Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Flash Gordon comic strip appeared in newspapers across America on the 7th of January 1934. It was created by artist Alex Raymond and writer Don Moore at the request of King Features Syndicate.
Dr. Hans Zarkov kidnaps Flash Gordon and Dale Arden to force them aboard his rocket ship to stop a collision between Earth and Mongo. They encounter various rulers including Prince Barin, Queen Fria, Queen Desira, King Kala, and Prince Vultan during their travels.
By the late 1930s, the Flash Gordon strip was published in 130 newspapers worldwide. The publication reached fifty million readers globally and appeared in eight foreign languages before World War II caused discontinuation in many countries.
Sam J. Jones played Flash Gordon in the 1980 film version directed by Mike Hodges. Melody Anderson co-starred as Dale Arden alongside Chaim Topol as Dr. Zarkov while Max von Sydow portrayed Ming and Timothy Dalton played Prince Barin.
A live-action series starring Steve Holland as Flash Gordon ran from 1954 to 1955 with the story set in the year 3203. The first twenty-six episodes were filmed in West Berlin and the final thirteen episodes were shot in Marseille, France.