Big Little Booksfirst published by the Whitman Publishing Company in Racine, Wisconsin in 1932, were small, compact books designed with a captioned illustration opposite each page of text. Other publishers, notably Saalfield, adopted this format after Whitman scored a success with its early titles, initially priced at 10¢ (later 15¢).
A Big Little Book was typically 3⅝" wide and 4½" high, with 212 to 432 pages making an approximate thickness of 1½". The interior book design usually displayed full-page black-and-white illustrations on the right side, facing the pages of text on the left. Stories were often tie-ins with radio programs, comic strips, children's books, pulp novels and movies. Later books in the series had interior color illustrations.
Whitman published a series of Big Little Books collecting Alex Raymond's original Template:Comic comic strips. The books reprinted almost every panel from the strips; multiple-panel pictures are divided onto individual pages.
Titles[]
| Cover | Title | Published | Strips | BLB number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
"Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo" | 1934 | Jan 7, 1934 - Apr 8, 1934 |
GW64-1110 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Monsters of Mongo" | 1935 | Apr 8, 1934 - Nov 8, 1934 |
GW103-1166 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Tournaments of Mongo" | 1935 | Dec 2, 1934 - Apr 21, 1935 |
GW108-1171 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Witch Queen of Mongo" | 1936 | Apr 21, 1935 - Oct 13, 1935 |
GW127-1190 |
 |
"Flash Gordon vs. the Emperor of Mongo" | 1936 | Oct 20, 1935 - Feb 9, 1936 |
GD2 |
 |
"Flash Gordon in the Water World of Mongo" | 1937 | Apr 12, 1936 - Oct 11, 1936 |
GW190-1407 |
 |
"Flash Gordon in the Forest Kingdom of Mongo" | 1938 | Oct 18, 1936 - Aug 8, 1937 |
SW36-1492 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Perils of Mongo" | 1940 | Oct 24, 1937 - July 31, 1938 |
SW61-1423 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Tyrant of Mongo" | 1941 | Aug 14, 1938 - May 7, 1939 |
SW175-1484 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Ice World of Mongo" | 1942 | May 14, 1939 - Jan 21, 1940 |
SW149-1443 |
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Ape Men of Mor" | 1942 | May 27, 1940 - August 21, 1941 |
|
 |
"Flash Gordon and the Power Men of Mongo" | 1943 | Apr 14, 1940 - Dec 8, 1940 |
SW210-1469 |
|
"Flash Gordon and the Red Sword Invaders" | 1945 | Apr 20, 1941 - Jan 4, 1942 |
SW217-1479 |
|
"Flash Gordon in the Jungles of Mongo" | 1947 | Jan 4, 1942 - Nov 22, 1942 |
SW255-1424 |
|
"Flash Gordon and the Fiery Desert of Mongo" | 1948 | Jan 3, 1943 - June 20, 1943 |
SW275-1447 |