Flash Gordon Thought of the Day: 2026-07-27

Someday, please, could a publisher finish a run of Flash Gordon comic strip reprints before losing the license? And could such a publisher please publish the comic strips in their original size as they appeared in newspapers? My eyes and brain (not to mention my soul) would be very grateful.

He's a Mighty Flash

In the original comic strip, Flash Gordon was an international polo champion. In the 1980 film, he was a quarterback for the New York Jets. If we were to reimagine his athletic résumé today, what team sport would be reflected? Logically, I think it would be soccer/football. It's the sport that unifies the world more than any other, and Flash is nothing if not a unifier. His position, in my opinion, would be goalkeeper, because Flash is "the Saviour of the Universe" (Queen's words), and saviours save. As for his team, that can remain as vague as the polo team for which he played in the comic strip. Regardless, he's their Number One. (Granted, "Flash" suggests a position that does much more running than a goalkeeper, so I concede there's also sufficient justification to make Flash a midfielder.)

I could also imagine him playing ice hockey. Or lacrosse. They're valid!

Flash Gordon Was a Lousy Pilot

One might assume that Flash Gordon was a superior pilot given his status as Saviour of the Universe and all-around legend, but the original Alex Raymond comic strips draw a different picture. In any given adventure, no sooner does Flash take the controls of a rocketship then it invariably hurtles planetward and crashes, forcing Flash and his friends to survive another hostile environment full of enemies and potential love interests. Flash is profoundly competent in many things (as most action heroes are), so it stands to reason his consistent failure to operate vehicles without destroying them is entirely the fault of Plot. The story needs his victory to be postponed; it needs to move him from one plotline to another. Sending him off in a rocketship or some other flying machine and having it crash-land somewhere is his standard mode of travel dating back to the very first comic strips when he had to commandeer Earth's first rocketship when Zarkov had a panic attack. James Bond in the original novels by Ian Fleming had a similar penchant for driving fast cars and promptly crashing them. Based on the films, one would imagine Bond was one of the greatest drivers in the world. In actuality, Flash Gordon and James Bond were expert crash-landers and crash survivors, which is still quite impressive. And though it may seem ridiculous how often they end up walking away from one burning wreckage after another, it nonetheless keeps them more grounded than most movie action heroes. So, Flash Gordon wasn't really a lousy pilot, but rather a pilot with lousy luck.

Flash Gordon's 90th Anniversary: The Serials

Happy Belated Flash Gordon Day yet again!

On 6 April 1936, Flash Gordon was depicted in motion picture form for the first time, an event that would have an incalculable effect on the growth of both filmmaking and science fiction itself.

Long live Flash!

Flash Gordon Survey: Setting Version

If you could only choose one version of Flash Gordon on which to base your role-playing game setting, which would it be? (Comments are welcome.)

1. The original comic strip (1934–1944).
2. The movie serials (1936–1940).
3. The later comic strip (1944+).
4. The first live-action television series (1954–1955).
5. The first animated television series (1979–1980).
6. The film (1980).
7. The second animated television series (1996–1997).
8. The second live-action television series (2007–2008).

Save vs. Mercilessness

I just found one of my old (2013) notebooks that contained a note marked "Flash Gordon Saving Throws" followed by:

• Ray
• Poison
• Mind Control
• Loss of Balance
• Utter Doom

I think they hold up pretty well for a Flash Gordon role-playing game presumably inspired by TSR Dungeons & Dragons. Nowadays, I'm more inclined to adapt it to a D6 system or just use The Savage World of Flash Gordon, but if I ever felt the desire to adapt it to Basic/Expert D&D or Labyrinth Lord or something similar, I would certainly consider keeping these.

Flash Gordon/Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2026-02-09

If I could have any hypothetical Flash Gordon toy right now, I would want a collection of painted metal figures, tin litho vehicles, sets, scenery, and tin litho rockets (two different scales), all in the style of the 1930s comic strips. They would be perfect for use with The Savage World of Flash Gordon.

One can dream.

Flash Gordon's 92nd Anniversary

Happy Belated Flash Gordon Day!

On the 7th of January 1934, Flash Gordon began as a newspaper comic strip. Its impact has been felt ever since that day.

Long live Flash!

Flash Gordon's 45th Anniversary: The Film

Happy Very Belated Flash Gordon Day!

On 5 December 1980, the first feature-length Flash Gordon film premiered in cinemas and it was glorious.

Long live Flash!

Flash Gordon's Values

If you know the early comic strips, movie serials, or motion picture, you know that

Flash Gordon stands for

• Compassion
• Courage
• Democracy
• Freedom
• Friendship
• Honor
• Hope
• Organization
• Perseverance

Go, Flash, go!

Flash Gordon & the Warriors of Mongo Discussed

Care to hear more about the world's first licensed role-playing game, Flash Gordon & the Warriors of Mongo? Watch "Let's Talk About the Flash Gordon Role Playing Game! The Critics Were Wrong." (Episode 11 of Geekerati Media.)

First Sighting; First Nomenclature

In case anyone was wondering why there are sometimes two dates listed in the Lists of Mongo for the first appearance of something in the Flash Gordon comic strips, this occurs when the first time a thing is depicted is different from the first time it is named. For some reason I think this is an important distinction that is worth recording. Carry on.

Flash Gordon Thought of the Day 2025-06-30

I'd really like to know how the Arborians deal with squirlons, carnivorous flying squirrels with a bite that causes insanity. That's a level of nuissance far beyond that of any Earth rodent. Also, we know that a squirlon bite causes insanity in Earthlings, but does it have the same effect on the peoples of Mongo? Does it vary? Is there an antidote? Has anyone on Mongo domesticated squirlons? If so, to what end? Does any creature prey on squirlons?

Flash Gordon and the Nascent Role-Playing Hobby

I have been interested in Flash Gordon & the Warriors of Mongo, the role-playing game by Lin Carter and Scott Bizar, since I first learned of its existence years ago. Alas, I have neither played nor even seen the game, but this article by Christian Lindke is quite informative: "A Look at the First Flash Gordon Role Playing Game" from The Geekerati Newsletter.

Flash Gordon's 89th Anniversary: The Serial

Happy Belated Flash Gordon Day again!

The 6th of April 1936 marks the debut of Flash Gordon on the silver screen, championing the oppressed and fighting despotism on whatever planet it might occur.

Long live Flash!

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2025-03-20

Normally, when I introduce players to a new role-playing game, I help them make characters first. Most of the games I run are easy to learn or mostly familiar in concept to my players, but Savage Worlds is sufficiently different from what they have previously experienced that it might be wise to give them pregenerated characters for their first foray into worlds of a savage nature. It would be very handy to have copies of the SWADE Player's Book I could distribute (and I'll buy some when finances permit), but even so, I would prefer not to give them too daunting a reading assignment before they play, and most of my players like to dive in and learn as they go. So, pregens it will be. Once they start making their own characters (and levelling them up), though, I really need to get those Player's Books. I can't have players fighting over my rule book!

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2025-02-19

My copy of the SWADE Science Fiction Companion arrived yesterday. I have had the PDF since August of last year (q.v.), but I resisted taking a look until I could hold the actual book in my hands. Having done so, I now realize I could have written and posted my expanded ray gun rules for space opera settings without fear of running afoul of the Science Fiction Companion as there are no ray gun rules in those pages. So, I am now free to undertake that project. Meanwhile, I still need to run the game...

Flash Gordon's 91st Anniversary

Happy Belated Flash Gordon Day!

The 7th of January 1934 marks the birth of one of the greatest science fiction sagas ever told: Flash Gordon. The creation of Alex Raymond, its message of cooperation amongst diverse cultures to oppose tyranny and dictatorship remains relevant. Ninety-one years later, Flash Gordon reminds us to set aside our differences, work together for the greater good, and do what is right no matter the cost.

Long live Flash!

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 squirlon 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.