Le Rayon U

[1] In 1941, the outbreak of war between Germany and the United States meant that American comic strips could no longer be imported into Nazi-occupied Europe.

[2] Alex Raymond's strip, Flash Gordon, was then being published in the Belgian Franco-Belgian comics magazine Bravo.

[3] English translations of both Le Rayon U and La Flèche Ardente were published by Cinebook in September 2023 and scheduled for February 2024, respectively.

The explorers encounter all manners of threats, including prehistoric monsters, giant snakes and tigers, a tribe of hostile ape-men, and the meddling of Austradian spy Captain Dagon.

In itself Le Rayon U is a classic of Belgian science fiction, but the influence of Flash Gordon cannot be denied: Dagon, the main villain, was modelled on Jacobs himself.