The 3rd title in the Novel series inspired by the Flash Gordon comic strip—read and loved by millions of fans around the world. Flash has been kidnapped, auctioned and forced to perform as a trapeze artist in a circus of slaves. But our hero foils his evil blue captors and with the help of Dr. Zarkov and Dale, escapes the planet Mesmo, and then dispatches an expedition to end forever the tyranny of that planet. Alex Raymond (1905-1956) was an American cartoonist best known for creating the Flash Gordon comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. Con Steffanson is a pseudonym for Ron Goulart, a professional author who is considered one of the country's leading authorities on comic books and comic strips.