Cellulose
to Celluloid: Flash
Gordon on Paper and Film
|
Chapter
Nine: Sea to Shining Sky -- between Shark Men, Mongo
Monsters, and Hawk Men
|
The
movie Flash battled a tentacled creature in the City
of the Shark Men. Flash fought a similar beast soon
afterward in the strip. The Undersea World adventure
of 1936 ran in the newspapers while the serial premiered
in the theaters.
(Left) Note Alex Raymond's beautiful draughtsmanship
after two years -- these earlier panels track his development. |
| The
Shark Men episode is often considered the dullest in
the movie serial, and borrows very little plot from
the 1934 comic strip. However, Princess Aura played
a major role in rescuing Flash Gordon from the submerged
city ... |
| ...
while Prince Thun lent a hand in rescuing Dale Arden.
They ended up separated from Aura and Flash in the comics.
All four stayed together in the movies, possibly because
the scenario was simpler that way. |
| This
Extraplanetary Crustacian showed up in an unrelated
Sunday adventure. Thun blasted a similarly ugly thing
with a ray gun before it killed Flash during their quest
to save Dale from Ming's unholy wedding in the movie. |
| In
the Saturday serial, Dale and Thun were ambushed by
hidden Hawk Men, as Flash fought another troop of them
on the ground nearby. In the Sunday pages, flying Hawk
Men swooped down on Dale and Flash from above. |
Flash Gordon
is the property of it's copyright holders. All images
are used for scholastic purposes ONLY in the context of this
article.
Text and graphic design copyright by Michael R. Evans 2008
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