David Avallone, writer of Legenderry: Vampirella #2, talks with Ben Acker and Ben Blacker about KING: Flash Gordon #2, both on sale March 11th
DAVID AVALLONE: Hey guys ... I don't think I've seen you since a few Thrilling Adventures ago. Like you guys, I come to comics from a screenwriting/film background. I love the relative freedom that comes with comics: the budget creating no limits aside from what an artist can draw. How do you find the experience compares with filmmaking?
BEN ACKER: We've only done the one film -- Drones -- available wherever hard-to-find films are found.
BEN BLACKER: In Drones -- which is available now on DVD -- we had no budget so we did our space battles off-screen.
ACKER: This is not a bit - this is true.
BLACKER: So it is lovable, as you say, to have limitless location and special effects budgets.
ACKER: And in contrast to the Thrilling Adventure Hour radio plays that we do, we get to see them. Comics are great at being a visual medium!
BLACKER: You don't get as much dialogue as we get to do in pure radio theater nor as in film and we've spent years honing our dialogue chops but we're glad to trade it for the new ground of showing the crazy worlds and fun characters within them.
DA: I will confess that I still enjoy the much-maligned 1980 Flash movie. Is it any influence on you here?
ACKER: Of course! It both deserves to be maligned and holds a special place in our hearts. The soundtrack is the soundtrack to writing the comic.
BLACKER: Also some plot business is coming via some elements of the film. Indirectly, but they're there.
DA: And going back further, were you guys previously fans of the Alex Raymond strips or the Buster Crabbe serials?
ACKER: Some aspects! The Raymond scripts are beautiful when they're not delving deep into imperialism and other questionable aspects.
BLACKER: We do not care for the racist elements.
ACKER: Not at all.
BLACKER: We do like serial style storytelling!
ACKER: Very much. We vastly prefer it to racist storytelling.
BLACKER: Sure, but also we are fans of the sort of insurmountable cliffhanger endings within the chapters of the story so you'll see that in this series. Is that a spoiler?
DA: Was there a character from the Flash Gordon universe you were most excited to write for? Is there anyone you haven't used yet that you'd like to bring in?
ACKER AND BLACKER: Zarkov!
ACKER: All three of the heroes are so exciting to get to write.
BLACKER: I feel like we are barely writing any Ming and though we know better than to show the shark (#JawsReference) he is one we'd like to use some more.
DA: Any chance of a Flash Gordon/Sparks Nevada crossover?
ACKER: You are the second to ask that this week in these questions! In a good way.
BLACKER: They're at different companies so I wonder how that'd work but I think it'd be really fun.
DA: How many more issues before Zarkov gets some pants?
ACKER: To answer that WOULD be a spoiler!
BLACKER: ZARKOV WILL NEVER HAVE PANTS AGAIN!
ACKER: That may or may not be true.
