The third volume chronologically reprinting the vintage strip Flash Gordon shows illustrator Raymond coming into his own, perfecting the lush, romantic style that would make him a major influence on future generations of comics artists. The storyline is space-opera at its most primitive. In these 1936-38 episodes, the rocket carrying Flash, his girlfriend Dale Arden, and their scientist friend Dr. Zarkov is shot down by the forces of their arch foe, Ming the Merciless, emporer of the planet Mongo. The trio is stranded in Mongo’s remote forest kingdom, where they’re menaced by strange creatures and savage tusk-men before being rescued by their friend Kign Barin, whose refusal to turn them over to Ming ignites a planetary war. Flash is captured, forcing Dale and Zarkov to attempt a daring rescue. The clunky dialogue (“No! You can’t mean it, man!”) doesn’t make this any more palatable to contemporary readers than does the literal-minded yellow-peril depiction of Ming. Raymond’s masterful brushwork, however, with its idealized human figures and exotic backgrounds, carries all before it.
