Flash Gordon Holiday Special Review


Do fanboys and fangirls need this release to complete their season? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Deck the galactic halls! You’re getting three titanic tales for the price of one, by the triple-team of Elliott Kalan, Dan McCoy and Stuart Wellington from The Daily Show and the hit podcast, The Flop House! Flash and Zarkov head back to Arboria to teach their alien friends about Christmas, only to find that Arboria…already knows what Christmas is? Then a tale on Earth, featuring an abandoned Beast-Man helped by a Jewish family during Hanukkah! And finally, Dale Arden rings in the New Year on the violent and horrifically frigid Frigia!

Flash Holiday Special_Variant CoverIt usually is a tall order for any comic to properly convey the holidays. Whatever you celebrate we each carry our own wants and needs, but for my money the creative teams involved in this handed in what should be readily described as a quality release. It fits within the realm of Kings Watch without missing a beat while sporting heart and plenty of cheer in a one-shot that’s just right for this time of year.

Flash Gordon in JUNGLE BELLS” follows the celebration of Khris-Maas on Arboria. Now as silly as that might sound somehow Dan McCoy finds a way to deliver a text that complements the hero we know while playing up his strengths therein. And with illustrations by Joseph Cooper the whole of the adventure is treated with a fitting display that knows just what it’s limitations are. And those boundaries are further complimented by a vibrant palette, crafted by Omi Remalante.

I’ll freely admit though that the second story,”Juhrg The Beast-Man in WONDERS and SALVATIONS” resonated with me. On one level Elliott Kalan caught my attention with a Hanukkah tale but he did more, as the written word allowed what could have easily een a one-off unnecessary antic to turn into something that should be remembered. Add in the art by Stephen Downey and there’s plenty of worth in this outing, as we see the world post Kings Watch in the eyes of an abandoned soldier lost in a place he doesn’t understand.

The third and final jaunt “Dale Arden in RESOLUTIONS” showed us a brief but slightly insightful introspection to our hero’s assumed love interest. Stuart Wellington handles the text and the scribe keeps it rather brief as the plot hits the right beats to cement its New Year‘s tale. The visuals by Lara Margarida complimented the yarn in the right ways, while offering a simplistic structure that differed ever so slightly from the other two illustrators. As a bonus the colors by Luigi Anderson birthed a layer of consistency.

Flash Gordon Holiday Special ends 2014 right! It offers some interesting presents that are bound to get fanboys and fangirls excited as this playground expands. So by all means go out and pick this up because this is one additional purchase that lives up to its intent as it comes highly recommended.

OUR RATING
9
  • + Slightly expands the realm of Kings Watch.
  • + Flash Gordon continued to be awesome.
  • + Had several quality creative teams.
  • + It fit the holiday season.

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