King Features and Mad Cave Bring Flash Gordon Back to the Comics

By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
King Features Syndicate is kicking off a new master publishing program for Flash Gordon in partnership with Mad Cave Studios and Papercutz.
Created in 1934 by artist Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon is a science-fiction adventure comic franchise and superhero character IP that is owned by King Features Syndicate.
To commemorate the character’s 90th anniversary this year, Mad Cave Studios and its all-ages Papercutz imprint are unveiling a full Flash Gordon publishing program for 2024.
“As King Features continues to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Flash Gordon, we’re thrilled to be collaborating with Mad Cave Studios and Papercutz to keep the legacy of Flash Gordon alive for fans of all ages,” said King Features SVP, Carla Silva. “It’s our goal to continue bringing quality Flash Gordon content to the fans and celebrate their love for the savior of the universe.”
Initially revealed at ComicsPro 2024, Mad Cave’s Flash Gordon publishing program will include a wide range of new stories and reprinted classic works from the Flash Gordon franchise.
This will include hardcover Flash Gordon: Classic Collections comic reprints, a Flash Gordon ongoing series, a reprint of a 1980s Defenders of the Earth trade paperback, a new Defenders of the Earth miniseries, a Flash Gordon Quarterly release and an all-ages Flash Gordon Adventures! book series from Papercutz.
The Flash Gordon: Classic Collection Volume 1 will include high-quality reprints of all of Alex Raymond’s Sunday comic strips spanning from January 1, 1934 to April 18, 1937.
The volume will also include additional background material on the franchise and an introduction from comics industry executive Alex Ross.
The Flash Gordon: Classic Collection Vol. 1 will officially launch on July 31st, 2024 and is currently available for pre-order through the Mad Cave website.
Mad Cave’s new ongoing Flash Gordon series will include an intense new science-fiction adventure that is conceived and illustrated by an experienced creative team that includes writer Jeremy Adams, artist Will Conrad, colorist Lee Loughridge and letterer Taylor Esposito.
The upcoming eight-part Defenders of The Earth series from Mad Cave is inspired by the classic cartoon adventure series of the same name. The new sci-fi mini-series is written by Dan DiDio and illustrated by comic artist Jim Calafiore.
The Flash Gordon Adventures book series from Mad Cave’s family-friendly Papercutz publishing imprint is led the award-winning creative team of Art Baltazar and Franco.
These new releases and reprints from Mad Cave Studios follow the character’s recent return to syndicated comic strips in 2023, which marked the character’s first return in two decades.  The updated Flash Gordon daily comic strip debuted in October 2023 from acclaimed cartoonist Dan Schkade.
Mad Cave Studios is an entertainment publishing company that offers graphic novels and comic books across a wide array of genres such as  fantasy, action, sci-fi, horror and more. Papercutz is a graphic novel publishing imprint of Mad Cave Studios that focuses on family-friendly and all-ages fiction.