Alex Raymond – Retrenders

The Complete Flash Gordon Library: The Fall of Ming Vol. 3

June 26, 2013 by Stephen Jang Leave a Comment

“There’s a charm to the dials and knobs of yesteryear’s imagination, the vacuum tubes and arcing electricity of the past’s futurism.” Foreword by Dave Gibbons

Kids today read everything on their tablets and smartphones, and sadly don’t remember the printed newspapers. I couldn’t wait for the Sunday paper, because they always had a section devoted to Sunday comic strips, like Prince Valiant and Calvin & Hobbes. Now Titan Books has just released the 3rd collected volume of the iconic sci-fi hero Flash Gordon.

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Filed Under: Comics, Reviews Tagged With: Alex Raymond, comic book, comic strip, Dave Gibbons, flash gordon, sci-fi, Titan Books

Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo (Vol 2.)

December 12, 2012 by Stephen Jang 1 Comment

I really enjoyed the first collected volume of Flash Gordon by Titan Books. And now the second volume is upon us – Flash Gordon: The Tyrant of Mongo, which collects stories from April 25, 1937 – January 12, 1941. The iconic Flash Gordon Sunday strips are restored in full color glory. On Planet Mongo, ruthless ruler Ming the Merciless is on the hunt for the Earth girl Dale Arden and Flash Gordon. Flash with the aid of Dr. Zarkov makes new allies as the fight off Ming’s various threats trying to stay alive on Planet Mongo.

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Filed Under: Comics Tagged With: Alex Raymond, cartoons, fantasy, flash gordon, Mongo, sci-fi, Sunday Comics, Sunday Strips, Titan Books, UK

The Collected Adventures of Flash Gordon

September 28, 2012 by Stephen Jang 2 Comments

Many of us who grew up with the Internet and social media might not remember reading comic strips from newspapers or magazines. As a kid growing up in the 80s, my family would get the Sunday newspaper which would have all the comic strips in one section – the Sunday Funnies. I absolutely could not wait to dive-in on reading new stories of Prince Valiant and the Peanuts gang.

One of the most popular characters from the Sunday comic strips was space adventurer Flash Gordon. At this time, Philip Nowlan created the original sci-fi star Buck Rogers, thus giving birth to Alex Raymond’s creation of Flash Gordon that debuted in Sunday newspapers on January 7, 1934. Raymond introduced the world to film-like realism, futuristic worlds, exotic women, and just plain fun stories.