30 Days of Drawing… Day 10

Will our hero rescue the beautiful princess? Find out on today’s episode of “As the Planet Turns!”

So while there are pictures of me reading comics early on.  I recall a well read issue of All-Star Comics in my grandmother’s house in the room I always slept in when I visited.  For me Science Fiction and Fantasy has always had a place in my life, from watching things like “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” or the Flash Gordon serial with Buster Crabbe.  All this said if you were to ask me what was the defining comic story for me it would be Alex Raymond’s “Flash Gordon”.  When my family moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles I recall that my dad bought my brother and I bound editions of volume 1 and volume 2 for us to read on the drive down.  I was hooked by the beautiful artwork, and the compelling story, from that point on I worked on gathering the rest of the story, What happened in the Forest Kingdom?  The Caves?  Did Flash Gordon ever defeat Ming the Merciless?  After years I was able to get the story to (*spoilers*) Flash Gordon heading home to Earth with Dale, and Dr. Zarkov.  Later after moving on my own and feeling nostalgic, I was unable to find those original volumes (1 to 5).  I finally found some reprints that continued the story up until Alex Raymond left the strip… Now I just need to go back reread them.