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What’s Up Comic Fans!? Rich from the NI Bullpen back to review a quarterly from Mad Cave Studios. Starring the one and only Flash Gordon!
Flash Gordon Quarterly #1 features writing by Dennis Culver, Louis Southard, and Jordan Thomas. The art is by Pasquale Qualano, Nuno Plati, and Russell Olson. The colors are by Mark Englert & Joào Lemos, letters by Charles Pritchett, Buddy Beaudoin, and Lucas Gattoni. The book is edited by Chas! Pangburn and designed by Miguel A. Zapata.
Let’s see what Flash Gordon gets himself in to.
***Minor Spoilers Possible***
The Fall of King Vultan
The first story up is The Fall of King Vultan. This story is written by Dennis Culver, art by Pasquale Qualano, colors by Mark Englert, and letters by Charles Pritchett.
The story opens and we are introduced to King Vultan and his son the prince. They are engaging in an aerial war and the father teases his son with his childhood nickname Talon. The prince insists he’s Hawkman and that Talon is a child’s name.
The teasing is cut short as the prince is shot out of the sky with his father barely saving him. As father and son are on the ground about to be swarmed, King Vultan tries to send his son away. But the young man stays to fight. Will they make it out of this skirmish?
This story was a solid opener that features a good tale about a father and son. The art is wonderful, and the panels have very warm colors throughout.
The Battle of Little Mingo
Next up is Flash Fiction: Sheriff Gordon in The Battle of Little Mingo. This tale is written by Louis Southard, art by Nuno Plati, color by Joào M. P. Lemos, and letters by Buddy Beaudoin.
The tale opens with Sheriff Gordon and Deputy Arden pinned down in a gun fight. Sheriff Gordon orders the deputy to retreat to safety. Deputy Arden is not too happy about the order but follows them anyways.
Just as it looks like Sheriff Gordon’s luck is about to run out. A powerful man shows up to stop the bandits, his name is Governor Ming T. Marcellus. Governor Ming doesn’t stop the men because he wants to save the Sheriff, rather he wants to take the Sheriff out himself. How will Sheriff Gordon survive?
This tale is a good western with all the feels. The story is straight out of a cowboy show from the 50’s. The art really brings this out and pushes this story to my personal favorite of the book.
Check Out My Destro #3 Review
Flash Detective Services
The last story in this anthology is Flash Fiction: Flash Detective Services. This story is written by Jordan Thomas, art by Russell Mark Olson, and letters by Lucas Gattoni.
Detective Flash Gordon and Hans Zarkov affectionately known as Doc are hanging out in the detective’s office. Doc is showing Flash his latest invention, a wristwatch with a saw inside of it. Just as Flash is picking on Doc, a damsel in distress Aura enters the office to hire our P.I.
As Flash and Doc start to look for Aura’s missing person, we start to see that this is no basic investigation. Flash must use all his wit, charm, and cunning to try and solve this one. However, he gets stuck in a precarious situation.
Flash Detective Service is a fun private investigator story. Lots of humor mixed in with sticky situations. The artwork looks from the 30’s period, which really sets this tale apart from the stories before it.
Final Thoughts
Flash Gordon Quarterly #1 is a fun book overall. The writing is entertaining, and the art really stands out. Entertaining selection that is a simple yet fun addition to any readers Pull List.
Final Grade: 7/10
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