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Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Will Conrad, Cliff Richards
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
2023 has seen the return of a lot of classic characters in comic book form. Classic cartoons, iconic heroes, and cult heroes are all finding new life. One of the best of those comics has been Flash Gordon from Mad Cave Studios. Despite never watching or reading anything Flash Gordon related I have enjoyed the throwback adventure this has provided. Now that we are five issues in though can that continue?
Similar to the last issue we get a flashback before we move forward this time on the character of Zarkov. As a novice to this world, I have no idea if this is a character from past lore or a new creation for this run. Luckily it does not matter because all the context is provided. We get glimpses of Zarkov’s past that may have led to where our heroes currently find themselves. Like many geniuses of his day, his peers did not appreciate his intelligence and were quick to ostracize him. This was just solid economic storytelling. In only two pages you get his entire story which has a major impact on the final events of this issue.
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After that flashback, the story picks up right after the conclusion of the last issue as Flash Gordon is attempting to save Ming from the clutches of his own army. Even as a Flash Gordon novice, I know how odd it is for Flash to go out of his way to save Ming. Gordon’s attempt to save the day is a bit lackluster and he quickly finds himself captured alongside Ming. Now the question becomes who can save them before their captors finish the job?
If I had one problem with this issue it is the haphazard way Flash gets captured. I understand he was fighting a losing battle but it was like dying in Mario because you missed the first basic jump. Part of that is because it gets us quicker to what this issue is really about, and also shows that Flash may act before he thinks. Just seemed like he should be a little better than being so easily fooled. Was waiting for the part of the story where he got captured on purpose but alas that did not happen.
Overall though this issue is indicative of what I have enjoyed about this series thus far. It has that swashbuckling adventure where fun is the foremost element driving the story. Now character is an important piece too and what has been interesting lately is seeing this group of characters that should not be together forced to team up. I get a similar feeling reading this as I do watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Their bickering with one another is part of the fun. Plus it has you waiting for when they will eventually turn on one another. Listening to a Hans Zimmer score while reading will only enhance the experience.
Often with these revival comics, the creators will run away from what made the property what it is in order to change with the times. Usually, that leads to failure because you are left with an imitation of an imitation. Here writer Jeremy Adams and artist Will Conrad Cliff Richards construct a tale that feels both timeless and ageless. This can work for now or twenty years ago, and both young and old can get something from it.
When I saw two artists were going to be on this issue I was worried about what I was going to read. Just waiting for that jarring moment as one artist tags the other in and we see a drastic shift in style and execution. Happy to say that never happened. In fact, if I never read the credits page I would have never known there were multiple artists within this issue. Credit should go to both artists as well as the editorial team who picked two artists who could execute in a similar fashion. Have to also mention colorist Lee Loughridge whose work gave the issue a consistent aesthetic throughout.
When talking about art to also mentioned lettering Taylor Esposito whose job it is to make this all work. Like the touch of using the square boxes to represent the speech of the Robot so you know he sounds different than your normal person. Before that, we get what appears to be pieces of Zarkov’s notebook that are used for narration. Making those bits look like actual notebook paper is a quick way of telling the reader that is not just general narration but coming for the focal character. Those opening pages were able to convey so much information because of how well all these artists worked together.
Will Conrad gets the first half of the book and you could argue it is the least exciting bit of the story. However, as mentioned those pages included some stellar economic storytelling to provide a complete picture of the Zarkov character. We get this page settled in on the upper torso of this mechanical droid, but within that page is a multitude of panels that function as memories captured in time. There was a nice touch of designing those panels to look like a similar material to the robot’s visor so we know who is experiencing those flashbacks.
Cliff Richards takes over in the second half and right away makes an entrance… literally. That’s because his first page is that said droid blasting through a wall. Richards gets the bulk of the action in this issue and does a good job with it. He utilizes a multitude of smaller rectangle panels overtop the main scene to keep the action quick while making it easy to follow.
Overall Flash Gordon #5 is more of the same which is by no means a bad thing. Plot-wise it is not much more than your standard rescue misuse with some fun action while taking some time to further build up these characters. If you are looking for the classic serial adventure you would normally get with a Saturday Morning Cartoon just aged up a bit this will give you exactly what you are looking for.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10
