When the 15th issue of the current Flash Gordon series (from Mad Cave Studios), ended, I wasn’t sure where they’d be able to take the saga next. After all, we had 15 issues covering all of the major bases when it comes to Flash Gordon. The intriguing status quo, which followed in the wake of the evil Ming the Merciless having had his home planet destroyed, allowed for some great character twists, and the addition of parallel universe elements added further spice to proceedings.

With the fifteenth issue tying off all of the threads and bringing things to what felt like a proper conclusion, the reins were handed to writer Dan Abnett, in an issue #0 to whet the appetite for the sixteenth issue and the dawn of a new day for Flash Gordon and co.

In that #0 issue, Flash is training a new generation of astronauts, taking them on an unauthorised and highly unorthodox field trip. Issue #1 starts with Flash grounded, and passed over for a mission to stop an enormous celestial object colliding with the Earth. But old friends are in the shadows, and it seems that it won’t be long before Flash is defying authority to take to the stars yet again.

There’s a lot of exposition to get through in moving all of the pieces into place and getting Flash spaceborne again. That said, it’s a really intriguing and interesting new direction for the series, though it seems to have become a bit glum and serious in comparison to what came before, and certainly what readers may expect from a Flash Gordon comic.

Still, Manuel Garcia’s art is superb, with a real sense of realism, and the grounded colour scheme only adds to that, thanks to Ceci de la Cruz.

When things do finally get moving in terms of action, there’s a nice callback to the 1980 Flash Gordon movie, and some lovely, cosmic colour to make things a little livelier too.

Having enjoyed the first story arcs immensely, I’m definitely invested enough in this incarnation of Flash Gordon that I’ll be continuing to see where his exploits take him and his friends next; though not the most exciting start, I’m definitely intrigued by Abnett’s new setup.

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