Reading Room CLIFF HANGER "Chapter Six: Blazing End"

When Last We Left Our Hero...

...It's the big finale!

All will be explained as we go!

Get your popcorn and soda and ride along...

Don't ya love a happy ending?

Writer Bruce Jones and artist Al Williamson end their tribute to 1930s-50s movie serials in Eclipse's Somerset Holmes #6 (1984) in grand style with the hero getting the girl, the villain's base destroyed (with the chance the villain might have escaped), and the possibility of a sequel, which unfortunately, never appeared!

Reading Room: FLASH GORDON "Chapter 3.1: the Secret Origin of Flash Gordon!"

It's all been building up to this...

The wraparound inside cover for #2 by Al Williamson

...the untold story of Flash Gordon's first encounter with the inhabitants of Mongo!

Wow!

Writer Mark Schultz and artist Al Williamson pulled off what many these days would consider to be impossible...a retcon that doesn't contradict any of the previous stories, nor requires a reboot of the character's entire history!

I thought only Rascally Roy Thomas was capable of such a feat!

Not only that, but it includes visual Easter Eggs relating to various past versions of Flash, including the Clay People from Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, a spaceship from the 1979 animated series, and Flash's father looking remarkably like Buster Crabbe, the actor who played Flash in all three serials!

Be here next week as Flash returns to Azura's capital in Syk!

Reading Room CLIFF HANGER "Chapter Five: Slaves to the Fiend"

We Have Already Seen...

Take a deep breath and dive in, fans...

Next Week:

The Thrill-Packed FINALE!

This penultimate chapter of the serial appeared in Eclipse's Somerset Holmes #5 (1984), written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Al Williamson.
BTW, notice something different about the above description of the comic?
Between issues #4 and #5, Pacific Comics shut down due to cash-flow problems.
Eclipse Comics picked up a number of properties from their creators who were left high and dry by the shutdown, including Somerset Holmes and Cliff Hanger.
Besides finishing the 6-issue series, Eclipse also published a tpb collection of the Holmes (but not the Hanger) tales...

Reading Room: FLASH GORDON "Chapter Three: Danger in Volcania"

When Last We Left Our Hero...

...and now, on with the show!

Next Week:

The Secret Origin of Flash Gordon!

Who He Is and How He Came to Be!

(Not a dream!

Not an imaginary story!)

Writer Mark Schultz and artist Al Williamson's labor of love is about to take us where no one has gone before in Flash Gordon's history!

Don't miss it!

Reading Room CLIFF HANGER "Chapter Four: Madman's Holiday"

When Last We Left Our Hero...

..and now, on with the show...

Can Cliff Outrun a Wall of Water?
What is the Secret Behind The Tunnel Between Florida and South America?

Does Quint Have a Fate Worse than Death in Store For Jill?

The Answers to These and Other Questions Will be Found...Next Week!

Written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Al Williamson, this backup strip from Pacific Comics' Somerset Holmes #4 (1983) keeps the excitement of 1930s-40s movie serials going at a maniac pace!

Reading Room: FLASH GORDON "Chapter 2.1: Escape from Blue Magic"

We Have Already Seen...

Flash Gordon's memory has been wiped by his captor, Azura (Queen of Blue Magic), who instructs the now-compliant Earthman to change the ship's course...

Thus, the first issue of Marvel's 1995 mini-series Flash Gordon ends.
But the second (and final issue) begins next Wednesday!
Dare you miss...
The Secret Origin of Flash Gordon?