Flash Gordon’s (Sam J. Jones) Mongo Military Jacket, FLASH GORDON(1980)
Flash Gordon (played by Sam J. Jones) is the eponymous hero of Mike Hodges’ science fiction adventure. The film is remembered for its style, which includes the spectacular costumes. This particular item is the very distinctive red jacket that Flash wore when he was attempting to escape from the planet Mongo with Princess Aura. The jacket is a custom made piece in red leather with epaulettes and a wealth of beaded embellishments and gold braiding.
Auction Estimates: £5,000 – £7,000
Going under the gavel on September 27th as part of their latest Entertainment Memorabilia Auction taking place at the ODEON BFI IMAX in London’s Waterloo, this superb lot offered by Propstore is as stunning as it is unique.
Described as Flash Gordon’s ‘Mongo Military Jacket’ this splendid, intricate piece of design by Danilo Donati has somehow survived the test of time in pristine state and is easily the most significant item of costume offered from the film in some years.
Though Ming’s army is shown wearing similar tunics brandishing similar bead applique’s, none are leather like the jacket liberated by Princess Aura to disguise Flash to aid his escape from Mongo. Its appearance in the film may have been limited to a few scenes but it was used extensively for promo shots such as this –
Interestingly, the inscription in the collar reads ‘double’ so it is this was a backup jacket for Sam rather than a stuntman as scenes featuring this costume were light on action. Regardless, between its iconic status and Propstore’s stellar reputation there will no doubt be plenty of interest in this lot so it will likely go beyond estimate…
Of course, representation doesn’t get much better than having the leading man show up for the event (take a bow, Mr. Jones) but at this years typically frenzied San Diego Comic-Con, our hero was supported by an impressive range of upcoming collectables –
First and foremost Sam was the guest of honour at artist extraordinaire Alex Ross booth, where the newly unveiled very limited-edition print above should already be familiar to anyone lucky enough to attend the 35th anniversary celebrations. Though handsomely presented in a frame, those who already own the much larger poster signed by many of the cast besides Ross himself should be feeling especially pleased with themselves. Meanwhile, over at the ever expanding Chronicle Collectables stand –
An ever-in-demand Sam Jones once again teams up with ultra-Flashfan and friend of Gordon’s Alive Bob Lindenmeyer to shake hands on a job extremely well-done as the gleaming finished prototype War Rocket Ajax shines its way to an upcoming pre-order accompanied by the flawless replica of the Klytus mask/hood. In the interview above Sam makes more than one mention of action figures – however none so far have been unveiled at the show and the last series from Bif Bang Pow is a couple of years old now –
Which leads us to believe, alongside Chronicles talk on Facebook of Flash Gordon ‘Signature Editions’ that an all-new 1/6 line is a possibility? Was it fresh on Sam’s mind as he’d just cut the deal? Time will tell.
Speaking of figures, nobody saw this SDCC exclusive coming –
But Funko have done it again with this charming double-pack of vinyl ‘Dorbz’ available only at their booth – chances are they’ve gone already and while we’re on the subject of rarities they don’t get much better than these –
With Propstore’s astonishing acquisitions of original costume pieces on display at their booth in advance of upcoming auctions. The breathtaking Flash Gordon Mongo Officer Jacket in red leather with gold beading has not been seen since its sale at online auction some years ago so its appearance here alone is a rare sight and with a guide price of £5 – 7K its sure to be snapped up and disappear into obscurity again.
The Hawkman helmet is another splendidly preserved artefact as most surviving examples are missing the fragile ‘barrel’ moulding on the top. Another modest estimate is sure to make this the centre of another Flashfan’s collection.
So all in all, not a bad show for the Flash enthusiast with the potential of more to come…!!
Faithfully adapted by Bruce Jones and supported by amazing art by award-winning Al Williamson, the Flash Gordon comic of the movie would appear in various guises all over the world. Arguably most common Stateside was the softcover album by Western Publishing on newsstands as the film hit theatres – Hardcovers were to follow as the release travelled across the pond to the UK and beyond. The adaptation would last be seen across three issues of the Whitman comic book…
While most of these publications would feature a cluttered cover of movie stills combined with splash panels, the German release (above) utilised the poster artwork by Renato Casaro to much greater effect. Beneath it lay a black & white filmreel of stills to introduce the characters before launching into the standard reprint. The quality of these could never be described as more than adequate (with many pages misprinted to the point of illegibility) but the artwork still shines. Williamson would later say about drawing Flash –
“I was paying homage to Alex [Raymond], you know. I tried to treat his creation with respect and dignity and tried to do it to the best of my ability. I find that other artists who have done Flash Gordon just don’t seem to get the feeling of the strip, you know. Flash is a noble guy and it’s kind of nice to have that kind of a hero…”
