Flash Gordon #1: "Flash Gordon and the Mole Machine" (Al Williamson art)

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In the company of Dale Arden, Flash Gordon embarked for the planet Mongo in 1934. That was in the Sunday funnies in a page drawn by Alex Raymond and written anonymously by former pulp-fiction editor Don Moore. This space opera became one of King Features Syndicate's most popular features, and Raymond's illustrative art was to have a strong influence on many of the young artists who began drawing for comic books in the late 1930s and the early 1940s—Tom Hickey, Sheldon Moldoff, Jack Lehti, George Papp, Mac Raboy, Dan Barry, etc.

Flash Gordon entered comic books early in 1936 by way of reprints in King Comics. His battles with the merciless Ming, a sort of galactic Fu Manchu, unfolded in the magazine from the first issue.

In the early 1940s Dell began issuing now and then Flash Gordon reprint titles. Later in the decade came an occasional comic-book offering Flash adventures "especially written and drawn for this magazine." The artist was Paul Norris, who also began drawing the Jungle Jim newspaper page in 1948.

Harvey Publications tried reprinting the Raymond material in 1950 and 1951, giving up after a few issues. King Features experimented with publishing comic books in the late 1960s. These used original material, and the Flash Gordon book made use of such artists as Al Williamson, a devoted Raymond disciple, Gil Kane, and Reed Crandall. When King quit, Charlton took over and finally Gold Key. The final Whitman Flash Gordon comic book was printed in 1982. He reappeared briefly in 1987 as part of a team that included Mandrake and the Phantom in the TV-inspired Defenders of the Earth.

Al Williamson was the leading exponent of the heroic adventure style introduced by Alex Raymond in Flash Gordon. A genuine boy wonder, Williamson started in comic books when he was only seventeen. He moved from Heroic Comics to Toby Press's John Wayne in 1950 and had Frank Frazetta inking some of his pages. He next drew some very imaginative fantasy and science-fiction stories for such titles as Forbidden Worlds and Out of the Night. In 1952 he went to work for EC Comics.

Williamson drew a wide range of EC titles, including Weird Fantasy, Valor, and Piracy. In the middle 1960s he actually got to draw Flash Gordon, when King Features ventured into comic books. In addition, he drew the Secret Agent Corrigan strip for King from 1967 to 1980. The first artist on the strip, when it was titled Secret Agent X-9, was Williamson's idol Alex Raymond.

Over the last ten years or so of his professional career Williamson concentrated on inking, chiefly for Marvel. A recent hardcover, Al Williamson Adventures, collects some of his best earlier comic work.



Untitled Story

Credits

Cover art: Al Williamson
Script: Larry Ivie
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• in Flash Gordon (Pinnacle Books, 1982 series) #[1] [41-333-5]
• in Al Williamson's Flash Gordon, A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic (Flesk Publications, 2009 Series)

Flash Gordon and the Mole Machine

Credits

Script: Archie Goodwin
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• in Flash Gordon (Pinnacle Books, 1982 series) #[1] [41-333-5]
• in Al Williamson's Flash Gordon, A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic (Flesk Publications, 2009 Series)

Tales of Suspense #4: "Beware of the... Robots!" (Al Williamson art)

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This post concludes Al Williamson's contributions to Tales of Suspense.


Credits

Script: unknown
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense (Marvel, 2006 series) #1 (2006)
  

Tales of Suspense #1: "The Strangers from Space!" (Al Williamson art)

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Yet another anthology of fantasy and horror from Marvel, Tales of Suspense began late in 1959. For the first four years of its existence, the magazine showcased yet another batch of Stan Lee-Jack Kirby gigantic rampaging monsters. They included Kraa, Sporr, Goom, Googam, and the Green Thing. But then, early in 1963, the magazine presented not one more destructive demon but a brand new superhero.

The thirty-ninth issue (March 1963) introduced "The Newest, Most Breath-Taking, Most Sensational Superhero of All... IRON MAN!" The plot was credited to Lee, the script to Larry Leiber, and the art to Don Heck. After debuting in a thirteen-page original story, Iron Man pushed the monsters aside to become the star of Tales of Suspense. Other heroes who later showed up included Hawkeye and Captain America. From #59 (November 1964) onward, Cap and Iron Man appeared in separate stories each issue. With #100 (April 1968), the magazine became Captain America. Iron Man moved into a new title, Iron Man and Submariner, for one issue and then Iron Man #1 appeared (May 1968) appeared.

Marvel used the Tales of Suspense title for a one-shot in 1995.


Credits

Script: Unkown
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Tales of Suspense (Marvel, 2006 series) #1 (2006)

Adventure Into Mystery #4: "None Are So Blind!" (Al Williamson art)

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Credits

Cover: Carl Burgos
Script: Unknown
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Al Williamson

Reprinted:

• In Secrets Of The Unknown (Alan Class, 1962 series) #185.
  

Monsters Unleashed #7: "The Monster In the Mist!" (Al Williamson art)

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Back in the old days, before the comics industry felt the need to censor its own product, EC Comics produced some of the finest science fiction comics ever published. One of the reasons why Weird Science, Weird Fantasy (and later, Weird Science-Fantasy) were so good was the work of a lanky young man named Al Williamson. At 21, Williamson was the youngest of the EC family, but everyone was in awe of his draftsmanship. Williamson could draw bravura science fiction adventure like no one else, though it didn't hurt that he had the likes of Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel, and Angelo Torres assisting him with backgrounds and inking.

After the collapse of the EC line of comics. Williamson worked for such companies as ACG, Atlas, and Harvey, to name just a few, bringing to the stories what he did for their SF and mystery titles the same superb rendering and palpable sense of atmosphere that made his EC work so memorable. In addition to the comic books he did, Williamson also made significant contributions to the art of the comic strip, ghosting several weeks of Flash Gordon for Dan Barry, and assisting John Prentice on Rip Kirby. These last two assignments are particularly ironic when you consider that it was Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon that inspired Williamson to become a comics artist in the first place. Indeed, Williamson had been the primary proponent of heroic realism in comics, and is the rightful heir to the Flash Gordon mantle of Alex Raymond, something Williamson proved with his superb work on the King Flash Gordon title of the mid '60s, and on the Flash Gordon movie album adapted from the (otherwise wretched) DeLaurentiiss film.



Credits

Cover painting: Richard Hescox
Script: Unknown
Pencils: Al Williamson
Inks: Ralph Mayo

Reprinted:

• From ASTONISHING #60 (April 1957).
  

• In Monsters Unleashed (Marvel, 1973 series) #7 (August 1974).