The Time Trap of Ming XIII ; (Flash Gordon #4)

160 pages. Illustrated front and back cover. Some page discoloration noted. Fourth in a series of novels adapted from Alex Raymond's original comic strips. This one was written by Ron Goulart, under the pseudonym *Con Steffanson.* This has to be one of the greatest storylines from the historic comic strip! From centuries in the future, a descendant of Ming the Merciless sends a crew of assassins back through time, to change the course of history by killing Flash Gordon!! Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist and illustrator who was best known for creating the Flash Gordon comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many other media, from three Universal movie serials (1936's Flash Gordon, 1938's Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars, and 1940's Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe) to a 1950s television series and a 1980 feature film. Numerous artists have cited Raymond as an inspiration for their work, including comic artists Jack Kirby, Bob Kane, Russ Manning, and Al Williamson. George Lucas cited Raymond as a major influence for Star Wars. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996. Maurice Horn stated that Raymond unquestionably possessed "the most versatile talent" of all the comic strip creators. He has also described his style as "precise, clear, and incisive." Raymond's influence on other cartoonists was considerable during his lifetime and did not diminish after his death. Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. 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. 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. 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. As with Buck Rogers, the success of Flash Gordon resulted in numerous licensed products being sold, including pop-up books, coloring books, and toy spaceships and rayguns. In this story, after his scientists design the Tempendulum, a machine that can transport people backward and forward through generations of time, Ming XIII sends his evil henchmen back to change the course of history by assassinating Flash Gordon. After a series of hair-raising adventures, Flash turns the tables on Ming's men and propels them back to their own century. This is the fourth prose novel featuring Alex Raymond's iconic comic strip character Flash Gordon that Avon published in the 1970s. The first three were written by Ron Goulart under the house pseudonym Con Stefansson, and though this one also appears with the Stefansson moniker it, as well as the last two books in the series, were written by Bruce Cassiday based on Raymond's story and characters. Bruce Cassiday (1920–2005) was an American writer and editor. He was the author and editor of pulp fiction, suspense and espionage stories, Gothics, medical melodramas, radio and TV dramas and novelizations, "how-to" books, ghostwritten biographies, and reader's guides on detective, mystery and science-fiction literature.…