Flash Gordon

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Name: Flash Gordon
Abbreviation(s):
Creator: Alex Raymond
Date(s): 1934
Medium: comic strip, movies, live action and animated television series, radio serial, comic books, stage play and novels
Country of Origin: U.S.
External Links: Wikipedia
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Flash Gordon art by creator Alex Raymond for Rocket's Blast Comicollector #134 (1977)

Flash Gordon is a science fiction property that began as a space adventure comic strip in the 1930s by the King Features Syndicate. It was since released in a number of different media including radio serials, films, live-action and animated television series and comic books. Originally created in competition of the Buck Rogers comic strip, the Flash Gordon strip ran in newspapers from 1934 until 2003 and was written and drawn by a number of artists and writers, including Harvey Kurtzman, Harry Harrison, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Bob Fujitani, Jack Davis, Sy Barry, Fred Kida, John Romita Sr. and Joe Kubert.

From the comic strip, Flash Gordon has proliferated into various other properties:

Canon

The basic elements of the story are the titular main character, Flash, and his girlfriend Dale Arden, who are taken by scientist friend Dr. Hans Zarkov to the planet Mongo, which is threatening Earth. The strip describes their flight against the planet's evil ruler, Ming the Merciless. Over time the heroes explore the world of Mongo, discovering many varied civilizations and having various space-type adventures.

Characters

  • Flash Gordon - a handsome polo player and Yale University graduate
  • Dale Arden - constant companion in his adventures, as well as his one true love. Ming is also smitten with her and Flash has to rescue her from his various attempts to marry her.
  • Hans Zarkov - a brilliant scientist who creates a rocket and forces Flash and Dale Arden to come with him to the planet Mongo, and fight against Ming the Merciless.
  • Ming the Merciless - a ruthless tyrant who rules the planet Mongo, having usurped the rightful ruler.
  • Prince Barin - prince of Arboria who becomes Flash's best friend. He is in love with Princess Aura.
  • Princess Aura - daughter of Ming who saves Flash from execution by her father. She soon realizes that her love for Flash is unrequited, and later falls in love with Prince Barin, the rightful heir to the throne of Mongo.
  • Prince Vultan - ruler of the Winged Bird-Men and reluctant ally of main villain Ming the Merciless; he resents Ming's domination but does not oppose it out of fear of reprisal. He later becomes one of Flash's allies.

Fandom

The comic strip was popular from the outset, being published in the newspapers regularly and the early radio serials and films taking advantage of that popularity. It is seen as one of the early space operas, blending typical soap opera storylines of love - unrequited, forbidden, slow burn and high romance - with the science fiction setting of another planet with strange alien peoples. Flash Gordon, along with Buck Rogers and John Carter of Mars were responsible for bringing science fiction to a much wider audience and in a format that wasn't quite as "childish" as a comic book. Popularity increased with the release of the 1980 film and then the 2007 live action television series, but it remains a relatively small fandom, popular with crossovers.

Attitude of Sci-Fi Fans

Despite - or because of - this role in broadening access to sci-fi, it was seen by hardcore science fiction fandom as somewhat "lowbrow", used as an example of what "non-fans" equated as science fiction in debates as early as 1944:

The conclusions reached by Lynn Bridges and I at the Second World Conference at Live Oak tend toward supporting this- claim, but I still believe that a science fiction fan is something more than an average person with a leaning toward Flash Gordon. It is very hard to divide "fans" from "nonfans", that is, intellectually speaking, and not bringing up whether the non-fan collects or corresponds, I believe that all of the fans exibit certain mental traits or tendencies, or still better, attitudes.

 [1]

Even other science fiction media fans, including Trekkies, looked down on Flash as not even being real science fiction:

"It's important to ST to keep good relations with Sf fandom... We, the two camps of us, are inevitably intertwined. Sf can do without ST, yes, but it's unrealistic to think that ST can do without Sf -- If it tried, ST would degenerate into Flash Gordon or The Jetsons.

 [2]

With the release of the 1980 film (which included noted Shakespearian actor, Brian Blessed!), the strips were reprinted, pro novels were written and the concept began to be accepted as part of the media fandom fold:

The Book-Fan's world is being taken over by the Media-Fans, since many of the films and TV shows are now spawning pro-novels (Flash Gordon has three, plus reruns of the original strips). They make loud noises about "Trekkies" and pretend they never go to movies or watch television— they sit at home and write and read BOOKS. Media Fans think this is sheer hypocrisy, and go on wearing their uniforms and enjoying the Pro-Cons.

 [3]

Even a year later, the series was looked back on with nostalgia and praise for its role in introducing the mainstream to sci-fi:

Media science fiction is oft the first and only exposure the general public and/or small children receive of SF. How many of us adult fans grew into what we are because, in our impressionable youth, we loved Star Trek or Buck Rogers -- even Superman or The Shadow? Mr. Spock and Flash Gordon were heroes for entire generations of imaginative children; they led inquisitive young minds to eventually seek out and read the "classic" heavier literary SF. Many of today's most respected authors were (and still are) fans of some media science fiction hero; a number had their beginning in writing and sometimes printing tales of their idols.

 [4]

And things eventually came full circle, with the franchise being used as an example of "the good old days" of sci-fi media in comparison to Star Wars and similar:

I even enjoy the old Flash Gordon, Superman, et al. Of course the children of the newest generation, weaned on the likes of STAR WARS, would find them amazingly obtuse. So be it. Those culturally poor youngsters grew up with man having already gone to the moon. Those kids who would rather sleep than wake up at dawn to watch, in wonder, at the Space Shuttle take-off. Why bother? They've seen it.

 [5]

Attitude of Comics Fandom

Certainly comics fandom in the 1960s and 1970s had a different attitude towards the property, with a number of zines included art and articles about the strip and its creators. In 1977, Rocket's Blast Comicollector devoted its entire issue #134 to the space adventure.

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Vids

Meta

Fanart Gallery

External Links

AO3

Fanfiction.Net

TV Tropes entry

References

  1. ^ Raym Washington in VoM, issue 33 pp. 4-5 (June 1944)
  2. ^ Connie Faddis in the letters column of The Halkan Council Issue #2 (1975)
  3. ^ Roberta Rogow in Interstat Issue #41 (1981)
  4. ^ Mary Jean Holmes - "Shady Thoughts: In Defense of Media Science Fiction and Fan Fiction" in Shadowstar Issue #5 (1982)
  5. ^ "I hate sequels." by Homer Sapiento in his column A Parting Show, Rogue's Gallery Issue #18 (1985)
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