Flash Gordon's Return Officially Revealed But With A Twist

A brand-new Flash Gordon series is on its way — And it is slated to introduce a whole new generation of high-flying adventurers.

Per Bleeding Cool, Mad Cave Studios has officially unveiled its next Flash Gordon series from a new creative team. Beginning on April 8 with the release of Flash Gordon #0 by writer Dan Abnett and artist Manuel Garcia, readers can follow along as the titular pulp icon prepares the next generation of adventurers for everything the cosmos has in store for them.

Flash Gordon #0

• Written by DAN ABNETT
• Art by MANUEL GARCIA
• Colors by CECI DE LA CRUZ
• Letters by TAYLOR ESPOSITO
• Main cover art by JOE QUINONES
• Variant cover art by MIGUEL MERCADO

The official solicit synopsis for Flash Gordon #0 from Mad Cave Studios reads, "Flash Gordon has always been a maverick, on the football field and in the stars. But when he's offered a job training the next generation of explorers, he’ll end up fighting for top gun! A 'quick trip' around Neptune's moons with Flash's cadets turns into a deadly alien hunt – and one of the new recruits thinks they can save the day without the dusty instructor."

Who Is Flash Gordon?

Created by Alex Raymond, the titular hero of Flash Gordon first appeared all the way back in 1934 with the debut of the King Features comic strip of the same name. In his earliest iteration, Flash was a Yale graduate and polo player who was kidnapped along with fellow adventurer and constant love interest Dale Arden before being sent to the planet Mongo in order to stop the dreaded Ming the Merciless.

The classic Flash Gordon comic strip instantly became a pop culture sensation unto itself, with a daily run lasting more than four decades and a nearly 70-year run as a Sunday strip. While the Flash Gordon comic strip has been relaunched since then, that is hardly the only time that the character has been reimagined.

Over the course of what will soon be a full century, Flash Gordon has been published in comic books from the likes of David McKay to Gold Key to Charlton to Marvel Comics. Beginning in 2011, Flash Gordon enjoyed one of his most memorable runs alongside a whole host of other pulp heroes courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment's time with the brand, although Mad Cave Studios' own run on Flash Gordon, which began in 2023, has quickly proven to be another fan-favorite.

In the late 1930s, Buster Crabbe starred as Flash Gordon in a trilogy of film serials, which further helped cement the character's place in pop culture. In 1980, what might be the most instantly recognizable version of Flash Gordon arrived in the form of a live-action feature film starring Sam Jones as the titular hero.

As far as what a modern remake of Flash Gordon might look like, fans have spent the past few years in anticipation of further updates on the long-awaited feature film from acclaimed auteur and screenwriter Taika Waititi. In 2021, producer John Davis noted that the film had been changed from an animated feature to a live-action production, and that "Taika is writing it," though that was about the last news that the project received.

Flash Gordon #0 from Mad Cave Studios goes on sale April 8.