April 24th, 2014

Ask the Archivist: Some Flash Gordon Comic Books

by The King

Hello Archivist Fans!

Now in his 80th year, Flash Gordon (see HERE) has seen his way through comic strips, movies, television, radio and comic books. The new Dynamite Entertainment edition of Flash Gordon #1 leads your Archivist to recall some unusual earlier Flash Gordon comic books I’ve acquired over the years.  Afterfirst being printed in 1941,  Flash soon became a comic book regular, published by several companies through the years.

In the post-World War Twoera, Flash found a place among other American stars on foreign newsstand shelves as the strips and movies were licensed around the world. Here’s a few random domestic and international covers:

 

 WESTERN PUBLISHING COMPANY’S “MARCH OF COMICS” SERIES WERE HORIZONTAL BOOKLET SIZED COMICS THAT WERE GIVEN AWAY  (USUALLY BY SHOE STORES) WITH THE DEALER’S IMPRINT ON THE BACK. THEY COULD BE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT TITLES. Top to Bottom: #118 (October 1954), #133 (November 1955), #142 (April 1956).

 L. MILLER & SON, London 1963

                                             RIO GRAFICA, RIO DE JANEIRO, 1965

 EDITORIAL LORD COCHRANE, SANTIAGO DE CHILE, CIRCA 1965

 BENNETT COLEMAN AND COY. LTD. (INDRAJAL) BOMBAY 1982.  TO ACCOMMODATE THE DOZENS OF LANGUAGES OF INDIA,  THE SAME BOOK APPEARS IN MULTIPLE EDITIONS. ABOVE: BENGALI AND KANNADA, BELOW, MALAYALAM AND TAMIL.

 

Yours,

Archie Vast