Flash gordon

Flash Gordon (initially known as Roldán the Bold in Latin America) is a science fiction comic created by cartoonist Alex Raymond the January 7, 1934 for the King Features Syndicate, as a Sunday page (sunday strip), and later continued by various writers and cartoonists, including Dan Barry. It arose to compete with the adventures of Buck Rogers and quickly developed a much greater and more lasting success over time. It was adapted for film and television, and was possibly the "best-known icon of visual science fiction until the appearance of from Star Wars".

Creation

The Buck Rogers comics had enjoyed great commercial success, spawning novelizations and children's toys, and King Features Syndicate decided to create their own science fiction comic to compete with it. King Features initially attempted to buy the rights to the John Carter stories from Edgar Rice Burroughs, but the syndicate was unable to reach an agreement with him. King Features then turned to Alex Raymond, one of the artists from his staff, to create the story.

One source on which Flash Gordon drew was Philip Wylie's novel When Worlds Collide (When Worlds Collide, 1933). The themes of an approaching planet threatening Earth, and an athletic hero, his girlfriend, and a scientist traveling to the new planet by rocket, were adapted by Raymond, Raymond's early drafts were rejected as insufficient action sequences. Raymond rewrote the story and sent it back to the syndicate, who accepted it. Raymond teamed up with ghostwriter Don Moore, an experienced editor and writer. Raymond's first Flash Gordon story appeared in January 1934, along with Jungle Jim. The Flash Gordon cartoon was well received by newspaper readers, becoming one of the most popular American comic strips of the 1930s.

As with Buck Rogers, the success of Flash Gordon resulted in the sale of numerous licensed merchandise, including pop-up books, coloring books, and spaceships. spaceships and toy ray guns.

Plot

Flash Gordon began life on January 7, 1934. The scripts were the work of Don Moore, editor of pulp literature magazines, who, however, did not appears credited on the page. Belonging to the genre known as space opera, it is an action series with a rather crazy starting point: A strange planet approaches Earth like a comet, threatening to destroy it. The scientist Hans Zarkov works desperately to prevent the tragedy. Meanwhile, Flash Gordon, a famous polo player and a Yale University graduate, and reporter Dale Arden are two of the passengers on a flight when the plane's wing is struck by a meteor from the comet. Gordon finds a parachuting and carrying Arden in his arms, he jumps out of the burning plane, only to fall near the lab where Zarkov is preparing his plans. Zarkov, paranoid from the threat and stress, thinks Gordon and Arden are spies, and traps them and forces them to accompany him. His plan consists of nothing less than launching a rocket against the comet in order to divert its course, which he forces Dale Arden and Flash Gordon to use a gun to threaten them. The three board the rocket, which Zarkov plans to crash into the comet, becoming martyrs. Zarkov's plan, however, fails as he realizes that the comet is not a comet, but in fact the planet Mongo and that the meteorites that that fall on Earth are actually weapons designed by an extraterrestrial civilization that plans to conquer Earth. The rocket eventually crash-lands near Mingo City, the capital of the tyrant Ming the Merciless.

Mongo is inhabited by various beings under the rule of the tyrant Ming the Merciless, who intends to conquer Earth and marry Dale Arden, while his daughter Aura falls in love with Flash. For years the three companions fight against the Ming, finding friends and allies among the oppressed peoples of Mongo as Prince Thun of the werelions. In their adventures they travel through all the different kingdoms of Mongo, such as the kingdom of the forests of Arboria, ruled by Prince Barin; the floating city of the hawkmen, where Prince Vultan reigns; the frozen kingdom of Phrygia of Queen Cold, the jungle kingdom of Tropical, dominated by Queen Desira or the underwater kingdom of shark men, ruled by King Kala.

They then travel off-planet using "faster-than-light" spaceships to other planetary systems, where they continue their adventures as in the Skorpii wars. Flash and his friends frequently return to Mongo, after having overthrown Ming and where Prince Barin reigns, who has married Aura, peace reigns except when Ming or one of his descendants organize revolts to regain power..

Style

Raymond's work on Flash Gordon constitutes, from a graphic point of view, one of the classic works of American comics. The theorist C. Couperie established three stylistic phases:

1. A baroque era (1934–1937): Especially from 1935, when Raymond abandoned the other series that occupied him, Secret Agent X-9, the Flash Gordon stories acquired an epic tone and in Raymond's drawings the figure gained increasing prominence. human.

2. The Age of Idealism (1938–1940): In 1938, the cartoonist even decided to dispense with speech bubbles -as was done in other adventure series, such as Prince Valiente, by Harold Foster- so as not to interfere with the plastic structuring of the cartoon.

3. Mannerism (1940–1944).

Dan Barry, for his part, would make "less baroque and more scientific" this cartoon, perhaps in accordance with technical advances: when Raymond began his character, space travel was only a fantasy, while in the sixties it was already a reality.

Editorial trajectory and influence

Despite the absurdity of the initial approach, it can be affirmed that it was its cartoonist Alex Raymond who "raised to epic levels what with another artist would not have overcome vulgarity", The adventures of Flash and his friends on the planet Mongo and their battles against the evil Ming in strange settings, partly futuristic, partly inspired by ancient civilizations, were very successful. Over time, it would become the mold to be imitated by all the space and adventure heroes of the following decades, an influence that even traces itself to superheroes (Aquaman, Adam Strange, the Fantastic 4), and that splashes, at a level purely graphic, to entire generations of cartoonists from all over the world.

However, there are cartoonists who do not think highly of Raymond's work. This is the case of Alberto Breccia, who affirms that «Flash Gordon is a ballet; maybe it was important for his time, but it's a ballet; Mutt and Jeff or The Captain's Nephews were better comics than Flash Gordon."

The truth is that it was published in many countries, including Spain (Aventurero magazine, 1935), Argentina (Patoruzito magazine, 1945).

When Raymond left the series, it was continued by either Austin Briggs or Dan Barry, starting in 1951. The latter set the series in a "strongly scientific setting", thus giving rise to the "true science fiction comic." ».

In 1998 DC Comics published a modern series of comic-books about Flash Gordon. In it Flash Gordon was a basketball player who found a new purpose in life on Mongo, a world that posed no threat to Earth and Dale was an adventurous reporter as capable as Flash and Ming strays from the Asian stereotype of the years 30 of the first version.

Flash Gordon is considered one of the best illustrated and most influential American adventure comics. Science fiction art historian Jane Frank stated that her work on Flash Gordon , "Raymond is one of the most famous science fiction artists of all time, although he has never contributed an illustration to any science fiction magazine or book." Comic book artist Jerry Robinson stated that "What made Flash Gordon a classic comic was Raymond's artistry and the rich imagination he brought to his conceptions of the future" and described Raymond's last years on the strip as "an elegant and brilliantly finished work of brushwork." Science fiction historian John Clute stated that "The comic book version of Flash Gordon was elegant, imaginative and fast-paced" and included it in a list of the most important American science fiction comics. In an article about Raymond for The Comics Journal, R.C. Harvey stated that Raymond's Flash Gordon displayed "technical virtuosity matched only on the comics page by Harold Foster in Prince Valiant". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction stated that "the elaborately shaded style and exotic story" of Flash Gordon made him one of the most influential comics, and that his art emphasized a "romantic baroque".

Flash Gordon (along with Buck Rogers) was a major influence on later science fiction comics, such as the American "Don Dixon and the Hidden Empire" (1935 to 1941) by Carl Pfeufer and Bob Moore. In Italy, Guido Fantoni drew Flash Gordon in 1938, after he was banned by the Fascist regime. In Belgium, Edgar P. Jacobs received commissioned to produce a science fiction comic in the style of Flash Gordon. Jacobs' new strip, Le Rayon U ("The Rayon U") began serialization on Bravo in 1943. This version had text boxes describing the action and dialogue, in the style of many Belgian comics of the time, similar to Hal Foster's version of Tarzan and the Prince Brave. In 1974, Jacobs reformatted Le Rayon U to include balloons. This version was published in Tintin magazine and in book form by Dargaud-Le Lombard. The British comic The Trigan Empire, by Mike Butterworth and Don Lawrence, was also based on Flash Gordon for its style. artistic.

Flash Gordon was also an influence on early superhero comic book characters. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster based Superman's cape and tights uniform on the costumes worn by Flash Gordon. Bob Kane's drawing of Batman on the cover of Detective Comics #27 (the character's first appearance) was based on a 1937 drawing of Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond. Dennis Neville designed the costume for the comics hero Hawkman from the characters of "the hawkmen" from the Flash Gordon cartoon by Raymond.In Avengers: Infinity War, Iron Man derisively refers to Star-Lord as Flash Gordon due to his similar appearance and the fact that both are space heroes.

Flash Gordon would become one of the most important icons of popular culture, knowing adaptations to different media, such as film and television.

Movies

Most of the film and television adaptations of Flash Gordon retell the early adventures on the planet Mongo.

Film Serials

Photogram Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe1940.

Flash Gordon appeared in three film serials starring Buster Crabbe: Flash Gordon (1936), Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). The 1936 Flash Gordon serial was condensed into a feature film titled Flash Gordon or Rocket Ship or Space Soldiers or Flash Gordon: Spaceship to the Unknown; the 1938 serial into a feature film titled Flash Gordon: The Deadly Ray from Mars. Finally, the 1940 serial into a feature film titled The Purple Death from Outer Space.

The first Flash Gordon serial is still under copyright, but the compilation of the second serial and the third serial itself are in the public domain.

Flash Gordon, 1980 film

In the 1970s, several renowned directors attempted to make a film of the story. Federico Fellini acquired the rights to Flash Gordon from Dino De Laurentiis, but never made the film. George Lucas also attempted to make a Flash Gordon film in the 1970s. Lucas was unable to acquire the rights from De Laurentiis, so he decided to create Star Wars instead. De Laurentiis then hired Nicolas Roeg to make a Flash Gordon film. However, De Laurentiis was not satisfied with Roeg's ideas, and Roeg dropped out of the project. De Laurentiis also discussed casting Sergio Leone to direct the Flash Gordon film; Leone refused because he believed the script was not faithful to Raymond's original comics.De Laurentiis eventually hired Mike Hodges to direct the Flash Gordon film.

Hodges' 1980 film Flash Gordon stars Sam J. Jones, who had been featured in the centerfold of Playgirl magazine, in the role major. Melody Anderson co-starred with Jones as Dale Arden, alongside Chaim Topol as Dr. Hans Zarkov, Max von Sydow as Ming, Timothy Dalton as Prince Barin, Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan, Peter Wyngarde as Klytus, and Ornella Muti as Princess Aura. Produced by Dino De Laurentiis, with costume and production designs embellished by Danilo Donati, the bright colors and retro effects were directly inspired by the comics and serials of the 1930s.

His plot is based on the early years of the comic, changing Flash's history and making him a quarterback for the New York Jets instead of a polo player. One of the lines from the film summarizes the storyline of the film: "Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth." Raymond's drawings occupy a featured prominently in the opening credits, as did the signature theme song "Flash" by the rock band Queen, who composed and performed the entire soundtrack. The film is thus best known for its music.

Trying to build on the success of Star Wars, Superman and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Flash Gordon was not, however, a critical success upon its release. The film was a commercial failure but it is the best known of the films about the character. Brian Blessed's performance as the leader of the Hawkmen, Prince Vultan, instilled the veteran stage and screen actor in the collective consciousness with the utterance of a single line: 'GORDON IS ALIVE! ? - which, more than 30 years later, remains the most repeated, reused and recycled quote from both the film and the actor's career.

The film's cult status led to it appearing prominently in the comedy films Ted (2012) and Ted 2 (2015) sparking a resurgence of interest in the movie.

Unofficial Movies

In 1967, a low-budget Turkish adaptation of the comic was made, called Flash Gordon's Battle in Space (Baytekin - Fezada Çarpisanlar in Turkish). Hasan Demirtag played Flash Gordon.

In April 2013, Robb Pratt, director of the popular fan-made film Superman Classic, announced plans to make the Flash Gordon Classic. The traditionally animated short features characters Flash Gordon, his girlfriend Dale Arden, his partner Dr. Hans Zarkov, antagonist Ming the Merciless, and Princess Aura.

Possible future films

In 2010, it was announced that Breck Eisner had signed on to direct a 3D film version of Flash Gordon. "The film's story is underway and the script is now being worked on." On April 22, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter had a report that 20th Century Fox was developing a Flash Gordon relaunch with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay as screenwriters for the film. On April 15, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Matthew Vaughn was in talks to direct it. On January 15, 2016, Mark Protosevich was hired to rewrite the film's script. According to Deadline, Julius Avery would write and direct, while Vaughn would now produce alongside John Davis. An animated feature was in development at Disney/Fox with Taika Waititi in the roles of screenwriter and director. In August As of 2019, the animated film was believed to have been cancelled. However, in July 2021, producers John Davis and John Fox revealed that Waititi was still working on the film, although it would now be live-action rather than animated.

Television

In 1979, the company of many cartoons Filmation, produced an animated series based on the comic and is remembered as one of the best productions of this studio. The animated series was released first but a TV Film - (Flash Gordon, the Greatest Adventure of All) had already been created although it would be released years later, and the TV series reused a lot of material from the film lightening its content, while which removed more adult material, including a subplot implicating Adolf Hitler in the plot.

In 1982 a telefilm was also made: Flash Gordon: The Greatest Adventure of All.

In the 1986 animated series Defenders of the Earth, produced by King Features, Flash led a team of comic book heroes including The Phantom and Mandrake the Wizard.

In 1996 Hearst Entertainment made a series of cartoons for television.

In 2004 director Stephen Sommers acquired the film rights to the character.

In 2007 the SciFi Channel began production on a new installment of the hero where contact with Mongo ceases to be made via spaceflight, using "portals" Communication. Flash (Eric Johnson), Dale (Gina Holden) and his companions are constantly going back and forth from the inhospitable planet (which seems to be inspired by images of Mad Max) to Earth. In this new version Ming (John Ralston) has been completely stripped of his oriental characteristics to be incarnated by an Anglo-Saxon blonde.