Flash Gordon Illustrated

Black illustration of Flash Gordon and friend riding creatures with block letters on white background.

Flash Gordon is the hero of the science-fiction comic strip titled Flash Gordon. It was created in 1934 by illustrator Alex Raymond and writer Don Moore as a Sunday feature for King Features Syndicate. Intended to compete with the popular comic strip Buck Rogers (which it soon surpassed in popularity), the series concerned the intergalactic adventures of Flash Gordon, his girlfriend Dale Arden, and the scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov on the alien planet Mongo. The character appeared on television in both live-action (1954–55; 2007–08) and animated (1979–80; 1996) series. The feature-length film Flash Gordon (1980) was equal parts science fiction and high camp, and, although a failure at the box office, it was perhaps best remembered for its synthesizer-fueled soundtrack, provided by the rock group Queen.