I only have the vaguest of memories of the campy Flash Gordon film from 1980, but I do recall not liking it very much. I think the intentional camp was lost on me at the time. Perhaps I should give it another go? I mean, Max von Sydow as Ming the Merciless? How bad could it be?

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REVIEW SUMMARY: A mainlined dose of beautifully rendered classic SF.

MY RATING:

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: An omnibus of Al Williamson’s spectacular work on Flash Gordon strips and comics.

MY REVIEW:

PROS: Great reproductions, nice format, and a nice surprise.

CONS: None worth complaining about.

BOTTOM LINE: Over 200 pages of retro-sexy fanboy bliss.

The subtitle of this volume is “A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic,” and this book delivers on every page. After an introduction by Groo and MAD cartoonist Sergio Aragones, Mark Schultz gives us the story of how Al Williamson came to be the Flash Gordon illustrator-of-choice in the wake of Alex Raymond. What follows is a breathtaking collection of Williamson’s work from the 50s all the way to 2001.

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Flash! Ah-Aaaaah!

Not sure why this popped into my head this week, but it’s building up a pressure that can only be released by inflicting it on others. That’s you.

Bonus: Here’s a fan-made video paying tribute to the old Filmation Flash Gordon ‘toon.

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