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.

Flash Gordon Rules

Flash Gordon Rules is a repository of images of Flash Gordon memorabilia (presumably from the author's collection) with an accompanying blog. It does not seem to have been updated since 2017, but the images offer a glimpse of the various ways Flash Gordon has made a cultural impact throughout the world since the 1930s.

Alex Raymond Profile

Joshua Burnett has penned "A Profile of Legendary Illustrator Alex Raymond" (otherwise known as the original artist and co-creator of Flash Gordon), which can be found on the Goodman Games site.