Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon Invasion Of The Red Sword #6
Ardden Entertainment
Deneen & Garcia

The conclusion to the Red Sword arc leaves off exactly where you might expect it to knowing that the next Flash Gordon story is entitled, "The Vengeance of Ming." The fun of the issue is getting there and this issue doesn't disappoint. This arc has had a couple of themes running throughout the six issue arc that continue in the finale. This issue provides the same high level of character work, complex plot and outstanding artwork that has been the norm throughout this series. The cliffhanger ensures that I will be waiting fairly impatiently for the next arc set to begin in early 2012.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon: Invasion of the Red Sword #5
Ardden Entertainment
Deneen, Garcia & Haus

Flash Gordon's latest arc, Invasion of the Red Sword, steams towards its conclusion with another action-packed, no-holds-barred dramatic read. As the arc has been building multiple plot threads all along this issue begins to shape out the alliances that will probably stand for the remainder of this series and into the next one. Deneen is taking care to hide the main prize (Ming's whereabouts) these last few issues to set up the next arc, but Ming's hand is still felt throughout the issue. As a companion to the deep plot, Deneen is also building up his supporting character base while the usual suspects, Flash and company, continue to carry bulk of the story through. You simply won't find a more exciting and comprehensive book out there.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon: Invasion of the Red Sword #4
Ardden Entertainment
Deneen & Garcia

The latest issue of Flash Gordon's Invasion of the Red Sword storyline introduces a ton of new characters, mixes in a whole of action and continues to build a plot that just grows arms and legs all over the place. This issue is another great example of what a fun comic book can and should strive to be. The plot has enough teeth so that you are left thinking about possible directions, but the comic book is action-packed to keep you visually entertained. You can't beat a mix like that and you shouldn't be missing out on this series.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon Invasion of the Red Sword #3
Ardden Entertainment
Deneen & Garcia

Flash Gordon returns with an action-packed and thrilling issue for the middle part of the "Invasion of the Red Sword" arc. I won't beat around the bush: this book is amazing. The arc is heating up on multiple fronts and continues to be one of the most entertaining reads out there for any genre. At this point I have no idea how Deneen is going to wrap this arc up but I'm on board regardless.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Comeback Kings #1
Ardden Comics
Sullivan, Guarente & Young

Bruce Lee didn't really die and he's been running a secret operations group that takes out global threats. That's a hook that should be enough to get anyone to pick this book up and give it a read. However, the insanity doesn't end there as Sullivan and Guarente bring one of the oddest high concepts I've read in a long time. As is the case with any good hook, it can only last if the story is good and this is a good start to making sure the comic book has a solid hold on a story. This is worth checking out.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon: Invasion of the Red Sword #2
Ardden Comics
Deneen, Garcia & Haus

The second issue of the second Flash Gordon storyline brings back the second most familiar character (okay, so that's debatable) in the form of the believed-to-be-dead, Ming. However, Ming isn't back to fight, but he's all too happy to hold some people hostage in order to force others to do his bidding. Deneen lathers this issue with multiple subplots sending this story into a ton of different directions. By slowing the pace down and spreading the characters out he's borrowing a page out of Grant Morrison's book by keeping the reader guessing about character's motives while dropping some clues, but at the same time he's throwing in a bit of Paul Levitz with the subplot count. All of this adds up to an intriguing issue that moves this series into a much broader scope. With the recap page giving you everything you need to know there isn't any reason not to pick this issue up.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon Invasion Of The Red Sword #1
Ardden Entertainment
Deneen & Garcia

Flash Gordon returns with the second arc from Ardden penned by the same writer (Deneen) as the first but with a new artist (Garcia replacing Green). The opening issue offers a bit of a change of pace from the first arc in the first few pages but delivers a lot of action and opens up a bunch of subplots by the issue's end. As with the previous arc, this issue also dips into the rich history of the character very well and manages to have a strong hold on the character's voices. There is a lot to like in here and the best part is you don't need to know the character or have read the first arc to jump right into this issue. This should not be missed.

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Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Flash Gordon 75th Anniversary HC (New York Comic Con Special)
Ardden Entertainment
DeMatteis, Casey, Krueger, O’Neil, Wein, DeFalco, Deneen, McManus, Perez, Delgado, Cavallaro, Enjeti, Staton & Green

While at the New York Comic Con I picked up the 75th Anniversary Flash Gordon special hardcover at the Ardden booth. The story has long list of creators contributing (as you can see from the cover and credits in this review) and as such I didn’t know how this story was going to unfold. What I found was a series of six stories loosely tied together that introduce some new characters, flesh out some existing ones and keep a common theme that the planet of Mongo itself is one of the major contributors into the war-like mindset. It’s a terrific read that isn’t essential reading to follow the Flash Gordon series, but certainly one not to be missed.

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