Flash Gordon had been one of the most popular and well-crafted comic strips of its or any era. Not the first of the space stars in comics (Buck Rogers gets the nod) Flash Gordon was the most accomplished and beautiful. It made a tremendous impression on those who saw it, and the folks at Universal made it even more famous when they cast Buster Crabbe as Flash in a trio of serials which drew heavily from the Don Moore and Alex Raymond source material.
But there came a time when a new Flash Gordon was, if not needed, then certainly sensible. Star Wars had lifted the style and substance of the old sci-fi serials and created a blockbuster success in the cinema. Vintage sci-fi properties such as Buck Rogers and Star Trek were dusted off and given a new big screen gloss. So it was only logical that Flash Gordon would get the nod, and that nod came from Dino DeLaurentis, the most flamboyant producer from an era keen with flamboyant movie figures.
Whitman (Western Publishing) had the rights to Flash Gordon in comic books when the movie landed and did a dandy job of adapting it to the comics form. Actually it's difficult to think how they might have improved. Landing ace Flash artist Al Williamson to draw the comic made it an instant classic. I've read that the artwork to the adaptation by Williamson was physically stolen and it's at least comforting to realize that the thief had such good taste, if not morals. The story was published in big book by Western and then divided up for the comic series itself.
Given the company's history with licensed projects and photo covers (mostly back in the days of the collaboration with Dell) it's not suprising that they put out photos of the stars on the covers, though leaving plenty of room for the artwork itself.
Williamson's take on Flash is perhaps more serious than the movie itself, his art creating a sense of realism that the bright color scheme of the film among other decisions intentionally avoids. Many of the campy details are gone, though no significant plot points are changed. I did much appreciate that Dale Arden has her raven tresses back. The strongest difference is the ending in which Flash collects Ming's ring and there is not last moment suggestion that the tyrant might well return.
Bruce Jones wrote this adaptation which does a remarkable job documenting a movie in a time when the movies themselves were coming into the hands of the consumer. Once upon a time of course these comics would have been the only practical means to relive the experience of the film save for its releases.
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I was 12 years old when this movie and comic came out and I was all-in. This was probably my first exposure to Al Williamson and I thought the art was great. The version of the comic I owned was your very first image in this post. Half of the comic was in color and the middle section was B&W (actually blue and white). Unfortunately, I lost this and all my other comics in a fire in 2017.
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