Space Hero Saturdays WHACK "Flush Jordan"

Yes, it's a Flash Gordon spoof...

..but it has a cultural reference readers under 50 won't recognize!

Ming the Merciless usually looks like this...

...so who's "Bing", the golf-playing guy in the Hawaiian shirt and porkpie hat?

He's Bing Crosby, singer, comedian, obsessive golfer, and (when this comic was published) a pop culture icon!

With that in mind, please read...

The guy at the end, whining about "Thanks for the Memory" is comedian Bob Hope...

...Bing's co-star/rival in the 1940s-50s "Road to..." movie series as well as a pop culture legend in his own right!

Note: Thanks for the Memory" was Hope's personal theme song, used primarily to close his radio show, live appearances, and TV specials!

This never-reprinted story from #2 of St John's MAD clone WHACK was illustrated by William Overgard for 3-D use, but the collapse of the 3-D comic market forced St John to publish it in regular color comic format!

Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Sincerest Form of Parody
Paid Link

Space Hero Saturdays SMASH GORDON "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Mongo!"

It starts out as a typical day for our Space Hero... 

...but as much as we want to tell you the rest of the story, this tale written and illustrated by Frank Brunner involves (gasp) nudity (but extremely-tasteful and not lascivious nudity), so you'll have to go to our "brother" RetroBlog, the appropriately-named

Not Safe for Work Comics

right now to see the rest!

And wait until you see who cameos on the final page!

Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Mythos: Fantasy Art Realms of Frank Brunner

Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON "Monster Men of Tropica!"

Probably the Last Artist You'd Think of Illustrating Flash and Dale on Mongo...

...would be sword and sorcery/gothic fantasy artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones!

But, Jones was a serious Alex Raymond/Flash Gordon fan, so this work in Charlton's Flash Gordon #13 (1969), while a bit rough, showed enormous love and enthusiasm for the character.
And Charlton's notoriously-bad printing didn't help showcase Jones' art!

Written by Bill Pearson. Penciled and inked by Jeff Jones (as they were known then).

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Order...

Jeffrey Jones

A Life in Art

Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON: THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF ALL

Before Flash Gordon the Movie came to movie screens in 1980...
...another Flash-related project came to fruition!
No, not the animated TV series!
A self-contained, feature-length, animated movie!

It was conceived and written by Sam (Classic Star Trek "Where No Man Has Gone Before") Peebles as a prime-time live-action feature, not a Saturday morning animated kiddie series!
But the budget required for the script would've been $30,000,000 (almost $100,000,000 in 2024 dollars!)!
So, it was decided to do the project using classic cel animation, including rotoscoping for both character movement and spaceship action!

Note: Heavy Metal; the Movie, in production at the same time, utilized the same approach!
But they had to use several different studios, working together, to complete their feature film!
Though a lot of the footage from Greatest Adventure of All was recycled, over half is exclusive to the feature, including Flash in a Doc Savage-style torn shirt and jodpurs for the first 2/3rds of the film!
That footage was re-drawn for the series with Flash in his red and blue Mongo uniform.
It's the way Flash was drawn in the first few weeks of the newspaper strip, and Buster Crabbe followed suit in the first couple of chapters of the first movie serial!

BTW, the film starts out in Warsaw, Poland at the beginning of World War II before heading to Mongo, and all the Earth-based technology, including Zarkov's ship, are contemporary to what was shown in sci-fi magazines and flix of the era!

Now, with pardonable pride, we present the complete feature film which is unavailable on American physical media sources and only aired once, on late night TV in 1982.

Note the cameos by Adolph Hitler, to whom Ming is supplying weapon and rocket technology!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Check out our Flash, Buck, Brick and other Space Hero goodies at...

Thrilling Fantasy Tales

Space Hero Saturdays ZANY "Buck Dodgers" and "Flush Gordon"

A couple of comic strip parodies from one of the many 1950s MAD Magazine imitators...

...specifically, Candar's Zany #3 (1959), illustrated by Carl (Golden Age Human Torch) Burgos, writer unknown, though it might have been Burgos himself.

From Candar's Zany #2 (1958), artist and writer unknown.

The "Max Oboy" credit spoofs artist Mac (Green Lama) Raboy, who illustrated the Flash Gordon Sunday strip after co-creator/artist Alex Raymond left for other projects.

These HTF and never-reprinted space adventure parodies, were from Candar Publishing, which published risque titles like French Cartoons and Cuties and College Laughs.

Though Zany only ran four issues, it had a pretty damn good lineup of writers and artists including the aformentioned Burgos (who was also the editor for the first two issues), Bill Everett (who also painted all four front covers), Joe Sinnott, Dick Briefer, John Forte, Don Orehek, Morris Waldinger, Paul Reinman, and Pete Costanza!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics!

Visit Amazon and Order...

Sincerest Form of Parody

Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON "Return to Mongo" Part 2: MindLife!

When Last We Left Flash, Dale, and Zarkov...
...Ming the Merciless has been freed from exile and returned to the throne of Mongo!

Our heroes, unaware of this development, have been ambushed and shot down over Mongo's "Lost Continent", where they've been captured by a band of Lizard Men and their queen, the priestess Silith!

Flash Gordon Will Return!

Bonus: the original, uncropped cover art by the prolific George Wilson who illustrated a lot of Gold Key comic covers, as well as numerous paperbacks..including the Flash Gordon novels from Avon Books in the mid-1970s.

Note that, according to the hand-written text at the bottom, it's supposed to be for Flash Gordon #2, not #19!

That's because this was, in fact, the second Gold Key issue of Flash Gordon!

The first was a one-shot in 1965.
But, in 1978, King Features (which owns Flash Gordon) insisted Gold Key continue the series numbering which began in 1965 with a short-lived King Comics series with a new #1, then continued when Charlton Comics took over the book as of #12 and ended with #18 in 1970!
The numbering continued to Gold Key's final issue, #37 in 1982.
Since then, every new Flash Gordon series from Marvel, DC, Dynamite, Ardden, etc, began with #1s!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Flash Gordon Archives

Volume 4

(which includes this issue)

Space Hero Saturdays FLASH GORDON "Return to Mongo" Part 1

In 1978, with production of both a Flash Gordon feature film and an animated TV series under way...

...Gold Key decided to revive Flash's comic book series which had been on hiatus since 1970!

To Be Concluded...
Next Saturday!

Writer John Warner and illustrator Carlos Garzon took their story cues for this tale from Gold Key's Flash Gordon #19 (1978) from the classic Alex Raymond comic strip.
Writer Warner had extensive experience scripting entertainment properties at Gold Key, including Star Trek and Dark Shadows, as well as Planet of the Apes and Doc Savage at Marvel!
Artist Garzon had worked with Al Williamson on multiple projects including Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and the Flash Gordon newspaper strip.
Both were ideal choices for the project!

Please Support Atomic Kommie Comics

Visit Amazon and Buy...

Flash Gordon Archives

Volume 4

(which includes this issue)