The US based publisher Mad Cave Studios will be publishing a new Defenders of the Earth comic book series.

The Defenders of the Earth cartoon series main characters are Flash Gordon, the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar, who are all licensed by King Features Syndicate. Mad Cave Studios currently hold publishing permission to release new Flash Gordon and Defenders of the Earth comic books.

The first edition is due for release in August 2024, a series scheduled to contain 8 editions, with a new edition due for release on a monthly basis. Pre-order advertisements describe the series as:

Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar are united again in this reimagining of the classic animated series, Defenders of the Earth. Picking up with characters and storylines from the original series, Flash confronts Ming in a final battle, only to find that even greater threats await him as his teammates as they each must confront ghosts of their past to protect their families and future. The first action-packed issue in an eight-part series!

Images of the first edition are starting to appear for preorder, with 3 varying cover designs currently seen. Cover 1A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore, cover 1B (seen below center) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic and cover 1C (seen below right) is illustrated by Andy Clarke. The story is written by Dan DiDio.

Interestingly, cover 1B contains an image of the Flash Gordon figure released by NECA in the USA in 2021, however NECA released the figure in a box packaging and not attached to a card as found on the Mad Cave Studios comic book cover. The look is more reminiscent of the design seen on the Defenders of the Earth figure released by Galoob in the UK in 1985.

Mad Cave Studios will be releasing a trade paperback in June 2024 (currently advertised for pre-order on their website HERE), which will be reprinting the Defenders of the Earth 4 edition miniseries originally published by Star Comics/Marvel in 1987. This reprint edition will contain 96 full color pages measuring 6.63 x 10.13 inches.

No further information is currently available on this first edition in respect to content to be published within the series. Mad Cave Studios are yet to list this first edition on their website, however League of Comic Geeks currently list these 3 comic books on their website, found HERE

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