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.

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 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?

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...

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.

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.

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.

Flash Gordon Thought of the Day 2023-07-15

In my opinion, the following (presented in chronologial order) are the three best examples of Flash Gordon in any media:

• The Flash Gordon Sunday comic strips drawn by Alex Raymond,
• The Flash Gordon movie serials starring Larry "Buster" Crabbe, and
• Flash Gordon, the 1980 movie starring Sam Jones.

There are many other examples that are quite good, but this, for me, is the Flash Gordon trinity.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2023-02-28

I think the best fit for the next Judge Dredd role-playing adaptation would be either Savage Worlds or The D6 System 2nd edition glimpsed in Zorro: The Roleplaying Game. I mentioned it in an earlier article in Decidedly Six-Sided after EN Publishing announced the end of Judge Dredd and the Worlds of 2000 A.D. In terms of production value, Pinnacle would do a better job than any other publisher, and, unlike EN Publishing, ensure it was legible.

Flash Gordon/Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2023-01-21

Given the lack of traction, I wonder if I ought to have made Flash Gordon the primary focus of this blog. I could have kept the Savage Worlds content (and increased it), but a few changes here and there—such as an overt reference to Flash Gordon in the blog's title—might have led to a wider readership than the average of 2.5 views per day. Would it have made a difference? Is it too late to try? I could change the title right now, but would anyone notice? What do I have to lose? Literally nothing, apparently.(Please forgive the soliloquy.) Very well, I'll change the title and see if anything changes in terms of views or comments (of which there is exactly one in the history of this blog thus far). As of now, the title of this blog shall be changed from Savage Arts & Sciences: Role-Playing in Savage Worlds to Flash of Inspiration: Flash Gordon and His Universe. We'll see how it goes. Maybe it will be temporary; maybe it will be eternal.

Flash Gordon/Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2022-09-10

So far, Savage Arts & Sciences has been a blog with two separate personalities: half Flash Gordon and half Savage Worlds. In the future, I would like to merge these halves to a greater degree without sacrificing the blog's usefulness to those who are exclusively interested in one or the other. Can it be done? Only Tao knows, but I'll give it a shot.

I shall continue to post articles of Flash Gordon inspiration, which are free of game-related content, but I am thinking about writing follow-up articles that specifically address how they may be useful to those running or playing The Savage World of Flash Gordon for SWADE.

Meanwhile, today I shall be starting a rewatch of the second season of the Flash Gordon animated series. I have a feeling it will be a lengthier journey than my rewatch of the first season.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2022-06-26

As much as I appreciate the alacrity with which Pinnacle is working on the SWADE versions of the Fantasy Companion and the Super Powers Companion, I wish they had prioritized the Science Fiction Companion so I could use it with The Savage World of Flash Gordon (and post about it here). I have ideas for things I'd like to introduce for use with it, but I'm not sure if they've already been done or what the established parameters are rules-wise, and I'm not sure how useful the previous edition would be. I hope it won't be too long before it's released.

Flash Gordon Thought of the Day 2022-06-04

Flash Gordon has appeared in various forms in various media since first appearing in a Sunday newspaper comic strip in 1934, and many of these are fine, but some beg the question, "How dare you call this Flash Gordon?" followed by a slap in the face with a glove. The worst offenders are television bastardizations that bear little resemblance to the original characters and storylines. The 1996 animated series and the widely despised 2007 series are both execrable in their own ways, but the most egregious example might be the 1954 series. "Ah, Flash on television at last!" viewers might have said after his absence from movie screens for more than a decade. Alas, this is not the heroic and compassionate Flash Gordon who united disparate peoples to overthrow a tyrant. This is angry and hard-boiled Flash Gordon who works for the Galaxy Bureau of Investigation, a space G-man you might say, enforcing space laws and bringing space villains to justice. Granted, I have not seen more than a few episodes, and none to their conclusion, but as far as I can tell it has nothing in common with Flash Gordon — in any incarnation — other than the names of a few characters. The characters could have been renamed and the series retitled and no one would have ever connected it with the Flash Gordon legacy. Any television space opera of the period was superior to the 1954 Flash Gordon. Any! The rollercoaster that is the history of "reboots" goes on and on and on. Thank Tao we have the technology to preserve and enjoy the original Flash Gordon and the good reboots.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2022-03-13

Of all the role-playing systems currently in publication, I think SWADE is probably the best fit for the Barsoom/Mars stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Savage Worlds is perfect for swords & planet pulp adventure, and the Barsoom stories are the epitome of the genre. (Note: I do not call them "John Carter stories" because Burroughs did not make John Carter the central protagonist of every story set on Barsoom.) We may never see an official SWADE version of The Savage World of John Carter or The Savage World of Barsoom or whatever it might have been entitled, but there's nothing to stop us from running our own unofficial versions for our own tables. And I just might do it.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2021-12-25

After the recent news of Kickstarter's pivot to "blockchains," I just want to express my appreciation for Pinnacle Entertainment's decision (for other valid reasons) to pursue an alternative means of crowdfunding. I've already backed two projects (Flash Gordon: Legends of Mongo and the new edition of the Super Powers Companion) and I look forward to backing the new editions of the other Savage Worlds companions as well as anything and everything related to Flash Gordon. I hope other game publishers follow suit, because I do not intend to back any future Kickstarter projects.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2021-08-19

Thundarr the Barbarian, the 1980 Saturday morning cartoon about a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 3994, "a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery," would be a perfect setting for Savage Worlds. True, it has been unofficially adapted to other role-playing systems or used as an inspiration (e.g. Crawling Under a Broken Moon for Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, The World of Thundarr the Barbarian for Mutant Future, Under the Broken Moon via Over the Edge, et al), and those are fine, but I think Savage Worlds is very suitable for the setting, too. If it hasn't been done, I might take a stab at it myself.

I should mention here that the complete Thundarr the Barbarian is available from Warner Archives (and wherever Warner Archives products are sold) in both DVD and newly restored Blu-ray formats. Personally, I consider it to be the greatest Saturday morning cartoon of the 1980s, and it just happened to coincide with my entry into the role-playing hobby. It's a perfect embodiment of post-apocalyptic science fantasy.

Links

• Under a Broken Moon Compilation (by Reid San Filipo) for DCC RPG
• The World of Thundarr the Barbarian (by Tim Snider) for Mutant Future can be downloaded directly at Savage Afterworld
• Under the Broken Moon (by Brandon Blackmoor)
• Thundarr the Barbarian on disc and streaming

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2021-04-30

I wish Pinnacle Entertainment Group had waited to release The Savage World of Flash Gordon to coincide with SWADE so we wouldn't have to incorporate the changes ourselves. If they were to release an updated edition, I'd seriously consider buying it just to avoid filling my copy with errata-strewn bookmarks, but I imagine the odds of that happening are slim. I'm grateful that a PDF of the conversion is freely available, but I feel a little sad when I read it knowing how close it was to being a SWADE product. If only they had waited a little longer before releasing it. It was so close to being perfect.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2021-02-28

Along the lines of my previous thought, Pinnacle Entertainment Group ought to publish inexpensive softcover (and PDF) player's guides to the various settings (especially The Savage World of Flash Gordon) in order to make it easier to bring new players into both the published settings and Savage Worlds in general. None of my players have ever played Savage Worlds as far as I know, and any introductory product I could give them would be a great boon to sparking their interest and, ideally, lead to some of them running games themselves.

Savage Worlds Thought of the Day 2020-12-20

Someday, I hope Pinnacle Entertainment Group publishes an affordable softcover player's guide version of Savage Worlds Adventure Edition so I can give them as gifts. PDFs are fine, but hardcopies are easier to consult when one is gaming via Zoom (in my experience, at least).