Two Flash Gordon publishers

After I posted about Dynamite's adding Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician to their publishing roster, Ardden Entertainment left a comment announcing that they still also have the Flash Gordon license and are planning a new volume for the Fall. Here's the press release:

Ardden Entertainment LLC is excited to announce the launch of FLASH GORDON: INVASION OF THE RED SWORD for an Autumn 2011 release.

Coming off the heels of Ardden’s critically-acclaimed FLASH GORDON: THE MERCY WARS mini-series (called “good, old-fashioned fun, freshly polished” by Publishers Weekly), Ardden plans on continuing an expansion of the characters and situations created in the first story arc, which was directly inspired by Alex Raymond’s groundbreaking comic strips.

FLASH GORDON: INVASION OF THE RED SWORD chronicles the invasion of Mongo by a splinter group of the CIA, as first introduced in FLASH GORDON: THE MERCY WARS #1. The group’s name, “The Red Sword,” was first created by Alex Raymond.

“When preparing to write the first four six-issue arcs we have planned for FLASH GORDON,” says FLASH GORDON writer and Ardden Co-Publisher Brendan Deneen, “I re-read every single one of Alex Raymond’s original comic strips. There was a treasure trove of material in there, including an arc where Flash, Dale and Zarkov end up back on Earth. While there, they battle a mysterious group called ‘the Red Sword.’ I thought that was the perfect name for the invading force in our second arc.”

“Like everyone else,” Deneen added, “I’ve heard about Dynamite’s plans to launch their own FLASH GORDON series. I look forward to some healthy competition. I hope they’re ready, too.”

This sounds like the Phantom scenario all over again, so I'm curious to see this story develop.