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Acker and Blacker Discuss King: Flash Gordon

Dynamite Entertainment's epic new event brings history's most famous comic strip heroes to comic books with five mini-series that build into a giant crossover. In this interview co-Writers Ben Acker and Ben Blacker talk King: Flash Gordon #1 (NOV141191)!

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Article Image e21dPREVIEWSworld: This new Flash Gordon comic is a part of Dynamite’s recently announced “King” event that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the King Features Syndicate and kicks off in January 2015. Can you tell us a little bit more about this initiative and what it means for these iconic characters?

Ben Acker: The Kings Watch series that launched this incarnation of Flash Gordon saw Flash, Mandrake and the Phantom in their new iterations. The upcoming “King” event will also include Jungle Jim and Prince Valiant which will b the first time in the 100 years of Kings Features that all their amazing characters will be in a room together –

Ben Blacker: Or maybe a spaceship.

Acker: It’ll be their first time teaming up in the 100 years they’ve been around. It’s exciting. We’re excited. Plan to also be excited. 

PREVIEWSworldHow did you come to be involved with the Flash Gordon comic? Were you both fans of (and familiar with) King Features characters and comics prior to working on the project?

Acker: We’ve been fans of King Features since we were kids. The 1980 Flash Gordon movie, Defenders of the Earth and Lee Falk’s Phantom comic strip were all part of our growing up pop culture intake.

Blacker: Not to mention the King’s Watch and Flash Gordon series Jeff Parker was doing for Dynamite. So good!

Article Image a2b4Acker: As for how we came to be involved, we’ve been writing and producing The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a live show and podcast in the style of old time radio, for nearly a decade. It’s full of elements of pulp adventure and the spirit of Flash and the rest of the gang.

Blacker: Nate Cosby, our editor knows our show and thought we’d be a good fit.

Acker: We agree!

PREVIEWSworld: Both of you are no strangers to creative collaborations—especially in working with one another! How do you approach the writing process for Flash Gordon? Is series’ artist Lee Ferguson involved at all in the writing or scripting phase of production, or is there any sort of back and forth with the artist throughout the process?

Acker: We are in contact with Lee, who is really terrific as both an artist and a guy.

Blacker: The collaboration mostly involves us showing him the outline, being open to feedback . His feedback has mostly been “this is great! I can’t wait to draw this!”

Acker: See? He’s terrific!

PREVIEWSworld: Does your workflow differ greatly from your other writing-related endeavors? What sort of unique challenges does writing for comics present?

Article Image 4d67Acker: We write all sorts of things. Working with an artist is similar to working with an actor. 

Blacker: We’re providing the material, but the execution is theirs.

Acker: Also you need to describe a lot more in comics. Every beat needs to be told in terms of what you can see and hear. In other media, you can go beats with one or the other. In the case of pretend radio, just only need to do one.

PREVIEWSworld: Flash Gordon is certainly one of the most famous science fiction heroes to come out of comics, and his presence in pop culture endures to this day. Will the new Flash Gordon limited series make use of the character’s extensive history for its narrative and style or will readers be in for something entirely different?

Acker: We’re writing the Flash Gordon comic in a way that will hopefully include elements that people who know extensive history will appreciate while telling a story that needs no context to enjoy.

PREVIEWSworld: While Flash Gordon is primarily known as a science fiction series, its stories tend to pull from many disparate genres. How would you best classify your take on the Flash Gordon franchise? And what sorts of readers will be the most interested in checking out this new comic?

Blacker: Like the best sci-fi, there’s vivid and relatable characters in Flash. They are wry, earnest, hopeful, funny, smart, dumb, excited, bored and all the things characters can be in space fighting against a cosmic overlord and meeting new people on new planets.

Article Image 6b0bAcker: So it’s got character comedy, action….there’s a bit of a heist.

Blacker: It’s a caper, at least.

Acker: Either way, that counts as a drama. Oh! And there’s maybe some romance.

Blacker: Space romance. Totally. And soldiers. Military business.

Acker: And classism. Is that a genre?

Blacker: Sure.

PREVIEWSworld: What kind of new elements can readers expect to be incorporated into the new comic? Will comic lovers who are brand new to the franchise or not overly familiar with its lengthy legacy be able to enjoy this new series?

Acker: This comic is for everyone! A space hero and his smarter friends try to punch an evil intergalactic dictator in the nose.

Blacker: Who cannot enjoy that?  A sourpuss, maybe.

Acker: Maybe.

Blacker: As for what new elements there are - new planets, new characters, new takes on old planets and old characters.

PREVIEWSworld: Finally, are there any hints you can give as to the kind of adventures fans can look forward with Gordon when it hits shelves in January?

Acker: I feel like that’s all we’ve done is give hints about it.

Blacker: We have punching, shooting, swiping, kissing, double-crossing, high tech, low tech , outsmarting and several different kinds of rocket shipping! 

Acker: And that’s just in our first issue!



Other titles in Dynamite's King Comics Mini-Series Event include:

Article Image 9b71  Article Image 07d5 
KING MANDRAKE MAGICIAN #1 (OF 4)
Item Code: NOV141197
KING PRINCE VALIANT #1 (OF 4)
Item Code: NOV141203
 Article Image 971d  Article Image d092
KING THE PHANTOM #1 (OF 4)
Item Code: NOV141209
KING JUNGLE JIM #1 (OF 4)
Item Code: NOV141215



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