Editing Flash Gordon (section)

==Creation==
The ''Buck Rogers'' comic strip had been commercially very successful, spawning novelizations and children's toys,<ref name="dm">{{cite book|first=Doug|last=Murray|author-link=Doug Murray (comics)|chapter=Birth of a Legend|editor1-first=Alex|editor1-last=Raymond|editor2-first=Don|editor2-last=Moore|title=Flash Gordon : On the Planet Mongo: Sundays 1934-37|publisher=[[Titan Books]]|location=London, England|date=2012|isbn=9780857681546|pages=10–15}}</ref> and [[King Features Syndicate]] decided to create its own science fiction comic strip to compete with it.<ref name="sfe" /> At first, King Features tried to purchase the rights to the ''[[John Carter of Mars]]'' stories by [[Edgar Rice Burroughs]]. However, the syndicate was unable to reach an agreement with Burroughs.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert W.|last=Fenton|title=Edgar Rice Burroughs and Tarzan : A Biography of the author and his creation|publisher=[[McFarland (publisher)|McFarland]]|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|date=2003|isbn=078641393X|page=125|quote=Mrs Jensen, ERB's secretary, recalled the author negotiating with King Features Syndicate for a Martian strip, based on the exploits of John Carter, but it never came off. A short time later the Hearst syndicate started "Flash Gordon", drawn by Alex Raymond...}}</ref> King Features then turned to Alex Raymond, one of their staff artists, to create the story.<ref name="pp"/><ref name="dm"/>

One source for Flash Gordon was the [[Philip Wylie]] novel ''[[When Worlds Collide]]'' (1933). The book's themes of an approaching planet threatening the Earth, and an athletic hero, his girlfriend, and a scientist traveling to the new planet by rocket, were adapted by Raymond for the comic strip's initial storyline.<ref name="wp1990">[[Al Williamson|Williamson, Al]]; Poplaski, Peter (1990). "Introduction" to Alex Raymond, ''Flash Gordon:Mongo, the Planet of Doom''. Princeton [WI]: Kitchen Sink Press. 1990. {{ISBN|0878161147}}  (p. 5). "Raymond took the basic premise of Philip Wylie's ''When Worlds Collide'', which was being reprinted in ''Blue Book'' magazine at the time, and used it as his starting point for adventure."</ref> Raymond's first samples were dismissed for not containing enough action sequences. Raymond reworked the story and sent it back to the syndicate, which accepted it. Raymond was partnered with [[ghostwriter]] Don Moore, an experienced editor and writer.<ref name="dm"/> Raymond's first ''Flash Gordon'' story appeared in January 1934, alongside ''[[Jungle Jim]]''. The ''Flash Gordon'' strip was well received by newspaper readers, becoming one of the most popular American comic strips of the 1930s.<ref name="sfe" /><ref name="pp"/><ref name="dm"/>

As with ''Buck Rogers'', the success of ''Flash Gordon'' resulted in numerous licensed products being sold, including [[pop-up book]]s, [[coloring book]]s, and toy spaceships and rayguns.<ref name="dm2">Murray, Doug (2012). "Flash Gordon Conquers The World". In Alex Raymond and Don Moore, ''Flash Gordon :the Tyrant of Mongo, Sundays 1937-41''. London : Titan Books, 2012. {{ISBN|9780857683793}}  (pp. 6-9).</ref>