Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless



Before I post stats for Flash and Ming, I would like to provide you a couple of links to some wonderful source material.

As most Flash Gordon fans know, Alex Raymond created the Flash Gordon character to compete with Buck Rogers on newspaper pages. The stories were a combination of science fiction and fantasy. As I like to say, the Flash Gordon tales (like the John Carter tales) are essentially "Lost Worlds" stories where the hero has to overcome challenges in this "New World."

While there are many artists who have worked on Flash Gordon over the years, and even have done wonderful work, the work of Raymond really stands out. You only need look at it in black and white to see the craftsmanship involved. You can purchase the Alex Raymond Flash Gordon Series from Checker Book Publishing Group. These books are invaluable resources.

Another invaluable resource is the upcoming "Slipstream" world book for "Savage Worlds." While I have not seen the product itself, so I am jumping the gun here, I have read the author's sneak peek in Shark Bytes #2. He seems to have really captured the feel of the pulp space opera. I cannot wait for the release of this product.

Tony LoBue's Flash Gordon site is a fairly extensive site dedicated to the Flash Gordon serials. The serials were largely based on the Alex Raymond run.

Jim Keefe
was an artist who worked on Flash Gordon during the 1990's. He has a site dedicated to Mr. Gordon and friends.

I promise that this article will include stats for Ming and Flash in the next day or so.

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