Side by Side #5

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Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond from March 3, 1935

Side by Side #4

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Jungle Jim by Alex Raymond from February 3, 1935

Side By Side #3b

Jungle Jim, October 13, 1935

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I believe this picture also came from Heritage Comics' website.

Side by Side #3a

Flash Gordon, October 13, 1935

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Another image from Heritage Comics' website... check "watermark" in lower corner.

Side By Side #2

Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, July 21, 1935

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I believe this picture came from Heritage Comics' website... check "watermark" in lower corner.

Side By Side #1

Flash Gordon, June 3, 1934

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Hope to have a whole series of side-by-side images of Alex Raymond's original art, next to the corresponding printed newspaper page.

I'm working on obtaining as many images of original Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim pages as possible.  This is the earliest image of Alex Raymond's original art that I could find... I think it came from the Ohio State University Cartoon Library & Museum, but I'm not 100% on that.

I'll post more side-by-side images soon.

First post, first page...

Of course, the first Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim page from January 7, 1934.

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Hi,

My name is Chris Bernat and I'm an Alex Raymond Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim fan and collector. With that being said, I think there is a serious lack of public access and availability to Alex Raymond's original artwork for that which he is most famous for, his Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim Sunday newspaper comic strip that he created, wrote/co-wrote, and illustrated from January 7, 1934 through May 7, 1944.

While the color newspaper strip has been reprinted numerous times, and is currently published by Checker Publishing, a thorough examination of Alex Raymond the artist and illustrator, and in particular, the stylistic and illustrative changes he goes through during his tenure with Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, is long overdue. Now, I'm no Alex Raymond expert or authority, just fan who wishes to see a publication focusing on Alex Raymond's black and white original Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim artwork from 1934-1944. Especially before the few remaining, surviving pieces of artwork get snatched up by collectors and permanently lock away in a private collection, only to be brought out for an auction so another big-time collector can pay huge dollars for it, and lock it away in their private collection...

And while there was one famous collector/dealer/fan, who took it upon himself to publish a portfolio and high-quality prints of Alex Raymond's (another other comic strip artists/illustrators of the era) original artwork, back in the late 1970's, there has been nothing of the like published since then. (I'll have more to say about Russ Cochran's King Portfolio One, and images to post, later...)

And I will give a small shout-out to Tom Roberts and his Alex Raymond: His Life and Art book that come out a couple of years ago, as a nice overview and biography of Alex Raymond. But I want more--I want a whole 200-300 page book focused strictly on Alex Raymond during his "Flash Gordon years" and the artwork he produced during that time--not just two chapters totaling 52 pages.

So, I'm hoping this blog will inspire others to share their love and passion for Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, by sharing their collecting experiences and providing images and scans from their original artwork and newspaper collections.

Please feel free to e-mail me at alexraymondflashgordon@gmail.com with any comments, questions, concerns, inquiries, images to post, discussion topics, etc.

I'm just getting started, so please bear with me... but I'll try to post as much and as frequent as possible...

All the best,
Chris Bernat