Currently considered "very rare", FLASH GORDON STRANGE ADVENTURE MAGAZINE was published by C.J.H. Publications with a December 1936 cover date. Harold Hersey was the editor and Lloyd Jacquet was assistant editor. Hersey was a veteran pulpster and wrote a number of essays, short stories and poems, as well as editing THE THRILL BOOK (1919) and GHOST STORIES (1931).
Fred Meagher was the cover and interior artist. Meagher began his career with Hersey and was known mostly as the artist for TOM MIX COMICS (Ralston-Purina) and STRAIGHT ARROW (Magazine Enterprises). When ME closed up shop in 1956, Meagher finished out his career in commercial art. Putting it bluntly, Meagher's art here is . . . well, meager.
FLASH GORDON STRANGE ADVENTURE MAGAZINE was intended to cash in on the burgeoning newspaper comic strip market. The novel-length Flash Gordon story, "The Master of Mars" was written by James Edison Northfield (credited as James Edison Northford on the story's title page) and licensed by King Features Syndicate. It was accompanied by three other shorter, non-Flash stories.
While rare, it has not escaped its reputation as a mediocre entry in the Flash Gordon canon. Renown editor E.F. Bleiler called the story "moronic" and the accompanying fiction "third rate". For any number of reasons, it lasted for only one issue. A copy CGC-rated VG/FN 5.0 was sold by Heritage Auctions on June 19, 2025 for $1,020.00.
NOTE: These are the cover and images from the story and are shown here are in the same order as they appeared in the magazine.
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I must have read about this before, but I have no memory of it. Thanks for this look at a Flash Gordon bit of stuff, regardless of its merit. It's still a fun bit of fluff.
ReplyDeleteA one-shot novelty, but nonetheless a part of Flash's history.
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