RARE FLASH GORDON PULP

Currently considered "very rare", FLASH GORDON STRANGE ADVENTURE MAGAZINE was published by C.J.H. Publications with a December 1936 cover date. Harold Hersey was the editor and Lloyd Jacquet was assistant editor. Hersey was a veteran pulpster and wrote a number of essays, short stories and poems, as well as editing THE THRILL BOOK (1919) and GHOST STORIES (1931).

Fred Meagher was the cover and interior artist. Meagher began his career with Hersey and was known mostly as the artist for TOM MIX COMICS (Ralston-Purina) and STRAIGHT ARROW (Magazine Enterprises). When ME closed up shop in 1956, Meagher finished out his career in commercial art. Putting it bluntly, Meagher's art here is . . . well, meager.

FLASH GORDON STRANGE ADVENTURE MAGAZINE was intended to cash in on the burgeoning newspaper comic strip market. The novel-length Flash Gordon story, "The Master of Mars" was written by James Edison Northfield (credited as James Edison Northford on the story's title page) and licensed by King Features Syndicate. It was accompanied by three other shorter, non-Flash stories.

While rare, it has not escaped its reputation as a mediocre entry in the Flash Gordon canon. Renown editor E.F. Bleiler called the story "moronic" and the accompanying fiction "third rate". For any number of reasons, it lasted for only one issue. A copy CGC-rated VG/FN 5.0 was sold by Heritage Auctions on June 19, 2025 for $1,020.00.

NOTE: These are the cover and images from the story and are shown here are in the same order as they appeared in the magazine.

View more Flash Gordon posts HERE.

FLASH GORDON BATTLES GIANT MONSTERS

When we last left Flash, he had just successfully saved Dale after being kidnapped by beast men who aimed to sacrifice her to their god. They continue their adventures on the strange and deadly planet Mongo.

Reed Crandall takes over the art from Al Williamson. The back-up feature in this issue is a Secret Agent X-9 story.

FLASH GORDON

Vol. 1 No. 6

July 1967

King Features Syndicate, Inc. (King Comics)

Editor: Bill Harris

Cover art: Reed Crandall

Pages: 36

Cover price: 12 cents

CONTENTS

"Cragmen of the Lost Continent"

Script: Bill Pearson

Art: Reed Crandall

"The Totem Master!"

Script: Bill Pearson

Art: Reed Crandall

"Secret Agent X-9: The Third Key of Power"

Script: Gary Poole

Art: Frank Springer?

COMICS FROM OUTER SPACE! (PART 1)

Outer space and planetary adventures have been a staple of comics for nearly 100 years. While there were other, earlier science-fiction comics strips, it is generally recognized that Philip Francis Nowlan's Buck Rogers was the first "serious" sci-fi adventure strip. The character first appeared in Nowlan's novella, "2419 A.D." in the August 1928 issue of AMAZING STORIES as Anthony Rogers. Copies of these are now rare and command very high prices in the collector's market for this reason.

Nowlan and the John F. Dille Company (later the National Newspaper Syndicate) collaborated on adapting the character into a newspaper adventure strip. Editorial cartoonist Dick Calkins was hired as the artist and the first strip was published on 7 January 1929 with the name Anthony Rogers changed to Buck Rogers. Coincidentally, this is also the same date that the Edgar Rice Burroughs and Hal Foster TARZAN strip debuted for the United Feature Syndicate.

The first Buck Rogers newspaper strips, January 7-8 1929.

Others followed, including Flash Gordon, who became the most popular of the era, beginning its run in 1934 with the King Features Syndicate. Flash's success is due in large part to Alex Raymond's magnificent art.

An example of Alex Raymond's Sunday Flash Gordon strip.

The sky was not the limit with sci-fi strips and comics, and stories abounded with tales of wild imagination populated by impossible heroes, impossibly beautiful women, villainous aliens and some of the strangest-looking monsters you will ever see.

This is the first of a new series of space and science-fiction comic books from various publishing companies over the years. Why not get started with a trip to the moon?

ROCKET TO THE MOON was a one-shot published by Avon Comics in 1951 (month unknown). The story is an uncredited adaptation of Otis Adelbert Kline's novel, "Maza of the Moon", first serialized in ARGOSY with the first part published in its December 29 issue. It was published in book form by A.C. McClurg & Co in 1930.

The script is by Walter B. Gibson who readers may remember as the author of THE SHADOW stories using the pen name, Maxwell Grant. Art is by Joe Orlando and Wallace Wood; there is some contention that Charles Nicolas also had a hand in the penciling and/or inking, but this looks like a typical Orlando/Wood collaboration to me. The back-up story features Flash Harper, News Reporter in "The Death Doll", by an unknown writer and artist.

So, come on aboard, fasten you seat belt, turn the oxygen on in your helmet, charge up your atomizer gun and we'll head for adventure on distant stars and planets -- who knows what we'll find?

NOTE: This scan is from the Super Comics (Superior Comics) Canadian printing. Ads have been removed.