Frank Bellamy - Birthday Tribute

Today is Frank Bellamy's birthday - he was born on 21 May 1917 and left us far too soon. 

His influence has not waned over the years. In an interview published just yesterday Alan Moore mentions him in passing! But today I want to concentrate on how Bellamy's artwork is used by others. We've already looked at Al Williamson and Wally Wood, but today we are specifically looking at the 1994 Thunderbirds comic, drawn in this particular story by Mike White. We can see how the late Mike White 'borrowed' Bellamy images in his own quite lovely artwork. Finding which TV21s they came from has been quite an exercise, but Paul Holder was a great help, giving me most of these references. Showing Mike White's art alongside Frank Bellamy's allows us to marvel once again at how respected and loved Frank Bellamy's artwork is. Enjoy Frank's birthday with me by looking more closely at his wonderful Thunderbirds art - his most reprinted work.

The three issue story "The Virus" appeared in The New Thunderbirds 5 August 1994 -  19 August 1994 (#73-75).  I present the whole story here to show how influential Bellamy's artwork is, so I hope the copyright holders won't mind my overview for academic study, but should that not be the case, please let me know! 

The New Thunderbirds #73 p.3

The above page contains images from the following TV21s.  

• Thunderbird 3 from TV21 #181
• Thunderbird 1from TV21 #154?
• Thunderbird 5 from TV21 #52? 

TV21 #181

TV21 #154

TV21 #52

The next page in The New Thunderbirds #73 is page 4 

The New Thunderbirds #73 p.4

Here we have

• The top Thunderbird 1 from TV21 #61
• The middle Thunderbird 1 from TV21 #62
• The bottom Thunderbird 1 from TV21 #219

TV21 #61

TV21 #2

TV21 #219

The next page in The New Thunderbirds #73 is page 5

The New Thunderbirds #73 p.5

The only thing we could match here was the Thunderbird 1 which we think came from TV21 #140

TV21 #140

Here's page 6 of the story. Can you find the craft in TV21s and let me know?  

The New Thunderbirds #73 p.6

Then we move onto The New Thunderbirds #74 is page 3  

The New Thunderbirds #74 p.3

• The Hood comes from TV21 #214
• The Thunderbird 1 on the bottom left comes from TV21 #53 (the second ever episode of Thunderbirds) 

TV21 #214

TV21 #53

The next page in The New Thunderbirds #74 is page 4

The New Thunderbirds #74 p.4

•  The Thunderbird 5 comes from TV21 #137

TV21 #137

Here's page 5 of the The New Thunderbirds #74. Can you spot where these came from?

The New Thunderbirds #74 p.5

Then we come to page 6

The New Thunderbirds #74 p.6

• Thunderbird 4 comes from TV21 #211
• Thunderbird 2 (modified) from TV21 #235
• Thunderbird 2 (final panel) also comes from TV21 #235  

TV21 #211

TV21 #235

Here's page 3 of the The New Thunderbirds #75. 

The New Thunderbirds #75 p.3

• Thunderbird 5 from TV21 #194

TV21 #194

The next page in The New Thunderbirds #75 is page 4 

The New Thunderbirds #75 p.4

• Thunderbird 3 from TV21 #179
• Thunderbird 5 from TV21 #210 

TV21 #179

 

TV21 #210

The New Thunderbirds #75 is page 5

The New Thunderbirds #75 p.5

• The missile in TV21 #89 - note the explosion by White (above) and the one by Bellamy (below) - no attempt to copy the master here (However I've shown Al Williamson had a very good go!)! 

TV21 #89

Finally we have page 6 of The New Thunderbirds #75, which I'll leave you to discover for yourself!

The New Thunderbirds #75 p.6

John Freeman's excellent site DownTheTubes featured an obituary for Mike White with links to other tributes. I'm very grateful to Shaqui Le Vesconte for confirming the artwork was by Mike White, as he is not credited anywhere else for the Thunderbirds work, that I could find. 

I hope that he gets his day in the sun if Jamie Anderson, son of the late Gerry Anderson, publishes reprints of the 1990s Thunderbird original strips in his ongoing comic anthology series. So far we have seen Thunderbirds Comic Anthology Volume One (with Lee Sullivan's artwork on the cover) and Volume Two is coming out any time now and can be pre-ordered on his website. Again we see Bellamy's work still being enjoyed.

Finally, and just because Paul Holder reminded me, the image below started out as a birthday card. Back in 2011 I showed the image Bellamy drew for Dez Skinn of a western gunfighter. Here's the photo taken by Frank Bellamy as a record of his work. Scroll down this page (on Frank's influence!) to read how Bellamy knew he made a mistake in this artwork! 

"Western Gunfighter" taken from a photo of the art by Bellamy

Happy Birthday Frank. You are never forgotten!

AUCTION: Thunderbirds + Happy Warrior original art

 

Thunderbirds, TV21 #111

Anderson & Garland have an enormous Peter Hansen sale with things to interest loads of people and sure enough Frank Bellamy is represented

THUNDERBIRDS TV21 #111

 The above original Thunderbirds artwork sold on eBay for £1,500 back in February 2008. It was faded then and has not worsened and when you zoom in, the linework shows Bellamy's usual excellence. Anderson & Garland describe it as:

Original Thunderbirds artwork by Frank Bellamy for T. V. Century 21
An original artboard by artist Frank Bellamy for the Thunderbirds series 9, published in TV Century 21 Comic No. 111, pages 10 and 11 double spread, coloured inks on artboard signed by the artist, 50 x 70cms unframed.

Whoever wins this, I'd love for them to talk to me about the substituted heads I discovered when comparing the published art to what Bellamy photographed before delivering the artwork.

Here are the other images Anderson & Garland shared

 "HAPPY WARRIOR" EAGLE 2 MAY 1958 

Eagle 2 May 1958 (Vol.9 No.18) original art 

The last time any pages came to auction from the Churchill strip "The Happy Warrior", (August 2022),  Comic Book Auctions Ltd got £2,450 for the page from Eagle 22 November 1957 Vol.8 No.47. This one is the sort of thing I love from Bellamy - but be assured I won't be bidding. The hand reaching from the swastika over the island of Crete! Beautifully graphic and a technique he repeats for the Radio Times.

Graphic devices were a speciality

Bellamy's assured hand at portraits

The research paid off!

Anderson & Garland describe this as:

Sir Winston Churchill by Frank Bellamy
An original painted artboard by artist Frank Bellamy for the story-strip The Happy Warrior: The True Life Story of Sir Winston Churchill for episode 31, published in the Eagle Comic for Boys, coloured inks on lineboard, 53 x 41cms overall, unframed.
The Happy Warrior was written by Clifford Makins and appeared on the back page of Eagle Comic during 1957 and 1958, its success was such that it was quickly republished in 1958 by Hulton Press as a stand alone book. Other reprints came in 1981, 2008 and 2014.

Here's what the comic page looked like

Eagle 2 May 1958 (Vol.9 No.18)

Also for your interest Bellamy took a photo of the finished artwork before despatching it to Hulton for publication and this seems the logical place to show it.

Bellamy's Polaroid of the above work

The auction also has three circus posters in two lots - I've written about them before on the blog - so even though they are not original art, I thought I'd mention them here for those who missed the information before. Look for Lots 356 and 357

 Lastly I should mention that there is also a publisher's file copy of some Eagle comics with Dan Dare and Fraser of Africa (January to December 1960) by Bellamy (and others) at Lot 271. 

 

 

AUCTION SUMMARY

THUNDERBIRDS TV21 #111 (Lot 205)

WHERE?: Anderson & Garland
Estimate: £800 - £1,400
ENDING PRICE: £1,100
END DATE: Wednesday 11 March 2026

 "HAPPY WARRIOR" EAGLE 2 MAY 1958  (Lot 204)

WHERE?: Anderson & Garland
Estimate: £1,000- £1,800
ENDING PRICE: £1,300
END DATE: Wednesday 11 March 2026

• GERRY COTTLES CIRCUS POSTERS Lots 356 and 357
• PUBLISHER'S FILE COPY Vol 11: 1-53 Lot 271

  

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 

ORIGINAL ART - Garth x 2 and Thunderbirds

 

Garth:  J135+J136

2 episodes of Garth: The Doomsmen story are up for auction at Anderson & Garland Ltd., Newcastle with an auctioneer's estimate of £250 - £450. The auction takes place over 3 September 2024 to the following day, and we're looking at Lot #333 in their "Comics Auction". The Garths are consecutive numbers which is nice. The auctioneer's description is:

Original artwork by artist Frank Bellamy for the Daily Mirror newspaper comic strip Garth, two episodes from a continuing story published June the 11th, June the 12st [sic] 1975, ink on boards, signed, 18 x 55cms, unframed, (a pair).

The average price paid over the last 12 years for one strip has been £326 so I'd expect these two nice examples of Bellamy's work to reach the upper estimate or more. Let's see how well my Cassandra powers are working. 

I happen to have a better photo of those two:

Garth:  J135+J136

For those interested there are also some Martin Asbury "Garth" too: Lot #334, Lot #335, Lot #336 and #337.  

"Thunderbirds" from TV21 #80

"Thunderbirds" from TV21 #80

"Thunderbirds" from TV21 #80

Secondly an eBayer has placed an episode of Thunderbirds which he has been trying to raise interest in via Facebook. It's a wonderful example of Thunderbirds  and thankfully not very faded, if at all - but that's hard to tell as this is mounted behind glass. It sold at auction in America two years ago - see my blog entry here - at £9000 which I considered a very high price - and if this has been 'posted' to the UK, the cost for that piece alone is high, but I suspect the buyer bought the other piece(s?) too! Is he now trying to recoup some of that outlay? norman

norman I deliberately kept a spreadsheet of sales on this blog after so many people asked me how much their Bellamy was worth. Please remember you can say anything with statistics.

Taking that sales data - excluding non-sales - and ONLY looking at double-page spreads (not 2 single pages of the same story) I think - including 5 faded boards which sold AND including the two sales mentioned on Heritage (which are outliers in my opinion) the average is £3,961. If we include those outliers and say we must exclude the faded boards, we get an average of £5,393.  If we only count all non-faded and exclude the outliers, we get £4,174 over  aperiod of 15 years!

The highest price paid for a double-page Thunderbirds prior to that Heritage sale was £8,300 so make of that data what you will! At the end of the day, if someone is willing to pay, that's how much a piece is worth! And don't forget on Sunday 1 September that Dan Dare page auction ends!

AUCTION SUMMARY

"Garth: The Doomsmen (J135 + J136)
WHERE?: Thesaleroom
STARTING BID: £
ENDING PRICE: £380
END DATE: Tuesday 3 September - Wednesday 4 September 2024

"Thunderbirds" TV21 #80
WHERE?: eBay seller: d.g100
STARTING BID: £8,000
ENDING PRICE: £UNSOLD - re-listed and immediately taken down
END DATE: Sunday 1 September 2024