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A Visit to Mongo
But even though the map of Mongo wasn't published until 1966, did you know that Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon had already been orbiting in the hearts of sci-fi and space fans for over 30 years? From his first appearance in a January 1934 Sunday strip for King Features, audiences became fascinated with Flash. Now remember, Buck Rogers had come onto the scene just a few years earlier, and an obsession with space was, well, just beginning to take off The wonderfully farfetched tale of Flash Gordon, world-famous Earthling polo player, begins as he is flying with his gal-pal Dale Arden. When their aircraft is struck by a wayward meteor, however, they parachute themselves straight into the company of one Dr. Hans Alexis Zarkov. Zarkov is busy preparing to go into space to investigate the mysterious Planet Mongo, which happens to be on a collision course with Earth. So naturally, Flash and Dale decide to join him. Thus, the adventures on Mongo begin. The three find themselves faced with one peril after another at the hands of Mongo's bizarre inhabitants - namely the vile Ming the Merciless, who is set upon destroying the Earth. They do find allies in a few Mongonians, however, such as Prince Baron, who hails from Arboria - a smallish country sandwiched between the Sea of Mystery and the Great Mongo Desert. They also befriend King Vultan of the Hawkmen, a race inhabiting a great Sky City. From the Land of the Lion Men to the Underwater Kingdom of Coralia, from Volcano World to Cave World to Flame World, Flash had enough adventure on the Planet Mongo to last for decades. And indeed, his adventures did last for decades. Much of Flash's amazing popularity came from the amazing popularity of his creator, Alex Raymond. Now regarded as one of the greatest comic artists of all time, Raymond's clean lines and revolutionary "dry brush" style make his work uniquely distinguishable and utterly breathtaking. And while he was highly influential throughout his life, he has proved to be even more so now that he is gone. Of course, Flash enjoyed success both on and off the page. By 1935, Flash had a radio series on the Mutual network. An original novel was published in 1936, which was also the year he made his first comic book appearance - in the April issue of King Comics #1. Three chapter plays were produced between 1936 and 1940 with Olympian Buster Crabbe starring as the hero, and daily strips, a TV series, cartoons and even a film all followed over the years. Talk about a mongo good time!
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