The Tom Sawyer [nee Scheuer] credits from Jerry Bails' Who's Who Of American Comic Books lists Tom ghosting the syndicated daily FLASH GORDON, both pencils and inks around 1954 for "a few weeks"
An email from Tom on June 8, 2008 amends this slightly:
Yeah, '54 or perhaps most likely "55 sounds about right. I'd gotten married in '54, was living in Jackson Heights, and had my friend Pete Friedman pose for Polaroids, with, I recall, my wife holding up the corners of a sheet we'd put on him to simulate a cape.
Some activities for Tom and his bride can be traced in 1955 and give hints when he may or may not have worked on the strip:
The February 14, 1955 Troy [New York] Times Record reports:
A later article corrects the address to 33-34 77th Street, Jackson Heights, and Tom adds that he served in Korea, and not World War II.
[Other public records at this time also report that the couple returned from Bermuda on March 8,1955, but that was a different Tom Scheuer.]
The Troy [New York] Times Record has the Sawyers visiting her parents in Troy, New York, on both July 16th and December 23rd, 1955.
Others who assisted primary artist Dan Barry on FLASH GORDON art in 1954 and 1955 include Leonard Starr, Al Williamson, Sam Burlockoff, Sy Barry, Carmine Infantino and Russ Heath. During this time period, Dan was hospitalized briefly for depression and took a short trip to Italy, leaving Sy to coordinate the strip on both occasions. Sy usually used artists and writers he worked next to at DC Comics.
For reference, I located a drawing by Tom that appeared in the May 30, 1953 Stars and Stripes:
A romance cover from June, 1956:
and some syndicated work from Family Weekly from 1964 1nd 1965:
Its easy to see where Neal Adams, who followed Tom on Bell Laboraties ads that ran in Boys' Life, got some of his stylistic tics from. Tom adds: "Neal and I never worked together on anything. I had desk-space at Johnstone & Cushing when he was breaking in, and we got along famously. Precocious and feisty. Clearly a guy who was destined for an interesting career."
The FLASH GORDON storylines that appeared in 1954 and 1955 are:
Summary: Fishing in the Bahamas, Flash, Dale and Zarkov discover a strange ship filled with gold -- and
Neanderthals from Atlantis [!!]. They find Atlantis ruled by the tyrant Noachim.
Notes: Dan Barry had attended the Fan-Vet Conference in April, 1953, a gathering of science fiction
writers and editors, and it had clearly inspired a the speculative discussion Flash and friends
engage in early in the storyline. Most of the early fishing scenes are by Brick Bradford artist Paul
Norris. Most of the adventure in Atlantis resembles the Flash's early adventures, with a tournament
[this time underwater], a conniving princess and giant clawed monsters. Bob Kanigher scripting after
our heroes reach Atlantis.
Summary: Flash and Dale are mysteriously sent through space to a distant planet by a lovestruck sorceress,
whose powers come from the inventions of her father, Thorlin. Her plans are interupted by the escaped
prisoner, Jiro.
Notes: Another bizarre Bob Kanigher plot, though there seems to be continued swiping of ideas between Dan
Barry and DC Comics -- the floating people idea gets reused by Julie Schwartz and Carmine Infantino in
the May, 1955 issue of Strange Adventures:
Week 01 Week 02 Week 03 Week 04 Week 05 Week 06 Week 07
Summary: Everything Flash touches gets destroyed, the result of an accident. He banishes himself into space,
where he discovers aliens from the planet Horokko hidden on the moon firing destructive pellets toward earth.
Notes: Many scenes from this story were reworked by Sam Burlockoff for a Flash Gordon coloring book in 1958.
This appears to be from a Bob Kanigher script, and continues from events in the previous story.before taking
an abrupt turn to feature an alien invasion force defeated by Flash and his super-powers.
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Summary: Flash finds an SOS in a bottle from a woman named Elda -- from the year 2554! Using Dr. Zarkov's
new time machine, he finds a devastated earth and that Elda is a lookalike for Dale.
Notes: This is a Bob Kanigher story reusing plot devices from his work on DC Comics' Wonder Woman,
including the time machine; lots of action, with gators and sharks, a German luger and a killer named Moko.
This story is also incredibly short -- it started on a Tuesday and ran only 11 weeks rather than the standard
12-13, and ends abruptly. But the art -- especially those double panels are exceptional.
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Summary: Flash and Dale find a flying saucer containing an infant that turns out to be a Martian prince
named Hanro. His older sister Zora had sent him to earth to protect him from his uncle, Duke
Tazzid, overlord of Ruuvia [Tazzid's appearence is clearly based on Ming the Mercilous].
Notes: Both the spacecraft designs and the villain are swiped from early Alex Raymond strips; the
inking looks like Sam Burlockoff or Sy Barry; story is by Bob Kanigher; Tazzid wears a cape
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Summary: Flash is given a surprise birthday party by Dale and the Space Kids, and they decide to
visit Mr. Pennington and Cyril on Zorania. The people there are endangered by a white wolf called
the Vulke.
Notes: the spaceship looks like a sleeker version of the X-1 rocketplane; there is a bearded blind seer
with a staff named Oculo resembling Moses and a flying horse. Although this story, minus a couple
of SF elements, could easily be a Phantom, Jungle Jim or even a Lone Ranger story, its plotted
much more tightly than those before it.
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Summary: Strange events, all related to sound, are occuring all over the earth. They discover its the
work of composer Egon Blant, who went mad and disappeared years earlier, now seeking revenge.
Notes: Blant wears a cape; there's a plump sidekick named Jazzbeau who speaks like Kookie on 77
Sunset Strip ["hey, daddi-o"]; story is likely by Bill Finger, co-creator of Batman. Dan apparently
had a fondness for this story -- the villain's name is reused a decade later for the recurring time
traveller introduced in "The Hapless Alien”, running 05/27/1963 to 11/09/1963]; and several
sequences have a strong resemblance to those in the Harry Harrison scripted "Martian Treasure”
[11/11/1963 to 02/22/1964] that immediately followed. The artwork, except for panels here and there,
seems to be pure Dan Barry Studios, and even reuses character designs from DC Comics's Johnny
Quick stories that Dan worked on. [see below]
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Summary: Crippled B. B. Remsen, the world's largest rocket manufacturer, offers Flash a million
dollars to reform his spoiled daughter Starling. Her antics trap her and Flash on a planet that is
home to a lost, stranded pilot named Jan Steel, who has lost a leg.
Notes: story is by Sid Jacobson, creator of Richie Rich; the spaceship is a V-wing; story includes an
attack by a giant gila monster; the art at the end of the story is different from the beginning, with
Remsen losing his wheelchair and getting noticably younger; Jan Steel is named after a Dan Barry
assistant, Jan Sand; some panels look like Mike Sekowsky pencils
Week 01 Week 02 Week 03 Week 04 Week 05 Week 06 Week 07
Summary: Another flying saucer [this time the finned version typically associated with Wally Wood
or Gil Kane] kidnaps Flash and its antenaed aliens from the planet Mesmo place Flash in an
interstellar circus. Others in the circus are Hukko, a Hawkman from Mongo; Dr. Manimo from
Anterra [who resembles Edgar Rice Burroughs four armed Martians], the monkey-man Groz
from the tree-kingdom of Primeva, and strongman Hugar [swiped from an Austin Briggs Blue
Book illustration].
Notes: looks like some combination of Carmine Infantino and Sy Barry to me; many, many capes
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Summary: Zara, from the swamp planet Malagua, tries to kill Dr. Zarkov. But she turns out to be his
daughter from a mission in the time before he met Flash and Dale, when Zarkov accidently landed
on the planet Elgon.
Notes: there is a black panther named Octavio and other swamp creatures; the rocket design is the
same V-wing from two stories ago
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Summary: Flash retells his first adventure to the Space Kids, whose membership now includes Zara.
Psychic kid Worriless Willie teleports them to Mongo, attracting the attention of old foe, Queen
Azura, who has teamed with Ming's lookalike son.
Notes: several old friends reappear, including Prince Barin and Vultan the Hawkman. The writer comes up
with a new version of how Mongo avoided colliding with Earth, and introduces Ming II. Zarkov's daughter
joins the Space Kids. A great adventure in the Don Moore traditionly style.
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