Writer – Jeff Parker
Artist – Evan Shaner
Colours – Jordie Bellaire
Letters – Simon Bowland

The biggest mistake Dynamite has made in the last decade or so arrives in the form of the last issue of the ongoing Flash Gordon series which this comprises. What Jeff Parker and Evan Shaner have done is take this eighty-year-old property and made it fresh, relevant and exciting for today’s audience. It was a breath of fresh air not only in Dynamite’s stable of titles but in all of comicdom. This last issue finds our heroes back on Earth after the trials they have shared together, enjoying a little downtime for the most part but for Flash, something is missing. When he was in space and fighting back against Ming and his tyrannical rule it gave him the one thing he had been missing all his life – purpose. So what else is there to do but head back out into the unknown with Dale and Zarkov by his side? This book has been nothing short of pure, unadulterated fun since it began and it is a real shame that it had to end. It is not often that an iconic character that has faded in glory over time can be brought back in such a way as to delight fans both new and old and yet Parker has done just that, crafting stories with a perfect balance between drama, humour and action as to be utterly compelling in every way. Helping him along the way, and an integral part of the process has been his partner in crime, Shaner, a man whose retro-tinged pencils give the book a golden-age feel coupled with modern stylings and it has been one of the most consistently beautiful books being produced at Dynamite in any year. Ending the book the way they did, with Flash and crew standing ready to take on Ming and the universe was perfect, leaving it wide open for whatever might come next, which, as readers already know is the King Dynamite line of books. This was a truly excellent series from Parker and Shaner and it is one that will surely be missed.

5 out of 5