Much like Captain Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, an aging Flash Gordon finds himself at a crossroads. He’s back on Earth after vanquishing Ming the Merciless for a final(?) time. The planet Mongo has been flung into the farthest reaches of space, leaving Flash, Dale and Hans Zarkov with no other option than to return to Earth and face the scariest prospect of all: living normal lives again. Flash Gordon #0, written by Dan Abnett with art by Manuel Garcia and colors by Ceci de la Cruz, sets up a new storyline that asks the question: “After you’ve saved the Earth numerous times, what else is left?”
In this case, there’s teaching, as Flash takes a position at the E.R.A. (Earth Rocketry Administration), training young candidates in piloting, marksmanship. He has dreams of once again returning to space. Once he talks with Dale Arden and finds she’s content being bound to Earth again, he decides to do what he does best: fly by the seat of his pants and make his own adventure, taking his students with him into space and heading for a remote communications outpost on Neptune.
One of the last prejudices left in the world is ageism, where older people are either pushed aside or outright ignored because they’re deemed no longer useful in a microchip-driven world that moves at 100 miles per hour. It’s inevitable that Flash would buck against any push to “settle down”, and it’s a blast watching him rocket off into space with his students, who all have distinctive personalities that blend well together.
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The only annoying person in the group is Albright, a guy always trying to look like the most macho person around and who constantly butts heads with Flash. Albright has a “jump first, ask questions later” approach that’s reminiscent of Flash’s early days, and I expect the two will slowly develop a father-son type relationship over time. If they don’t kill each other first!
Once the team gets to Neptune, the book slides right into some good old-fashioned sci-fi action, with a giant monster roaming Neptune’s landscape, destroying communications towers in its wake. Artist Manuel Garcia’s creature design makes the massive beast look like it walked out of a Ray Harryhausen film, which fits a Flash Gordon tale perfectly. I could practically see the creature emerging from its cave with the same jerky movements of Harryhausen’s stop-motion creatures. Also, the stark surface of Neptune, with its towering ice-covered peaks, makes the planet look truly alien and different from the Earth.
If you’re a fan of Flash Gordon, pick this issue up and get on the ground floor of this new story, which not only features some great action but also deals with concepts of aging and dealing with change that will carry on through the next few issues.
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