The savior of the universe! Get ready for Flash Gordon: The Girl from Infinity Vol. 1. Science fiction classics with a bold new take from the heart. Written by NYT bestselling author Marguerite Bennett (Bombshells, Josie and the Pussycats in DC) and by Bev Johnson (Adventures in Max Einstein in Fosterland), this redefinition of Gordon’s Origins offers intelligent new stories to save a world that saves the mind.
In this version, Voyager Dale Adren discovers a mysterious shooting star that contains nothing but the brand new Flash Gordon. With no memory of who she is, Flash and Dale have to take an epic proportion adventure to reveal her hidden past, save Dale’s family, and save the Omnia alien planet from the clutches of the cruel Emperor Azimus!
Bennett and Johnson talked about their latest book published by PaperCutz.
This interview was clearly compiled.
Christian Angels: Flash Gordon is a very beloved story that has been around for quite some time. In your own words, what is your relationship with the franchise?
Marguerite Bennett: I grew up in Star Trek watching sci-fi with my dad and he read us. Every part of science fiction appeared to contain flash spores. The Emperor of Star Wars is a political marriage of the Dunes. Once I read the Flash properly it was like I realized I was taking part in a 30-year fetch quest to collect puzzle pieces.
Bev Johnson: Personally, I wanted to embody our same sense of adventure and bold adventure, but for a different audience.
Angeles: Completely. More than ever, I think it’s important to feature more YA girl heroes, but for both you, how about resilient Flash Gordon as a young girl?
Bennett: Courage is universal. It was easier than anything. You are not born thinking you are not heroic. You must be taught carefully. So, in a blank slate like a flash, it came out of her chrysanthemums in the space pod, so to speak. It doesn’t even go beyond her heart.
Johnson: She’s definitely a different character, but I wanted her to have the classic heroic traits of courage and determination.
Angeles: Absolutely. Also, I have to say, Marguerite, I loved your running with the DC bomb. It was very different to seeing new female superheroes from historical contexts. But the book feels the other way around – it takes the female Flash Gordon as a stranger through the ages. Can you talk about the differences in approach here? Why do you have works of such a period, both through history and its apparently distant future?
Bennett: Thank you for your kind words! To answer the last question first, I am powerfully spoiled. All of my parents were history teachers in one way or another, so I grew up imbued with world stories. I got a fairy tale, an episode of the Twilight Zone, then a tale of the Battle of Shiro and the Siege of Leningrad. The truth is much more turbulent than fiction.
Conversely, it was sometimes confusing that the series was set in a much more distant future, disconnected from all the rich human cultures I knew. (There was a number of powers that might say, “But this character comes from (human culture) so shouldn’t it?” And while I might share that human culture and appearance, this character comes from another planet and a completely original society, and has an Earthly tradition.
To create an alien culture, I drew the original Flash series and embroidered it with an organic evolution of what characters experience as society grows. In many fantasies, there tends to be unnatural symmetry. It is a culture that focuses on five elements of gods, or similarly balanced idols. The true Stone Age through Iron Age civilization tended to have the “God of the Field”, and the “God of this River”, and the “God of that River”, and the “God of that River”, and the “God of what grows in this field”. A more refined system of culture and religion then grows around its scaffolding. So I aimed to build the various cultures of planet Omnia X over centuries, roughly organic, and growing, developing and improving over centuries.
I piled up poor Bev on hills and piles of reference materials, but I was unquestionable. Her art has so much integrity, charm and strength. There was never a better artist born to make this story come true.
Angeles: Absolutely. The page is great. Bev, can you say you’ve drawn some of the most beautiful children’s books I’ve ever seen! That being said, how was your approach when portraying Flash Gordon, a girl who fell from the stars that emerged from her elements and learned about humanity?
Johnson: Thank you very much! The most important thing for me (and fun) is when drawing characters captures their emotions through their expression and their mannerisms. She has a quality that is important to her, not only for her curiosity, courage and a strong sense of justice.
Angeles: And a few. Now, Marguerite, Flash Gordon has always had the atmosphere of political drama. What can you tell the audience about what comes to this story?
Bennett: Oooooh, I love some political drama to me, and we have it on spade. The Palace Princess, the royal coupe, the revolution and rebellion, the black magic plot – the Flash crashes into Omnia at a very dangerous time, and the boiler is blown away.
There was once a solar eclipse during a very difficult time during the Roman invasion of Doimeya. Everyone was panicking.
Similarly, the arrival of the Flash has been adopted as a precursor by various factions, and they are all scolding that they have this “fallen star” for themselves, but Flash returns to Dale. Swordsmanship, monsters, gladiator combat, tests, quests, trials, tribulations – we got it all.
Angeles: I’m interested. What about Princess Aura? What are the unknown facts about the difficulty of designing an alien and an empire?
Johnson: Dale’s design direction was essentially a friendly, thoughtful, grounded boy charged with monumental responsibility. Unlike Flash, from the beginning of the story, he already knows the gravity of their situation well. The aura is more intimidating, undoubtedly a little older than Flash and Dale, and humans are still very embedded in a fantastical and gorgeous world they don’t understand. Even with alien designs, I’m trying to maintain human emotions there. Overall, I wanted Omnia X to feel vast, alien and intimidating as an empire.
Angeles: Immediately, here are both your questions. After this, what do you think about the idea of the ruler, the tyrant, the chosen one?
Bennett: I have to have a mom because there are more books.
Johnson: I like this story taking traditional archetypes of them and twisting them a bit. Although his azimuth is a tyrant’s personality, he is neither one dimension nor merely evil. The Aura character plays what it means to even dominate and, if he can’t even gain responsibility. Flash is, of course, a chosen role, and the role she works on.
Angeles: Right, and I’m curious where it goes next. Finally, do you have any final thoughts about Flash Gordon that you want to say? What about expectations and future?
Bennett: I wanted Flash Gordon to be the story I wanted at her age. It’s a fierce, bright adventure with all the boring parts cut out. They don’t make adventure films anymore. They make action movies and war epics, but they’re not the same. I wanted a swashbuck ring space opera so I hope readers fall in love like I did.
Johnson: I love how the comic turned out and I think we came together to make it a fun emotional roller coaster! There is definitely something to explore in that world.
Flash Gordon: The Girl From Infinity is published by Papercutz, the YA branch of Madvave. This book will be released on July 1, 2025. It’s available for $12.99 in paperback and the hardcover is available for $17.99.
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