Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Flash Gordon

Mac Raboy — Conquers The Universe

Original Art and The Artists

Flash Gordon, Sunday Strip, July 30, 1961

Alex Raymond created Flash Gordon and set the standard for comic strip illustration.

Mac Raboy worshipped Raymond, and created his own impeccable standards for illustration during the Golden Age of comics with his astonishing craftsmanship on Captain Marvel Jr.

And then… serendipity takes a hand, and Raboy becomes the Sunday artist for Flash Gordon.

That Sunday run, started in 1946, and only ending with Raboy’s death in 1967, deserves consideration among the best looking SF strips of all time.

As for Captain Marvel Jr.?  Raboy’s covers are still among the greatest ever to appear in the medium.

Dark Horse has collected the complete Raboy Flash Gordon run into four attractive volumes.
Nearly 50 years later, Jim Steranko’s History of the Comics (Vol.2) features the best overview of Mac Raboy’s amazing Golden Age comics work on Captain Marvel Jr. These two pages © Jim Steranko, 1972, 2021.

Alex Raymond — Watching The Detectives

Original Art and The Artists

Daily Strip, December 11, 1950

Every so often, I have this daydream, that I will sell most, if not all, of my art and use the proceeds to buy just one piece: An Alex Raymond Flash Gordon Sunday.

First time I ever saw that art as a kid, I recognized that I was looking at something extraordinary.

Nearly 50 years later, I still feel that way.

In the meantime, I have this great Raymond Rip Kirby to enjoy. Frankly, they are all pretty great, but this one especially spoke to me because of the terrific use of light and shadows. (And smaller word balloons than typical means more art to enjoy.)

Publishing the complete Raymond Rip Kirby — and Flash Gordon, with the Raymond Jungle Jim toppers — at IDW was a joy. An absolute joy.

And I’m still thinking about saving my pennies…

Continuing our month long celebration of the great adventure comic strips:
Week 1: Superheroes
Week 2: Detectives
Week 3: SF
Week 4: Masters Of The Form

Fun fact: This is Volume 2 of the complete Alex Raymond Rip Kirby, despite the fact that the years contained within are misidentified here.