Gordon lives again!!!
October 29, 2023 11:33 AM Subscribe
“A lone spaceship crash-lands on Mongo - - three humans on a mission of peace. An athlete, a traveler and a mad, desperate scientist. Alone against an empire.” - Flash Gordon returns in style with a new daily comic strip. Creator interview with Dan Schkade.
Interesting that this is a direct sequel, and ends where the original ended, with the Big Bad being defeated. That is going to be a nicely complicating factor for this new series, which undoubtedly is going to need to find new territory to explore within this universe.
I never engaged with Flash Gordon much outside of the film, which was horrid-great in such a wondrous way, but somehow this makes me feel good.
And now I have the entire Queen soundtrack album playing in my head all at once.
posted by hippybear at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
I never engaged with Flash Gordon much outside of the film, which was horrid-great in such a wondrous way, but somehow this makes me feel good.
And now I have the entire Queen soundtrack album playing in my head all at once.
posted by hippybear at 1:03 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Gordon's alive?!
posted by StarkRoads at 1:25 PM on October 29, 2023 [18 favorites]
posted by StarkRoads at 1:25 PM on October 29, 2023 [18 favorites]
Wow, the new strips are terrific. This is a great update.
posted by Ipsifendus at 1:26 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Ipsifendus at 1:26 PM on October 29, 2023
Awesome!
posted by brundlefly at 3:20 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by brundlefly at 3:20 PM on October 29, 2023
Is there a way to get this strip added each day to one’s RSS feed?
posted by wittgenstein at 3:23 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by wittgenstein at 3:23 PM on October 29, 2023
I really like the storytelling in this too! Flash Gordon, since the original newspaper strip, has never really had the same influence. Even the iconic 80s movie ("Gordon's ALIVE?!?!?") couldn't do it.
And it's a different time now. Weird space adventures don't have the same appeal. It's possible that Flash Gordon can't ever make it back to its old heights, but I'm game to see it try. The original started in 1936. Wikipedia informs us that it continued until 2006, of which I had no idea.
posted by JHarris at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2023
And it's a different time now. Weird space adventures don't have the same appeal. It's possible that Flash Gordon can't ever make it back to its old heights, but I'm game to see it try. The original started in 1936. Wikipedia informs us that it continued until 2006, of which I had no idea.
posted by JHarris at 3:28 PM on October 29, 2023
Like a lot of people, I'm aware that it got its start a couple of years after Buck Rogers way way way back in the 1920's. But I've only ever really experienced the 80's movie and I assume that the original wasn't actually that campy.
Not that the play up the camp, over the top, gonzo approach of the 80's movie was bad, I liked it. But now I'm looking to see if I can find an archive of the first few years of the comic just to get a feel for that too.
I like that King Features is really trying to move forward and branch out, this follows up the shakeup for Mark Trail and getting webcomic artist and massive comic geek Randal Milholland of SomethingPositive to draw new Popeye Sunday strips and they gave him and colaborator Emi Burdge a sorta spinoff called Popeye and Olive
All of that has created a bit of a backlash from some of the more... traditional... fans of those comics. Jules Rivera did some major shaking up at Mark Trail and now the comments section there is filled with right wingers complaining that it's all woke these days. But King Features has stood firm on Rivera's run and it's been going for years now.
Milholland is a huge fan of old comics and has been reviving a number of old Thimble Theater characters, introducing some characters from other antique King Features strips, and pissing off right wingers by making some of the new characters he's introduced (or characters referenced but not seen until he drew them) LGBT or (gasp!) Black. And again King Features is standing by their decision and not backing down.
So the decision to let someone new try their hand at Flash Gordon is in keeping with their policy of reviving some of their legacy strips with some new blood and seeing what happens. Someone in the C suite over there has looked at readership and decided that they can't keep going like they have been. And I think there's a sort of what have we got to lose attitude. King Features is sinking, might as well try letting some of the kids these days give it a shot.
I've added Flash Gordon to my daily comics list and I can't wait to see what Schkade comes up with.
posted by sotonohito at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Not that the play up the camp, over the top, gonzo approach of the 80's movie was bad, I liked it. But now I'm looking to see if I can find an archive of the first few years of the comic just to get a feel for that too.
I like that King Features is really trying to move forward and branch out, this follows up the shakeup for Mark Trail and getting webcomic artist and massive comic geek Randal Milholland of SomethingPositive to draw new Popeye Sunday strips and they gave him and colaborator Emi Burdge a sorta spinoff called Popeye and Olive
All of that has created a bit of a backlash from some of the more... traditional... fans of those comics. Jules Rivera did some major shaking up at Mark Trail and now the comments section there is filled with right wingers complaining that it's all woke these days. But King Features has stood firm on Rivera's run and it's been going for years now.
Milholland is a huge fan of old comics and has been reviving a number of old Thimble Theater characters, introducing some characters from other antique King Features strips, and pissing off right wingers by making some of the new characters he's introduced (or characters referenced but not seen until he drew them) LGBT or (gasp!) Black. And again King Features is standing by their decision and not backing down.
So the decision to let someone new try their hand at Flash Gordon is in keeping with their policy of reviving some of their legacy strips with some new blood and seeing what happens. Someone in the C suite over there has looked at readership and decided that they can't keep going like they have been. And I think there's a sort of what have we got to lose attitude. King Features is sinking, might as well try letting some of the kids these days give it a shot.
I've added Flash Gordon to my daily comics list and I can't wait to see what Schkade comes up with.
posted by sotonohito at 4:22 PM on October 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Wow, this looks terrific! 😍
posted by Fortyseven at 7:45 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Fortyseven at 7:45 PM on October 29, 2023
Dan Schkade on the Tradecraft podcast
The number of different formats this has to work is kind of Incredible - sometimes it’s only weekdays, sometimes only Sundays, sometimes it’s only the bottom two rows of the Sunday one - which is particularly nuts to me.
posted by Artw at 9:27 PM on October 29, 2023
The number of different formats this has to work is kind of Incredible - sometimes it’s only weekdays, sometimes only Sundays, sometimes it’s only the bottom two rows of the Sunday one - which is particularly nuts to me.
posted by Artw at 9:27 PM on October 29, 2023
The color transitions going on in this are gorgeous. Going from the last installment of the classic style to the first panel of the new one is like an explosion.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 11:07 PM on October 29, 2023
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 11:07 PM on October 29, 2023
Looks interesting. Although I prefer the UK art style of the similar Dan Dare reboot 'Dare' by Grant Morrison & Rian Hughes. Also did a nice job of tearing down some of the Biggles-esque hero element of the original character.
posted by phigmov at 1:15 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by phigmov at 1:15 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Is there a way to get this strip added each day to one’s RSS feed?
Yes. Thanks to Comics RSS, you want to add https://www.comicsrss.com/rss/flash-gordon.rss
posted by timdiggerm at 5:00 AM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
Yes. Thanks to Comics RSS, you want to add https://www.comicsrss.com/rss/flash-gordon.rss
posted by timdiggerm at 5:00 AM on October 30, 2023 [7 favorites]
Big shout out to timdiggerm. That worked perfectly. And, now I know about Comics RSS which I was unfamiliar with.
posted by wittgenstein at 10:46 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wittgenstein at 10:46 AM on October 30, 2023 [1 favorite]
Schkade’s Twitter/X account has been a great follow, lots of great artwork in the archives.
posted by Eikonaut at 11:45 AM on October 30, 2023
posted by Eikonaut at 11:45 AM on October 30, 2023
Yes. Thanks to Comics RSS, you want to add https://www.comicsrss.com/rss/flash-gordon.rss
He saved everyone one of us!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:28 PM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
He saved everyone one of us!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:28 PM on October 30, 2023 [2 favorites]
The 1983 Flash Gordon computer game had extremely appropriate music - epically reamde here.
posted by BiggerJ at 7:17 PM on November 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BiggerJ at 7:17 PM on November 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Really great art style on offer.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:38 AM on October 29, 2023 [4 favorites]