 Alex Raymond 's " influence on other cartoonists was considerable during his lifetime and did not diminish after his death " . George Lucas has cited Raymond 's Flash Gordon as a major influence on his Star Wars films ( which , cyclically , inspired the 1980 Flash Gordon film ) , while Raymond 's long shadow has fallen across the comics industry ever since his work saw print . Comics artists who have cited Raymond as a particularly significant influence on their work include Murphy Anderson , Jim Aparo , Frank Brunner , John Buscema , Gene Colan , Dick Dillin , José Luis García @-@ López , Frank Giacoia , Bob Haney , Jack Katz , Everett Raymond Kinstler , Joe Kubert , Russ Manning , Mort Meskin , Sheldon Moldoff , Luis Garcia Mozos , Joe Orlando , Mac Raboy , John Romita Jr . , Kurt Schaffenberger , Joe Sinnott , Dick Sprang and Alex Toth , among many others . 
