, it brought swashbuckling science fiction adventure to life in a new way and altered the course of film history. Today, we celebrate 88 years of Flash Gordon... the serial.

Long live Flash!

Table: Ray Guns (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different kinds of ray guns the protagonists may find as they explore the unknown. This is the sixth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Ray Guns

Roll 1d12

1. demotivator-ray gun
2. desisto-ray gun
3. disinterest-ray gun
4. disrupto-ray gun
5. distracto-ray gun
6. humido-ray gun
7. interrupto-ray gun
8. nullerator-ray
9. raz-ray gun
10. suspendo-ray gun
11. thermo-ray gun
12. vex-ray gun

Table: Rocketship Takeoff and Landing Methods (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different possible ways for spaceships to take off, land, or otherwise enable passengers and crew to embark and disembark. This is the fifth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Rocketship Takeoff and Landing Methods

Roll 1d12

1. vertical takeoff and landing
2. horizontal takeoff and landing
3. vertical takeoff and horizontal landing
4. horizontal takeoff and vertical landing
5. orbital with shuttlecraft
6. orbital with jetpacks
7. orbital with teleportation
8. materialization and dematerialization
9. aquatic landing only
10. parachute/glider/jetpack/flying belt landing only
11. launch ramp takeoff only
12. projectile takeoff only

Table: Reasons the Rocketship Crashes (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 possible reasons for the rocketship to crash—and all of them will probably happen eventually. This is the fourth table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Reasons the Rocketship Crashes

Roll 1d12

1. The pilot is being mind-controlled.
2. The pilot is distracted by an argument onboard.
3. The pilot is distracted by a transmission.
4. The pilot is distracted by flirtation.
5. The pilot is wounded and/or dazed.
6. The pilot's hands slip from the controls due to stress-induced perspiration.
7. The rocketship has an unexpected instrument failure.
8. The rocketship has a stowaway.
9. The rocketship sustains a hit.
10. The rocketship was damaged by a hidden obstacle.
11. The rocketship was sabotaged.
12. The rocketship was undergoing repair.

Table: Enemy Robots (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different kinds of enemy robots the protagonists may confront. This is the third table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Enemy Robots

Roll 1d12

1. The Atomitomata
2. The Destructotomatons
3. The Hexidecimators
4. The Horrorobots
5. The Killometors
6. The Malmachines
7. The Mechanical Menaces
8. The Obliteratons
9. The RIPublic Robots
10. The Robo-bomb-bots
11. The Self-Destructons
12. The Technocutioners

Table: Cultures from Beyond (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 different cultures the protagonists may meet. This is the second table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Cultures from Beyond

Roll 1d12

1. The Amphibinids
2. The Archaeopteryxians
3. The Barracuda People
4. The Brrrrians
5. The Chlorophilk
6. The Crab People
7. The Cyantists
8. The Magenta People
9. The Ocularians
10. The Onomatopoeiaple
11. The Piranha People
12. The Pteradactylites

Table: Excuses for Swordplay (Build Your Own Space Opera Table)

In a space opera, there are at least 12 possible reasons why swords and other hand-to-hand weapons have not been made obsolete by the ubiquitous ray gun. This is the first table of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table.

Excuses for Swordplay

Roll 1d12

1. Honor (and most disagreements) are traditionally settled with duels.
2. Ray guns must be recharged or reloaded after every shot.
3. Technology is too fragile and expensive to risk exposure to ray weaponry.
4. Military advancement is only possible through hand-to-hand combat.
5. All spaceships have ray-nullifying onboard humidifiers.
6. Most spaceships and spaceports have a courtesy ray gun deactivation switch.
7. Most cities and spaceports have "NO RAY GUNS ALLOWED" signs prominently displayed.
8. Firing a ray gun in proximity to most technologically advanced equipment causes an explosive chain reaction.
9. Ammunition is a very scarce resource.
10. Ray guns misfire fairly often.
11. Rays interfere with spaceship functions (such as piloting, life support, not exploding, etc.).
12. Ray guns are unstable and tend to explode inconveniently.

Build Your Own Space Opera Table

Behold! In the year 2024, Savage Arts & Sciences joined forces with Applied Phantasticality to celebrate Random Generator Month (also known as April). Here, you may build your own space opera with the cunningly conceived Build Your Own Space Opera Table. There, you may test your credulity with the questionably contrived What Is This Table? Table. Roll on!

Build Your Own Space Opera Table

Roll 1d20

1. Roll on the Excuses for Swordplay Table!
2. Roll on the Cultures from Beyond Table!
3. Roll on the Enemy Robots Table!
4. Roll on the Reasons the Rocketship Crashes Table!
5. Roll on the Rocketship Takeoff and Landing Methods Table!
6. Roll on the Ray Guns Table!
7. Roll on the Non-Ray Guns Table!
8. Roll on the Earthling Occupations Table!
9. Roll on the Cultures from Beyond 2 Table!
10. Roll on the Forest Encounters Table!
11. Roll on the Frozen Wasteland Encounters Table!
12. Roll on the Aquatic Encounters Table!
13. Roll on the Subterranean Encounters Table!
14. Roll on the Jungle Encounters Table!
15. Roll on the Grassland Encounters Table!
16. Roll on the Desert Encounters Table!
17. Roll on the Mountain Encounters Table!
18. Roll on the Aerial Encounters Table!
19. Roll on the Radium Mine Encounters Table!
20. Roll on the City Encounters Table!

N.B. Results of the Build Your Own Space Opera Table are being added daily (starting on 1 April 2024). [And it stands at 20 entries.]

Worst Character Names of Mongo 2

Today, I discovered another concentration of ludicrous character names from the Flash Gordon Sunday strips (this time from 1947).

• Sultra
• Defto
• Zugo
• Grisla
• Bruto
• Techno

"Zarkov arranges to have Flash in disguise, arrested and put in the cell next to the girl spy, Sultra." (8 June 1947)

"Before Flash can give himself away, Sultra murmurs, 'Thanks, Defto. Your fake papers saved us—it's all right. This fellow helped me break jail...'" (29 June 1947)

"Kang commands: 'Test your bent-ray, Zugo.' The ray-scientist cackles, 'First, I electrify the protecto-dome, so the ray can't curve back on us...'" (13 July 1947)

"'I won't leave you alone a minute, for one of your famous escapes,' Kang smiles, cruelly. 'I'll just watch Grisla kill you by inches.'" (31 August 1947)

"Half conscious, but helpless, Flash sees Sultra open a secret passage to admit a Kangman spy, Bruto, who growls, 'Can I kill him now?'" (26 October 1947)

"As manager Techno shows the mongonium plant to Flash, disguised as Kang's inspector, a message comes over the fototype ticker." (21 December 1947)

Flash Gordon Thought of the Day 2024-03-14

When the Flash Gordon television show starring Steve Holland first aired in 1954, the original Flash Gordon movie serial from 1936 starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe was renamed Space Soldiers to avoid confusion as the serial was sometimes shown on television, too.

When the Flash Gordon animated television show from Filmation first aired in 1979, it, too, was simply known as Flash Gordon, but it was subsequently renamed The New Adventures of Flash Gordon (presumably when it became available on videocassette or DVD, or perhaps earlier when the Flash Gordon movie starring Sam J. Jones was released in 1980).

Would it not make more sense to give the later projects different titles than to retroactively change the titles of earlier projects? The Flash Gordon television show could have easily been called Flash Gordon: The Television Show or Flash Gordon of the GBI (Galaxy Bureau of Investigation) or Flash Gordon: Space Jerk (because that's how Steve Holland portrayed him). It would have been trivial to call the animated series Flash Gordon: The Animated Series. Why would it be renamed The New Adventures of Flash Gordon when the entire first season was a direct adaptation of the first Flash Gordon comic strips from 1934?

Logic and consistency are sometimes elusive.

Savage News: Science Fiction Companion

The updated Science Fiction Companion for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition is now being crowdfunded via Kickstarter. You can pledge through 21 March 2024. Click on the link for details.

Savage News: Science Fiction Companion Imminent

Pinnacle Entertainment Group has announced that the Kickstarter campaign for the updated Science Fiction Companion for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition will be launched on 20 February 2024.

• The New Science Fiction Companion Blasts Off on Kickstarter February 20th
• Kickstarter Upcoming Project: Savage Worlds Science Fiction Companion

Worst Character Names of Mongo

This week, I may have stumbled upon the highest concentration of terrible character names in the history of the Flash Gordon comic strip (specifically the Sunday strips of late 1945). Don Moore, the ghostwriter for the strips, must have been very tired when he created these:

• Grusom
• Evila
• Dicto
• Traito
• Darlia

"Kang flees with two of his inner circle, the torturer, Grusom, and the beautiful, power-mad Evila..." (28 October 1945)

"Dicto, head of the new Mongo Bureau of Investigation, reports to Flash: 'We have a lead. This citizen, Traito, says he saw Kang rocketing toward Deserta.'" (4 November 1945)

"Flash and Dicto race to search Evila's townhouse where they find her lovely twin sister, Darlia." (4 November 1945)

Deserta indeed.

Flash Gordon's 90th Anniversary

Happy Flash Gordon Day!

On this day in 1934, the first Flash Gordon comic strip was published in newspapers. Created by artist Alex Raymond, its influence on comic art and, indeed, on science fiction across all media, is incalculable. Today, we celebrate 90 Earth years of Flash Gordon.

Long live Flash!

Flash Gordon Holidays

It is the First of January, which is the perfect day to consider what days ought to be considered Flash Gordon holidays as it gives us time to celebrate them this year. There are three obvious choices. All of them will henceforth be known as Flash Gordon Day as far as Savage Arts & Sciences is concerned, but each will have an appendage to their moniker if greater specificity is required. The Flash Gordon Days are:

• January the 7th: Flash Gordon (Comic Strip) Day
• April the 6th: Flash Gordon (Serial) Day
• December the 5th: Flash Gordon (Film) Day

The first Flash Gordon Day commemorates the publication date of the first Flash Gordon comic strip on 7 January 1934. The second commemorates the premiere of the first Flash Gordon serial (starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe) on 6 April 1936. The third commemorates the premiere of the first feature-length Flash Gordon movie (starring Sam J. Jones) on 5 December 1980.

Eventually, other days may be deemed deserving of special attention, but I think these three Flash Gordon Days are a good start.