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Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon #5
The Witch Queen of Mongo
Victimized by a psychic teenage prankster, Flash Gordon, Dale Arden, and Dr. Zarkov find themselves instantly transported to the planet Mongo, where Flash is captured and drugged by the ravishing witch Queen Azura and her evil cohort -- none other than Ming the Merciless, Jr! But Zarkov and Dale escape to Arboria, and enlist the aid of Prince Barin, who, by use of a brilliant ruse, sets in motion a series of violent encounters and hair's breadth escapes that place Flash's life in imminent peril.
143 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1974
2 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Alex Raymond
720 books39 followersAlexander Gillespie Raymond was an American comic strip artist, best known for creating the comic Flash Gordon in 1934. The serial hit the silver screen three years later with Buster Crabbe and Jean Rogers as the leading players. Other strips he drew include Secret Agent X-9, Rip Kirby, Jungle Jim, Tim Tyler's Luck, and Tillie the Toiler. Alex Raymond received a Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1949 for his work on Rip Kirby.
Born in New Rochelle, New York, Alex Raymond attended Iona Prep on a scholarship and played on the Gaels' football team. He joined the US Marines Corp in 1944 and served in the Pacific theatre during World War II.
His realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists.
Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in Westport, Connecticut while driving with fellow cartoonist Stan Drake, aged 46, and is buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.
During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle.
He was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
Born in New Rochelle, New York, Alex Raymond attended Iona Prep on a scholarship and played on the Gaels' football team. He joined the US Marines Corp in 1944 and served in the Pacific theatre during World War II.
His realistic style and skillful use of "feathering" (a shading technique in which a soft series of parallel lines helps to suggest the contour of an object) has continued to be an inspiration for generations of cartoonists.
Raymond was killed in an automobile accident in Westport, Connecticut while driving with fellow cartoonist Stan Drake, aged 46, and is buried in St. John's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Darien, Connecticut.
During the accident which led to his untimely demise, he was said to have remarked (by the surviving passenger of the accident) on the fact that a pencil on the dashboard seemed to be floating in relation to the plummet of the vehicle.
He was the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 21, 2021
This is the fifth prose novel in the Flash Gordon adventure series from Avon, based on the famous comic strip characters created by Alex Raymond. This one was written by Bruce Cassiday under the pen name of Carson Bingham. Flash, Dale, and Zarkov are "psychically" transported back to Mongo, five or six years after their first adventures there. Queen Azura has teemed up with the son of Ming the Merciless and capture Flash, but Dale and Zarkov escape to Arboria, where they join forces with Prince Barin. Ming Jr. is kind of a lame character, but the series of escapes and encounters the trio endure makes for a fast-paced and exciting story. The whole psychic aspect left me a little cold, but it was a quick, fun read.
May 11, 2019
Dr. Zarkov is experimenting in his laboratory on Earth, delving into the softer sciences of extrasensory perception and clairvoyance. The object of his study is a teenage boy named Willie who is able to make real just about anything he wishes. Once meeting Dr. Zarkov’s friends, Flash Gordon and Dale Arden he decides that what he wishes for most is to visit the scenes of their famous adventures on Mongo some six years previously. In the space of an eyeblink he does just that, transporting all four of them to Mongo to see the present-day sights.
On planet Mongo, Ming the Merciless may be dead but the adventure to be had still exists. Queen Azura has a plan with Ming’s son to take over the planet and she devises a scheme to use Flash as bait to lure Prince Barin to his doom. Adventurous mischief ensues, heavily influenced by the apparent theme of this novel, psi powers and psychotropic drugs.
This fifth novel in the Flash Gordon series based on Alex Raymond’s original comic strip stories was written by Bruce Cassiday under the pen name Carson Bingham. His pulp magazine editorship serves this series well. I enjoyed this one a bit more than the past two in the series, no doubt due to the return to Mongo and the characters there. At first, Queen Azura was shaping up to be a properly diabolical antagonist but the influence of a cartoonish Ming Jr. degraded that potential in the middle of the novel. The ending, however, was appropriately heroic and rescued the story as a whole.
On planet Mongo, Ming the Merciless may be dead but the adventure to be had still exists. Queen Azura has a plan with Ming’s son to take over the planet and she devises a scheme to use Flash as bait to lure Prince Barin to his doom. Adventurous mischief ensues, heavily influenced by the apparent theme of this novel, psi powers and psychotropic drugs.
This fifth novel in the Flash Gordon series based on Alex Raymond’s original comic strip stories was written by Bruce Cassiday under the pen name Carson Bingham. His pulp magazine editorship serves this series well. I enjoyed this one a bit more than the past two in the series, no doubt due to the return to Mongo and the characters there. At first, Queen Azura was shaping up to be a properly diabolical antagonist but the influence of a cartoonish Ming Jr. degraded that potential in the middle of the novel. The ending, however, was appropriately heroic and rescued the story as a whole.
September 15, 2024
Flash Gordon: The Witch Queen of Mongo by Alex Raymond.
Flash Gordon and Dale Arden are invited to see Doc Zarkov to see a new experiment he has been working on. The experiment in question is Willie, a young daydreamer teenage boy who can transport himself and others to far away places, among other plot dependant powers like stopping time or conjuring ice cream.
After hearing about Flash's adventures on Mongo, he transports them there and almost immediately is captured by Queen Azura of the advanced underground kingdom of Azuria, also known as The Kingdom of Blue Magic.
Willie is conveniently knocked out, paralysed and sealed away somewhere for most of the book to keep the main characters there and to prevent a quick resolution.
The worst thing is that Flash is given a 'Pacifist' drug that makes him into a cringing coward for most of the book until the last 10 pages of so. The whole book was pretty poorly written and disappointing.
Flash Gordon and Dale Arden are invited to see Doc Zarkov to see a new experiment he has been working on. The experiment in question is Willie, a young daydreamer teenage boy who can transport himself and others to far away places, among other plot dependant powers like stopping time or conjuring ice cream.
After hearing about Flash's adventures on Mongo, he transports them there and almost immediately is captured by Queen Azura of the advanced underground kingdom of Azuria, also known as The Kingdom of Blue Magic.
Willie is conveniently knocked out, paralysed and sealed away somewhere for most of the book to keep the main characters there and to prevent a quick resolution.
The worst thing is that Flash is given a 'Pacifist' drug that makes him into a cringing coward for most of the book until the last 10 pages of so. The whole book was pretty poorly written and disappointing.
April 17, 2021
It was a bit of a slow start. It presumes some knowledge of Flash's previous experiences on Mongo as it revisits some old villains. The book also introduces the reader to Willie the wonder boy who has so many mental powers. After teleporting Flash, Dale, and Zarkov to Mongo, because he wants to see the places of their adventures, Willie is quickly put on ice by the Witch Queen. This was almost something that had to be done because Willie's power is such that if he would be available there would not be the typical daring do that is a Flash Gordon adventure.
Flash and Willie are caught by the Witch Queen, Azura, and it is up do Dale and Zarkov, to find help. That help is in the form of Prince Barron. Flash is rendered a bit out of bounds for the novel as Azura has drugged him with a pacifist or coward drug. In all it's still an entertaining tale.
Flash and Willie are caught by the Witch Queen, Azura, and it is up do Dale and Zarkov, to find help. That help is in the form of Prince Barron. Flash is rendered a bit out of bounds for the novel as Azura has drugged him with a pacifist or coward drug. In all it's still an entertaining tale.
July 14, 2019
2.5 stars really. Rounded it up.
November 11, 2015
Vintage sci-fi fantasy. Spoilers: in the beginning the kid turns the ground into ice-cream.
July 12, 2016
First read January 1977
November 15, 2018
read between fall 1974 & spring 1975
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews