Flash Gordon movie in development!!!

It's happening! As in really happening. We've been left heartbroken before--like when Mummy director Stephen Sommers was the director of the moment, and poised to take the big screen reins. But the project lingered too long, then fizzled completely.

Now, it seems, 20th Century Fox is finally ready to make a new Flash Gordon movie a reality.

They've picked the right director, Matthew Vaughn has proven himself to a more than capable handler of well-known genre franchises, like when he rebooted The X-men. He's good with fast-paced action and ensemble casts. And his most recent film, Kingsman: The Secret Service was a huge success last year.

A recent report had quoted the last man to play Flash, Sam Jones, stating that a new movie would be a sequel. I really, really hope that's not true. I love the 1980 film. But its place in pop culture is firmly seated in camp. The Mike Hodges movie, the 70s animated series, the 50s live action series, and the old movie serials before them--they're all fantastic in their own way. It's time now for something new. But that doesn't mean we have to start from scratch.

I'm really hoping this is what we're in for:

A Flash that's full-on swashbucker...

A Dale that finally gets her due as a fully-realized character, with wit and wry humor of her own...

And swoopy rocketships...

And close encounters with strange beasts and weird technology...

The 2014 run of Flash by Dynamite comics with Jeff Parker (writer), Evan "Doc" Shaner (pencils) and Jordie Bellaire (colors) was one of the best iterations in years. A live action version of that run, or even something in the spirit of it, with Parker's snappy dialogue and Shaner's sublimely classic feel but still thoroughly modern. 

Vaughn would be wise to hire them--as well as Flash's other comic caretaker Jim Keefe--to get some perspective on handling the Mongoverse and its cast of characters. 

Parker and Shaner have done an incredible job with their run and Keefe had Flash for years in weekly and Sunday newspapers. Together they'd make a formidable creative team.

In any case, the keys to Flash's rocket cycle to the movies seem to be in good hands.

Yes Vultan--very much so!

More about Flash:

• News via Nerdist
• Flash Gordon turns 80 on Exonauts
• Space Opera's Champion, Flash Gordon, Turns 80 on io9.com

Coming soon: "Retro Raygun" tabletop mini game (Video)

I've long been a fan of Hydra Miniatures retro space figures--I've got several of their space ranger-y dudes. I even ordered a bunch of their War Rocket spaceships from the Source (say, that order never did come in...). That game has it's own rulebook for staging rocket-and-saucer style space battles a la Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers. They're a smaller shop, who's work cannot be celebrated enough.

Earlier this month, they've announced their next tabletop game--a set of rules to go along with their character miniatures line. Here's a video preview:



So it sounds like the game will be more of a goal-oriented adventures, not so much "this army vs. that army" which sounds like a lot more fun to me.

While I wish there was a separate blog post to link to, they've put up an update on their main webpage (so this will be outdated as soon as they put up a new one). But you should go there now while you can and see the book layouts they've posted, plus a bunch of new mini designs.

Here's a few of their current Retro Raygun figure offerings:

Good, old-fashioned space pulp fun! Check out their full range of Retro Raygun miniatures.

UPDATE: Retro Raygun: Action Adventure in the Atomic Age is now available! 

VICTORY at my FLGS: Pulp sci-fi returns!

So about month or so ago I started pestering my friendly local game store, The Source: Comics and Games to pick up X-plorers. To be fair, it was seemingly pre-destined to arrive there since they were already receiving shipments from the same distributor that Brave Halfling (the publisher) uses.

So while the game was on it's way, they didn't really have any retro-lookin' pulpy, science fiction minis to go with it, save for--literally a handfull--of Reaper minis that look like everything else TOO MODERN.

So I bugged them and bugged them and bugged them and bugged them and bugged them and bugged them bugged them and bugged them and professed my undying love and fandom and bugged them and bugged them and bugged and bugged them and sent them flowers and bugged them and bugged them and bugged them and....sent an email to the owner....aaaaaand...

LO and behold they set up an account with Hydra Miniatures so ANYONE in the Twin Cities (ostensibly running a retro-flavored sci-fi campaign) can pick up some of these bad boys (and girls.... and robots....and aliens....):

I've LONG pined for these guys to be available from a local retailer. So this is a really a dream come true in a sense. 

Now that there's more than one flavor of sci-fi mini available locally (as opposed to the hordes of Reaper minis taking over the walls at every game store in the area) this points to a very real possibility of me organizing an X-plorers campaign at the Source, hopefully before the end of the year.

Heck, I might even pick up a copy of War Rocket, their sci-fi spaceship combat game to supe-up the starship battles in X-plorers (which are quite light, quick, and easy, but don't include rules for things like ramming enemies, like WR does). 

If you live in the area and want these babies, check out Hydra's site and then give the Source a call and order. It'd be GREAT if they saw the potential behind this kind of game and started stocking the shelves with them!

P.S. All copies of X-plorers had sold out last week when I was there, but I'm told more are on the way. If that $12.95 is burning a hole in your space suit, order one direct from Brave Halfling.

All images are from Hydra Miniatures website. Show them some love and buy thousands of dollars of tiny space fleets and space Valkyries and live long and prosper!