'Flash Gordon: King's Cross' by Jeff Parker with art and story by Jesse Hamm is a fun crossover title with lots of pulp characters.

When Ming the Merciless decides to claim Earth, he creates an entire continent and plans to turn humans in to animals unless he gets his way. Standing in his way are Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov. Along to help out are Mandrake the Magician, a couple versions of The Phantom and a few surprises. There are some nice twists and turns along the way.

I enjoyed the story and the art in this one. I had read a similar title a while back and it just didn't work, but these characters in this title work pretty well. The story feels like a pulp adventure and the art has a kind of nice retro feel as well.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I have been a fan of the Flash Gordon character since ... well, I don't know when. Probably when I read <em>The Lion Men of Mongo</em> (by Alex Raymond) back in 1974. Since then I've eagerly read almost anything with the Flash Gordon name on it.

This graphic novel, by Jeff Parker and with art by Jesse Hamm, really isn't so much a Flash Gordon story as it is a "Defenders of the Universe" story - a series by Dynamite Entertainment that mashes together a number of popular pulp-style heroes joining forces to ... well ... defend the universe. In this story, our band of pulp heroes (Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom, and Prince Valiant (Prince Valiant?!)) are defending against Ming the Merciless, Flash's greatest foe. Ming is teleporting an entire continent from Mongo to Earth so that he can begin his reign of terror and take over the planet.

It's classic pulp action with some classic pulp heroes and it's ... well it's <em>not</em> going to be a classic.

Parker moves the story along very rapidly, making this read more like a series of Sunday comic strips rather than a book length story.

Hamm's art is cartoon-y, making this feel like early 1950's comic strip art, which at least lent an air of nostalgia to the piece, which I enjoyed. However, the art did take me out of the story. I often thought about a panel or even a page and why I liked it or why I didn't like, and what seemed 'different' about it, which meant I wasn't really thinking about what was happening on the page. Not that I missed much. The story was oddball corny and prompted more than a few rolling eyes on my part.

I definitely wanted to like this (I haven't requested many graphic novels to read lately), but other than for a bit of strange nostalgia, there really isn't anything here that would make me want to read more of this Defenders of the Universe series and I certainly can't recommend it to anyone.

Looking for a good book? The graphic novel <em>Flash Gordon: King's Cross</em> is part of the Defender's of the Universe graphic novel series and fans of the series will want to read this installment but anyone else should probably just keep on looking.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I don't really know much about Flash Gordon but I hoped this would be a stand alone story. It became clear within a few pages, though, that it was building on quite a lot of history that I knew nothing about. It was hard to engage with so many references I didn't understand.

Flash Gordon and company are facing a new crisis! Ming has managed to drop an island from Mungo in the Pacific Ocean! Now company of heroes just need to traverse the island, find the gatestone and return the island before Ming changes all of Earth to beastmen. Will they manage it? Or will Flash lose his head to a pretty face? Read Kings Cross and find out

Ming the merciless comes to claim Earth as the crown jewel in his empire and flash Gordon must stop him. He brings along his friends to help: Dale Arden,the reporter, Dr. Zarkov, the scientist, Mandrake the Magician, the Phantom and others to thwart Mings plans. This is a beautifully crafted comic in the tradition of the old pulp comics. The authors and illustrators have merged comic worlds and come up with a wonderful new storyline with more to follow. For those of us who fondly remember the old Flash Gordon movies this book is a delightful treat!!! New readers will enjoy this new comic universe as well.

Ming the Merciless has transported a continent from his world to Earth. He's trying to be elected as president of the world by scaring citizens that he'll turn them into animal men if they don't vote for him. The Defenders of the Universe (a bunch of characters from syndicated comic strips that King owns) are trying to stop him.

The Good: The pulpiness is here, surprisingly considering it's Jeff Parker much of the fun isn't.

The Bad: The plot is a convoluted mess.

The Ugly: I'm not really sure why this is billed as a Flash Gordon book. While he is in it , it's clearly the next volume in Dynamite's Defender of the Universe series.

The world has been invaded by Ming, who is Flash Gordon’s nemesis. He placed a new continent in the Pacific Ocean, which created tidal waves around the world. Flash Gordon and his team go to the new land to defeat Ming and send him to another planet. But first they have to face apes, an animal army, and hallucinogenic plants.

I had never read any Flash Gordon comics before this one. I liked that the illustrations were done in an old fashioned style, so it looks like the original comics. The cover also looks like an old newsprint comic.

The story was pretty good. I had a hard time getting into it at the beginning because I’m not familiar with the history of the characters. But I liked it by the end. The final action scenes were exciting.

This graphic novel is great for fans of the original comics and new readers.

This starts poorly - well, not terribly but certainly something you need the prequel to - and gets worse. Prince Valiant can just do one, and what the heck is Jungle Jim?? Pathetic characters making for a stupid, stupid story.

Perfectly encapsulates everything we love about Flash Gordon. Humour, quips, action and Ming! Will have huge appeal to all Flash Gordon fans!

After a clever recap of past events via radio and movie trailers, the setting remains the movie theater as—is that The Phantom? Yes, twice; he’s got a redheaded sidekick now—they capture a poacher before heading off to Mandrake’s place to see what the next big crisis is. In the meantime Flash has to rescue Zarkov from some Russian goons. Then all they need is for Dale to show up so the plot can get moving, concerning tidal waves striking every coastline in the world.
Now that Dale’s become so serious, I like redhead Junior Phantom, so full of snark. Some of the best moments include:
“Close your eyes and think queenly thoughts.” “Really?” “Well, close your eyes, anyway.”
“Don’t apologize for loving me, darling.” Can’t believe Flash said that with a straight face.
Never expected to see Flash—or anyone—riding a giant bat.
This was not an easy slog; if it wasn’t for the humor I’m not sure I could have made it through. Got too silly in places.
15 pages of extras.

A vintage looking comic. I felt utterly pleased to read it, as humor was mostly innocent and images were very classy. Walking beef jerky, spider monkeys , classical villains - it is a sum of what you can expect from this comic. Very smooth going, would definitely recommend to a comic head!

A vanquished tyrant comes up with a new and dastardly plot to cling to power...but enough about Theresa May and the DUP. The considerably more competent, honourable and likeable Ming the Merciless is here up against not just Flash (aa-aah!) but Mandrake and the Phantom, making this Defenders Of The Earth by any other name. Not sure whether it would convince anybody not nostalgic for these characters, but for me it was a nice lightweight bit of fun on an emotional rollercoaster of a day.

This book collects Dynamite's crossover event King's Cross which brings together Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, two version of the Phantom, and eventually Jungle Jim, and Prince Valiant join together to thwart Ming the Merciless' attempt to invade Earth.

The first four issues of this story are okay. It felt a bit overwhelming and busy at times but Jeff Parker is a good writer and does a good job of keeping a sense of fun throughout the adventure. The climatic issue was epic with its humor, action, and stakes.

Overall, if you enjoyed Parker's run on Flash Gordon or his work on Batman '66, or you're a fan of the classic King characters, this an action-packed thrill ride you'll enjoy. It is the third of these crossovers and there's some continuity, but most of that is pretty well explained in the story.

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.