Number 2405: Flash, Dale and Dr Zarkov after the war

We are given a timeline in the splash panel for this Flash Gordon story. The first line of the caption tells us it is just after World War II. Flash, Dale and Dr Zarkov have returned to Earth from the planet Mongo to find our species has developed powerful weapons that can destroy the planet. It is a reminder to us that it has been almost 3/4 of a century since nuclear bombs were used in war, and hopefully it will never happen again. We have been living under that threat ever since.

That aside, the comic book today’s story comes from, Flash Gordon #1, was published in 1966 by King Features Syndicate, which had published the character in its newspaper comics lineup since the 1930s. It had affected the life of young artist, Al Williamson, while growing up, and helped inspire him to a career both in newspaper comics and newsstand comic books. The late Williamson usually worked with other people on his comics, and in this story of an undersea kingdom Roy G. Krenkel helped by drawing the architecture of the underground city of “Krenkelium.” Despite what I read as something of a worn science fiction concept, people living underground, I believe the artwork saves it.

Pappy's Sunday Supplement #11: Raboy's Flash Gordon

A couple of months ago I showed a post featuring a 1957 Mandrake the Magician continuity. That year my parents subscribed to a Seattle newspaper that featured the major King Features comic strips, including Flash Gordon Sundays by Emmanuel "Mac" Raboy. I don’t remember it specifically, but it was in the time frame I would have been reading it. And looking at Raboy’s artwork has a way of putting me back in touch with those gosh-wow feelings I had 60 years ago, when I would be the first one at the Sunday paper so I could read the comics.

These black line pages, courtesy of xxx Spax, who scanned them, were found on the Internet Archive. The sequence appeared on Sundays between September 8, 1957 and November 24, 1957.

Number 2041: I see by your outfit that you are a pirate

This shorty — four pages — was filler for The Phantom #18 (1966). After 17 issues from Gold Key, it was the first issue of King Features’ attempt at publishing its own syndicate properties. I recently showed a story from Mandrake the Magician #1, which was also published by King. It probably sounded like a better idea than it turned out to be. The line only lasted a couple of years before King dropped out, and licensed their characters (again) to other publishers.

Wallace Wood is credited with drawing the story. I believe he was helped by his assistant and collaborator, Dan Adkins. I recognized at least one panel (page 2, panel 7) as having its origin in Wood’s classic Flash Gordon parody (“Flesh Garden,” the panel from that story for that story’s appearance in The Mad Reader). Wood and Adkins were not averse to a swipe when they needed it.

I got a kick out of space pirate Straker, who carries a cutlass. He and his men wear costumes with the skull and crossbones on their chests. Only in the comics!

Number 1785: The abominable snowbots

Sunday mornings, Bellevue, Washington, 1958...and the arrival of the Sunday newspaper. Mom takes the Women’s section, Big Pappy takes Sports, and I grab the funnies. Life is good. In that Sunday comics section: Prince Valiant, the Phantom, Mandrake, Blondie...and Flash Gordon.

At the time I was not familiar with Mac Raboy’s former work on Captain Marvel Jr or Green Lama, both for comic books. But a few years later when I encountered those Golden Age strips for the first time I knew instantly who Mac Raboy was. He was the artist who drew Flash Gordon, and he did it until he died at the young age of 53, in 1967.

I don’t usually show Sunday pages...I’m a comic book guy, after all, but I found these pages online. I wanted to share them, as well as thank the anonymous scanner who uploaded them. They appeared originally in newspapers from July 21, 1963 to November 17, 1963.*

*That was the Sunday before the John F. Kennedy assassination, on November 22, 1963. That is not pertinent to the comic strip, but when I see anything close to that date I place it in context of my indelible memories of that time.