Experience Science Fiction icon Flash Gordon in his pure pulp fantasy glory in Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo. This second Flash Gordon volume from Titan Books collects Alex Raymond Sunday strips from 1937-1941 and restored from the original tearsheets.
You may know the story from the movie (thank you Seth McFarlane for Sam Jones’s comeback in Ted) or the 1980’s cartoon. Flash and Dale Arden join Dr. Hans Zarkov on an adventure into space. The trio land on Mongo ruled by Ming the Merciless. Ming wants Dale. Ming’s daughter wants Flash. The lovers are on the run through the planet’s warring kingdoms of Lion Men and Hawk Men. As we learn in this volume Mongo’s menagerie of monsters include horned Ape Men, Tusk Men and bizarre ostriches that reminded me of Tauntauns from Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. This adventures begins with Flash and Dale in the forest kingdom of Barin.
Turning the pages of his volume is turning back to classic serial storytelling with dramatic cliffhangers. The art is spectacular as we venture into strange new kingdoms of Mongo. Alex Raymond was a visionary and you can feel his influence on current sci-fi creators. You can feel the reverence for Raymond in how collection was lovingly produced.
Here’s a link to the first volume: Flash Gordon On the Planet Mongo.
By Editor