On the Planet Mongo (The Complete Flash Gordon Library)

Flash Gordon on the PlanetMongo is the collection of Sunday comics by Alex Raymond from January 7, 1934 to April 18, 1937. The story starts with a comet flailing toward the Earth, a mad scientist, a polo (later, football) star, and a beautiful lady. How could things go wrong from there? Flash Gordon, Dale, Dr. Zarkov, and their friends and enemies go at it on the strange world of Mongo, which has a dictator, rebels, and various types of humanoids.Flash Gordon was written over three or four years, and you can't expect to read it over an hour and a half. I usually like to read a few pages and then put it away fora while. There are quality issues in the first third of the book,perhaps because the originals have degraded after 80 years, but I think these problems won't bother most readers. Overall, if you're a fan of early science fiction, pre-Code comics, or Flash Gordon, you should be reading this book. ****

Quality scans and restorations of the original Flash Gordon Sunday Comics. If you're looking at this book, you're already going to buy it. It's such a niche product, no normie is going to buy this. So stop stalling already and pull the trigger.

I truly enjoy the pre-WWII Alex Raymond Flash Gordon. The new Titan Books edition finally arrived a full 13 months since my pre-order -- but it was well worth the wait. "On the Planet Mongo" is 205 pages including 10 pages of informative background material by Alex Ross and Doug Murray. Volume 1 of the four announced comprises 9 story arcs from 1/7/1934 to 4/18/1937. Raymond's artwork is marvelous -- tight lines, sweeping curves, fabulous alien landscapes, and bizarre creatures and humanoids. Pacing is effectively controlled by a variable number of panels per page and different panel layouts (especially by the end of his first year). Unlike modern comic books, Raymond's Sunday strips feature heroes and heroines that are anatomically correct and yet beautiful.I've compared this first Titan Books edition to the Checker Books versions, 7 volumes of which were published from 2004-2006 (and still available on Amazon, such as  Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Vol. 1 ). The Titan version has more subdued coloring, probably closer to the original Sunday newsprint. By comparison, the Checker version has more vibrant coloring that jumps out at you a bit more. The Checker Books are less than 90 pages of artwork each. Titan volume 1 is about 25 pages longer than Checker vol. 1 and 2 combined. Overall I prefer the Titan edition both in terms of the more accurate restoration and the page count, as well as for the introductory material. Still, the Checker Books versions are worth considering; the price per page is roughly the same.I'm also a fan of the Mac Raboy version of Flash Gordon, still available on Amazon as over-sized black and white paperbacks (e.g.,  Mac Raboy's Flash Gordon, vol. 1 ). I own several of the recent Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives volumes; they do not compare to either the Raymond or Raboy renderings, although many of the painted covers are quite attractive. For example, see  Flash Gordon Comic Book Archives Volume 1 .One problem with the new Titan edition -- despite careful handling, a few of the flecks of gold have already fallen off the gold and red logo. Not a big problem but annoying.

Wonderful presentation format. The price is great in exchange for the amount of beautiful pages. Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon is a must for any aficionado of classic comic books.

Retro sci-fi at its best full of rocket ships, monsters, death rays, peril at every turn, and floating cities. The art by Alex Raymond is wonderful and by the end of the book you can see how Flash became an iconic piece of science fiction. The characters are one dimensional and somewhat outdated but if you can place it in the proper context of the time its a thrilling story.

Flash Gordon was not the inspiration of an artist who pitched his creation to a newspaper publisher. Flash Gordon was specifically created by King Features Syndicate to compete with the popular Buck Rogers as well as Tarzan the Ape Man. Even the rhythm of the names of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers are the same. At the time Alex Raymond's was just a staff artist working for King Features when he was assigned to the project with writing duties falling on Don Moore. I bring this up because an artist or writer may not have the same investment in a character created by corporate decree.The start of the series wastes no time on establishing characters. The goal was to get Flash Gordon into space ASAP. Earth is being pummeled by meteors with one final huge meteor on a cataclysmic collision course with our beloved planet. Dr. Hans Zarkov (who is initially played as a mad scientist) has created a rocket that he intends to personally pilot to deflect the meteor and save the Earth. A plane carrying Flash and Dale Arden, who at this point don't appear to be traveling as a couple, is struck by a meteorite and the two parachute near Zarkov's lab where the paranoid scientist forces them into his spacecraft for no apparent reason. As they approach the meteor Zarkov has a change of heart and freaks out but Flash subdues him and the three land on the meteor which is now described as a planet named Mongo. The collision course with Earth is quickly forgotten although later Zarkov credits Flash with saving the Earth. I bring all this up because it happens within the first two pages and it shows how disorganized Flash Gordon started. Zarkov suddenly changed into a very sane scientist while Flash and Dale now appeared to be long time lovers and the meteorite suddenly became a planet whose distance from Earth seemed indeterminate but it no longer appeared to be on a collision course.I've never read a Buck Rogers comic but I'm very well versed in Tarzan and Flash is definitely inspired by the ape man. Tarzan's inhuman physicality is explained by being raised by apes while Flash's is explained by him being a "world renowned polo player" and Yale graduate. This sets him up as an athlete who comes from wealth much like Tarzan who was born a Lord. As with Tarzan, Flash is superior in just about every endeavor he engages in. If he's flying an alien rocket ship he can outfly the aliens even if he's never touched the controls before or had any training. As with Tarzan and Jane, Flash and Dale are desired by just about everyone of the opposite sex they come into contact with while they only desire each another. I was amused by how often Flash finds himself shirtless and on many occasions without pants sort of like, well, you know.From a narrative standpoint the story here is pretty weak. These Sunday comics were written to be read once a week and you don't want fans to wait a week just to have nothing happen. But when you are reading it straight through, getting years of comics in a few sittings, you become aware that the action is absurdly relentless. There is absolutely no down time. Flash and Dale never discuss the fact that they are on an alien planet or even consider returning to Earth. For much of the book they didn't even appear to eat or sleep. The original readers probably also didn't notice that Moore repeats storylines over and over again.The writing here doesn't exude the same passion that I sense from artist invented creations but I have to admit that I found the unapologetic action somewhat hypnotizing. It's like a cake that's all frosting. I assume even the level of action was decreed by King Features. Like a lot of comics it starts off a bit shaky but after a few years moves into a groove. The art improves a lot and the action tones down about 1%. Presentation wise I have no complaints. There are some weird coloring mistakes but I assume they were present in the original comics. For an artist working in the mid 1930's Raymond's art is well above most of his peers and probably would have looked better without color. I didn't fall in love the comics but they're fun escapism and a nice representation of entertainment from the 1930's.

I'm giving this book five stars for the artwork and production values of the book. If you're looking for a collection of high quality comic art that's historically important then you need this book (and the subsequent follow up volumes) on your bookshelf. If you're expecting a deeply complex storyline for adults then you'll be disappointed. On the one hand, Flash Gordon is very much of its time; simplistic plots, embarrassingly misogynistic attitudes, and nonsensical "science" to its science fiction. On the other hand, it was a pioneering strip that set a high standard of artwork for others to aspire to. Flash Gordon and his allies breathlessly go from one grim situation to another, encountering various tribes and creatures on the planet Mongo. The book collects the weekly pages that appeared in U.S. Sunday newspapers. It's fast paced stuff, intended for people who discarded each episode after reading it. In collected form, the leaps in logic are glaring; not least the way that Flash and Dale Ardern are suddenly devoted lovers only days after meeting, before they've barely had any conversation or as much as held hands, with Dale forever pining for Flash to marry her. In fact marriage seems to be the goal of everyone on Planet Mongo. Ming wants to marry Dale, but she wants to marry Flash. Princess Aura also wants to marry Flash, but Prince Barin wants to marry Aura. (Perhaps "marry" is an metaphor for something more basic that couldn't be said in family newspapers of the time.) I don't wish to sound negative but I know there are some comic fans who are solely interested in story rather than art. If so, you might be disappointed. If you're interested in great comic art that has great significance in the history of comics then this book is unmissable. One fascinating thing is how the strip develops visually. Starting out as a basic adventure strip with tiny panels but later blossoming into lush grand illustrations with each panel being a masterpiece of figurework and style. Superb!

Other reviewers seem to have received collections with misprints, but I pre-ordered and my edition was fine, all pages are there, nothing is duplicated. This is, in fact, a rather handsome book, hardback, shaped to fit the strips rather than forcing the strips to fit another format. The cover is especially good. The strips themselves are reproduced in a perfectly fine manner. The strips are perfectly readable, and the quality is better than the Checker editions of a few years ago. I really felt I had to add a review because the other reviews suggest you would be getting a substandard item if you bought this and that's simply not true. I think that if you're an art connosieur then there's a possibility you might not find the clarity of some panels to your liking, but the strips are at this point 80 years old so some degradation of quality is likely.From a reader's perspective, you can follow the stories perfectly fine with what is presented here, and as this is Alex Raymond, it is fantastic swashbuckling stuff from a period when imagination ran hand in hand with romance. It's the old old story of a man, a woman and a mad scientist who end up in a crazy solar system ruled by a despotic villain who pits his underlings against each other to remain in power. Little does he know that he will be faced with the gumption and moral fortitude of an Earth man! Flash Gordon is an archetype and his adventures should be enjoyed by as many people as possible. Thankyou for this Titan, I love it.

Nostalgia. Amazing art from the 30s

Page quality good, printing very very bad.

"Flash Gordon" is my favourite comic strip and I'm glad that titan now started a complete collection of this woderfu piece of art! I'm eagerly awaiting the books after Alex Raymond's initial stint on the sf hero.