Thanks for the comments, guys!
The first time around (in the mid-70s), it was Dale who got on my nerves. This time, it was... everything! Which I take as an indication that my sensibilites as a writer have grown a lot over the years.
Seriously, was there ever a guy who was more loyal, who risked his life more times to save a girl and prove how much he loved her and only her, yet every single time any woman even looked at him, she kept getting insanely jealous? WTF!!! By comparison, the only time Dale got jealous in the 3 serials was in "UNIVERSE", when Dale was played by Carol Hughes. The first time, it was when Queen Fria of Frigia kept calling him "FLESH Gordon" (that's how she said it with her accent!!-- my Dad ever after called him "Flesh" in imitation of Fria) and was praising him in front of Dale (like she wasn't even there) and kept wanting to go alng WITHY Flash on a dangerous mission, and he had to brush her off politely by stressing how important her safety was to her people. Later, the treacherous Sonja was flirting with Flash from behind her prison bars, suggesting he should rule Arboria, not Barin, and offering to help him overthrow Barin. He just laughed in her face, then told a guard, "Be careful of her, she'll try to trick you. "Thank you sir, she already tried." Later, when Sonja & Torch escaped, Dale attacked Sonya and got into a major cat-fight with her. In both cases, Flash REFUSED to be drawn into Dale's jealousy B.S. Is it any wonder Crabbe is my favorite FG?
One of the MOST ANNOYING plots in the strip was when Flash, Dale & Zarkov made it to Arboria-- which was high in branches of insanely-gigantic trees. A servant tried to steal from Aura, but was caught by Flash. He begged for sympathy, saying he only did it to help his starving family. Flash let him go. Anyone else would have befriended Flash at that moment and been loyal to him after. NOT THIS A-HOLE. He was so convinced Flash would turn him in, he tried to MURDER Flash. This sequence went on for WEEKS, before the guy just barely managed to escape Arboria with his life, before running into Ming's desert troops. Next thing, he's telling Ming Flash is still alive, in Arboria, which causes unending trouble for Barin. S*** like this just kept going on and on and on. I think after MONTHS, the guy finally went too far and was either tossed into prison or executed by Ming's men for sheer incompetence, after he'd been promoted to an officer in Ming's ranks. All that, because Flash showed a moment of MERCY?
After awhile, I wanted to KILL the WRITER.
The Frigia sequence was as bad or worse. Unlike the movie, Flash, Dale & Zarkov went there to flee Arboria so Barin & Aura would be safe. They used it as an excuse to go exploring. But while there, EVERY SINGLE noble of Frigia became jealus of Flash, terrified their Queen Fria would want to MARRY him (something he had zero interest in), and so kept trying to KILL him. I mean, really... WTF!!!
Much earlier, there's a long stretch, could have been several months, where Zarkov vanished and was believed dead. Turned up among Barin's people (when he was in charge of a group of rebel freedom-fighters), and had amnesia. Zarkov was treated so much better in the movies. Comparing Zarkov to Dr. Huer from the 1939 BR film, I have to figure Zarkovc is the more brilliant of the two... simply on the basis that Huer had 25th Century tech, but Zarkov was performing his miracles in the 1930s.
