This 1966 Flash Gordon album cover by Al Williamson is a nicely dynamic image of the three heroes -- Flash, Dale, and Zarkov -- under the omnipresent scrutiny of uber-baddie Ming the Merciless. Ming's smile seems especially cold and calculating in this image.
Here is a piece of art which purports to be a preliminary for the album cover art. Ming is certainly in evidence, but the heroic trio seem quite differently posed.
In point of fact they look like they do on this gorgeous cover art for Heritage, a 1972 fanzine dedicated to Flash Gordon. Was this cover in fact a rejected version of the album cover? It seems so.
Here's the published version of this beautiful cover, attributed to both Williamson and Gray Morrow.
And finally here's a image which seems to be a recreation of the original album cover by Williamson. I'm always impressed by the deft and sure hand he brought to all the work he did.
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It's a fun album, too, with audio drama versions of a couple of the King Comics stories. Although Buster Crabbe sounds noticeably older, it's still a kick hearing him play Flash again.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to hear the adventure that goes with the cover...
ReplyDeletehttps://rapidshare.com/#!download|465p7|2310088786|Flash_Gordon_Official_Adventures.mp3|51028|0|0
Buster Crabbe
ReplyDeleteAL Williamson
FLASH GORDON
The DOJO
Too Much Fun
All I have to say is-FLASH..ah-ahhhh savior of the universe!
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