ORIGINAL ART: Heros the Spartan x 10!!!

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 5 Jan 1963 (Vol.14:01) Lot#340

I'm sorry to have to do this to you but 10 lots have come up and all are Frank Bellamy's "Heros the Spartan" As if that's not enough, they are all consecutive numbers!! I won't say much about them except to point out they are a bit faded again! It's such a shame that fans love the works and hang them in sunlight. But you can still see the excellent composition and line work. 

This auction is with Stanley Gibbons Baldwin who I think started selling comics in November 2025. They had had several auctions from "The Northern Collection" which they describe as 

"The Northern Collection is one of the most important collections to reach the European market, representing the life's work of a dedicated collector who sought to own every comic book ever produced."

This particular auction is "Northern Collection: From The Vault | CB26004" and besides Bellamy there are loads of 2000AD artworks too, as well as underground comix and 'overground' comics galore!

So let's capture it all the Bellamy artworks for posterity - especially as I've never seen these before, and all links to individual pieces can be found in my summary below.

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 12 Jan 1963 (Vol.14:02) Lot#341

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 19 Jan 1963 (Vol.14:03) Lot#342

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 26 Jan 1963 (Vol.14:04) Lot#343

 

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 2 Feb 1963 (Vol.14:05) Lot#344

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 9 Feb 1963 (Vol.14:06) Lot#345

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 16 Feb 1963 (Vol.14:07) Lot#346

 

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 23 Feb 1963 (Vol.14:08) Lot#347

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 2 Mar 1963 (Vol.14:09) Lot#348

"Heros the Spartan", Eagle 9 Mar 1963 (Vol.14:10) Lot#349

 

They've described the artworks in this manner, I've only listed the first here and would say these are all inks done in the usual Bellamy 'watercolour' style but no watercolour has been used. 

Frank Bellamy Eagle Magazine Vol 14 #1 "Heros The Spartan: Episode 11" Two Page Original Art (Longacre Press, 1963). 

Part of the story arc “Heros The Spartan: The Island of Darkness" with story by Tom Tully and art by Frank Bellamy. This two page centrefold story is episode 11 of this 19 part story. An installment [sic] of the ongoing saga “Heros the Spartan” created by Frank Bellamy in ink and watercolour over graphite on a single sheet of illustration board. Signed by Frank Bellamy in the ninth panel above Paxas' head in the top left corner. 

This artwork is framed with a wooden frame under glass. The back is taped down and we cannot confirm the quality of the edges without damaging the frame. The board itself is slightly toned, small tear to the top left with tape on top, some marks have transferred from the art to the glass, a correction to the script was glued on top and has come loose on one side (2nd panel), some wear to a few of the corrections (two panels), wear to the art in the last panel and overall in good condition.  

Provenance: a friend of the vendor worked at IPC Magazines and gifted these artworks to the vendor.

Measurements: Frame: W: 26" x H: 16.5" x D: 0.5". The artwork itself is usually: W: 25" x H: 15.25".  

I'll update the spreadsheet and this page as usual as soon as I know the hammer prices. 

 AUCTION SUMMARY

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:1) (Lot #340) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:2) (Lot #341) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:3) (Lot #342) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:4) (Lot #343) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:5) (Lot #344) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:6) (Lot #345) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:7) (Lot #346) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:8)  (Lot #347)
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin AuctionsEstimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:9) (Lot #348) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 14:10) (Lot #339) 
WHERE?: Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auctions
Estimate: £2,000 - £2,500
Starting bid: £1,600
ENDING PRICE: £
END DATE: Friday 6 November 2026

Frank Bellamy in latest Peter Hansen auction (Part Two)

"Fantasy Figure"

It's unusual for me to split an auction over two articles but this one justifies it. The first part of this auction I wrote about was here So let's cover the second part of the Peter Hansen Collection of British Comics and Comic Art taking place on 24 October 2026, starting at  10:00 at Excalibur Auctions. All links are at the bottom of this article.

"FANTASY FIGURE" 

 The interesting fantasy figure (named by me!) has an interesting proven history. 

"Frank Bellamy was so chuffed to be the guest of honour at Comicon 71 that he produced five new colour visuals for us to auction off. 

The photo shows a bearded young Dez Skinn (who gave me permission to use this from his webiosite) holding one of them - this is mentioned as "Fantasy figure"in the 'Unpublished' part of the Frank Bellamy checklist and to our knowledge has never been published. Of course being me, I asked Dez about the five pieces and he quite rightly pointed out to me this was 55 years ago!

 Excalibur describe it thus: "FRANK BELLAMY Original Art - An original piece of fantasy concept art by the legendary British comic book artist Frank Bellamy created at Comicon 1971, London signed to the bottom underneath the character. (V)" It will be interesting to see what it sells for. 

Unpublished King Solomon's Mines Part 3

KING SOLOMON'S MINES Part3

 I've written about this strip previously (and Parts 1 and 2) and would have loved to have seen more by Bellamy as he does a double page spread in colour for the first time (before "Montgomery of Alamein" and "Heros The Spartan" in Eagle) and covers the area of his special interest: Africa!

The auction states:

FRANK BELLAMY - 'King Solomons Mines' Episode 3, an unpublished story for the British comic book EAGLE. Three 'Episodes' were produced and illustrated in colour by the British comic artist Frank Bellamy, but it was then abandoned in favour of another strip. (V)

It's wonderful that Terry Doyle and Peter Hansen have preserved this strip so well. If you win this auction PLEASE get a copy made to display and keep the original out of the sun! 

"Heros" Eagle Vol.15:39 (26 September 1964) 

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 15:39) 

"FRANK BELLAMY - Original comic art for EAGLE volume 15 #39 (1964) 'Heros The Spartan' Episode 17, "The Axe of Arguth" storyline. Heros The Spartan was one of Frank Bellamy's most acclaimed works, set in Ancient Rome and was most likely inspired by the 1960 movie Spartacus. Ink on board, signed by the artist. (V)" - well, I'd say most of the strip occurs in the wider Roman Empire myself, but let's not be pedantic! I was talking about preservation and this example shows some fading. The blues are the first thing to go, but I'm not blaming anyone as how could we know! It has some iconic Bellamy touches - the hand pointing out of the picture, the Heros portrait, the weird monster. Wonderful fantasy which he said he much preferred drawing to other people's works or science-fiction. 

"Heros" Eagle Vol.16:20 (15 May 1965)

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 16:20) 

 "FRANK BELLAMY - Original comic book artwork for EAGLE volume 16 / 20 (1965) Heros the Spartan - The Slave Army storyline Episode 12. Heros The Spartan was one of Frank Bellamy's most acclaimed works, set in Ancient Rome and was most likely inspired by the 1960 movie Spartacus. Ink on board, signed by the artist. (V)"

I've said about fading and the story so I'll stop here. But just look at dagger ornamentation at the top-left! This helpful site tells you a lot about the Jile Dagger whose hallmark is the T-shaped pommel at the end. Another instance of Bellamy's love of producing interesting art - not just the dagger but how he has placed it where it is, balancing the visual interest of the page!

Well, that's me done. I'll update the spreadsheet and this page as usual as soon as I know the hammer prices. 

AUCTION SUMMARY

"FANTASY FIGURE" (Lot #447)

WHERE?: Excalibur
ENDING PRICE: £550
END DATE: Saturday 24 October 2026

KING SOLOMON'S MINES (Lot #448)

WHERE?: Excalibur
ENDING PRICE: £2,200
END DATE: Saturday 24 October 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 15:39)  (Lot #449)

WHERE?: Excalibur
ENDING PRICE: £1,100
END DATE: Saturday 24 October 2026

"HEROS THE SPARTAN" EAGLE (Vol. 16:20) (Lot #450) 

WHERE?: Excalibur
ENDING PRICE: £1,300
END DATE: Saturday 24 October 2026

AUCTION: Heros the Spartan Original art

 

Eagle 25 May 1963 (Vol.14:21), pp10-11

Phil-Comics, the nicest and award-winning eBayer (with 100% positive Seller Feedback of 25,335) has a piece of Frank Bellamy original art in his most recent sale - so be quick if you decide to bid as the auction ends Monday 15 December at 22:04. It's the first time I've seen this at auction or for sale.

He has put a starting price of £3,749.99 and here's his description:

Heros the Spartan Original Artwork by Frank Bellamy for Eagle comic Vol 14 #21 May 25 1963 Rare

A wonderful page of rarely seen original artwork drawn and painted by Frank Bellamy, one of the most highly regarded and talented British comic artists. The page was published in Eagle comic Vol 14 #21, dated May 25 1963, as episode 12 from the "Eagle of the Fifth" story. This was featured in "The Art of Frank Bellamy". 

A collector friend has kindly provided an image of the published page in the above Eagle comic and we have included this as the final picture above - please note this is only for reference purposes and the comic is not included here. We did notice a copy for sale on eBay at the time of writing, but in any case they are not difficult to track down.

The page measures approximately 27.25 x 17.75 inches (79 x 45 cm) and is on thick, rigid art board. The detail is very crisp indeed and the colours vibrant. Frank Bellamy's signature is seen in the lower right quarter. Small loss to the lower left corner and a bump to the other corners. Some staining to the lower right corner and lower left edge.

A beautiful page of artwork highly sought-after by collectors.

This came to us in a black wooden frame with glass but we aren't able to post it as past experience tells us the glass will break, plus the frame makes it very difficult to pack. So whilst we're not including the frame as part of this listing, if you were to be successful and collected the artwork from us, you are welcome to the frame free of charge.

Will pack flat between multiple sheets of very thick cardboard and it should be rendered "bomb proof" once we've finished.

UK postage by Special Delivery - £9.50. 

In the years I've been capturing sales data on Bellamy's original art, "Heros" has sold on average for £3,388.40 with the outliers being a very faded piece for £130 and then at the other end of the scale £7,300. Without them, the average is £3,342 and the median over 7 years is £3,300. 

Phil has shared loads of images so I've captured them here for you, showing some dinging on the corners but the clarity of the colours is still pretty good. At the bottom I've shown the printed page - which as usual is pretty dark! The reproduction wasn't great in my opinion at that time at the Eagle so enjoy seeing what Bellamy's art can look like!

 The published page looks like this:

Eagle 25 May 1963 (Vol.14:21), pp10-11 

 

AUCTION SUMMARY

"Heros The Spartan" Eagle Vol. 14:21 (25 May 1963)
WHERE?: eBay (Phil-comics)
STARTING BID: £3,749.99
ENDING PRICE: £UNSOLD
END DATE: Monday 15 December 2025

AUCTION: Heros the Spartan and Thunderbirds at Compal

"Heros The Spartan", Eagle Vol 13:44 (2 November 1962) (Original art)

Over the last years "Heros The Spartan" original artwork has popped up - some faded, some not. The prices for just those from Volume 13 of the Eagle are as follows:

• 14 August 2022 "Heros the Spartan" in Eagle 17 November 1962 Vol.13 No45 £3,800.00 Comic Book Auctions Ltd
• 12 May 2022 "Heros the Spartan" in Eagle 10 November 1962 Vol.13 No45 £4,350.00 Comic Book Auctions Ltd
• 7 Nov 2019 "Heros the Spartan", in Eagle 1 December 1962 Vol 13 No48 £5,000.00 Excalibur
• 27 Mar 2017 "Heros the Spartan", in Eagle 1 December 1962 Vol 13 No48 £4,332.01 Heritage

The highest price, so far reached for any "Heros" original was in 2019 (Eagle 17 July 1965 Vol.16 No29) which sold for £7,300.00

The latest offering from Compal Auctions is the above piece from Eagle Volume 13 (number 44) published in 1962. It looks to be in great condition and if you compare it to the published page you'll see that the printing at the time was nowhere near enough to do Frank Bellamy's art justice. I suspect it is this 'darkness' that stopped me bothering to read it back in the day. Having now seen some of the original artworks, I can honestly say besides the art department's choice to colour each caption differently, it's a brilliant series.

"Heros The Spartan", Eagle Vol 13:44 (2 November 1962) (Published version)

The auction is described like this:

Heros the Spartan double page original artwork (1962) drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle Vol. 13. No 44 1962. 'Caesar had promoted the young Spartan to a higher rank, and to test Heros's worthiness, Caesar ordered him to take 100 men and conquer the mysterious Island of Darkness...' Bright Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 19 ins. The 'Heros' title lettering and rectangular text boxes are laser copy additions to complete the look of the artwork

If I ever owned such a piece I would not have added the title lettering or captions, wanting to see as much of the original as I could. But each to their own. Incidentally a copy of the complete reprint of the "Heros" strip is also at auction. 

The second piece on offer this time round by Compal is a "Thunderbirds" page we have seen up for auction before. It sold for £9010 by Heritage Auction in November 2022, and I noticed that the Thunderbirds logo has since been added (see my comment on the original blog post).

The latest photo of "Thunderbirds" in TV21 #88

Anyway it's described thus:

Thunderbirds original double-page artwork (1966) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for TV Century 21 No 88, 1966. 'The World President has given the order to hand over the bomb so International Rescue can destroy a piece of the Sun which threatens to destroy the Earth - Project Sunburst precariously moves into action...' Bright, fresh Pelikan inks on board. 26 x 17 ins. 

In this year of the 60th anniversary of "Thunderbirds" who can say what this will go for?

Good luck to anyone bidding. I'll add the final price here (and on the spreadsheet)  when the auction finishes

 

AUCTION SUMMARY

"Heros The Spartan" Eagle Vol. 13:44 (2 November 1962)
WHERE?: Thesaleroom / Compal Lot 82
STARTING BID: £2550 (Estimate: £2,800)
ENDING PRICE: £4250
END DATE: Sunday 31 August 2025

"Thunderbirds" TV21 #88
WHERE?: Thesaleroom / Compal Lot 146
STARTING BID: £2550 (Estimate: £2,800)
ENDING PRICE: £6300
END DATE: Sunday 31 August 2025 

AUCTION: Heros the Spartan at Compal

 It's Frank Bellamy’s birthday. This morning I've helped friends to clear their house they've been living in for 30 years and suddenly I get a message that Compal Auctions has a piece of Frank Bellamy original art, which I thought I'd highlight today as it's Frank's anniversary.

 

"Heros The Spartan", Eagle Vol 16:28 (10 July 1965)

The auction is described as:

 Heros the Spartan original double page artwork (1965) drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle Vol. 16 No 28 1965. 'Heros and his band of escaped slaves fought their way out of the desert stronghold of El Raschid. Swelled by the Moorish army of Abdullah the Cruel, El Raschid's savage band streamed in hot pursuit...! Bright Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 19 ins. The 'Heros' title lettering and rectangular text boxes are laser copy additions to complete the look of the artwork

 This comes from the fourth story drawn by Bellamy "The Slave Army" and the fact that whoever added captions back in, did it so accurately they've also added the 'smudged' blue caption in the third row second panel - here's my printed version!

Compare print copy here to the original above!

 Still this looks lovely and the blues are still there. Good luck to anyone bidding. I'll add the final price here when the auction finishes

 

AUCTION SUMMARY

"Heros The Spartan Eagle Vol. 16:28 (10 July 1965)
WHERE?: Thesaleroom / Compal Lot 61
STARTING BID: £2550 (Estimate: £2,800-£3,200)
ENDING PRICE: £3300
END DATE: Sunday 1 June 2025

ORIGINAL ART : Compal Auction November 2023 - Heros, Dan Dare and a cartoon

 

Eagle 27 March 1965 Vol 16:13, pp10-11

This time round we have three pieces of original art and lots of comics with Frank Bellamy's art up for auction.

The latest Compalcomics auction is now live. The listings at both on Compalcomics and TheSaleroom

HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 27 March 1965 (Vol. 16:13)

The image at the top of this article shows the 5th episode of the story "The Slave Army". It looks very bright compared to the printed version but that's nothing as the print versions under Longacre were a far cry from the wonderful photogravure of the earlier Eagle comics. The blues are still bright which is normally where we see these artworks fade first.

It is described as:

Lot # 114:
Heros the Spartan original double-page artwork (1965) painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle Vol. 16: No 13
'After a revolt in the gold mines of Libya, Heros was captured by the escaped slaves - led by a Briton called Garthac - and forced to lead them across the desert. Suddenly they are attacked by an army of strange horsemen...'
Bright Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 20 ins. The Heros title lettering and rectangular text boxes are laser copy additions to complete the look of the artwork
£3,000-3,500

I remember David Jackson pointing out to me an error in the story. The cry of the attacking group, the men of Raschid, is "By the Prophet!"

As Wikipedia tells us, Muhammad was born c. 570 and died on the 8 June 632 A.D., as we would have said back then. So the founder of Islam was born approximately 100 years after the initial sacking of Rome which led to the fall of the Roman Empire. But I notice that throughout Tom Tully's writings, he loves expletives - "By Mithras!" in this episode; "By the Gods!" and "By Tanarus!" in the previous one, so it's not too surprising he messed up here. I suspect if the Reverend Marcus Morris (Eagle's co-creator and first long-serving Editor) was still in post, he might have spotted this. Anyway, a lovely bright piece with a classic Bellamy battle scene.

DAN DARE: Eagle 12 September 1959 (Vol. 10:30)

Eagle 12 September 1959 (Vol. 10:30)

During the year in which Bellamy drew "Dan Dare" he was 'assisted' mostly by Don Harley, Bruce Cornwell, Keith Watson (and occasionally Gerald Palmer). The above page is undoubtedly Bellamy - the cover page this issue was by Harley. Bellamy hasn't signed this page but he didn't when he felt the whole thing wasn't his work and particularly while he was getting used to this peculiar work arrangement. His first signature on Dan Dare was three issues later in Eagle Vol.10:33 (3 October 1959). Take no notice in the following description where it says 'gouache'. These are all inks!

This auction is described as:

Lot # 65:
Dan Dare/Eagle original artwork (1959) by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle Vol 10, No 30 pg 2 with original comic
'As the rescue party follows along the Terra Nova Jungle trail, Dan, Sir Hubert and Digby are mysteriously given the freedom of Pax, The Novad central city ...'
Bright gouache colours [sic] on board. 15 x 13 ins
£1,500-2,000

BELLAMY SKETCH: To be or not to be

"To be or not to be"

This sketch originally was in the Bob Monkhouse collection and been moved around a bit since it was first sold. The valuation, in my opinion, is correct for an original Bellamy with such provenance. 

Frank Bellamy original signed sketch (1940s) 'To Be or Not to Be' The Catering Corps Sergeant in a dilemma over the troops tinned rations menu (Probably hung in the Sergeant's Mess!) From the Bob Monkhouse archive. Indian ink and wash on card. 14 x 10 ins

I have never seen this original in person but is it really ink "and wash"? I thought the paper just looked aged - and there was a war on!

Finally check out the complete runs of TV21s and some volumes of Eagle in the auction!

AUCTION SUMMARY

HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 27 March 1965 (Vol. 16:13)
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £2,700 (Estimate: £3,000-£3,500)
ENDING PRICE: £2,700
END DATE: Sunday 19 November 2023

DAN DARE: Eagle 12 September 1959 (Vol. 10:30)
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £1,360 (Estimate: £1,500-£2,000)
ENDING PRICE: £1,520
END DATE: Sunday 19 November 2023

BELLAMY SKETCH: To be or not to be
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £70 (Estimate: £80-£120
ENDING PRICE: £60
END DATE: Sunday 19 November 2023