I was looking for a copy of the Bob Monkhouse 'wall' of art and realised I have never blogged about it beyond mentioning it in passing back in 2011. So let me correct that straight away.
A screenshot from "Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse" BBC4
The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse was first broadcast on 3 January 2011 and ran for 90 minutes. The blurb for the show was:
The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.
The anonymous writer who contributed to IMDB said it better:
When Bob Monkhouse's widow died and his house was being prepared
for market, the amazing extent of his private collection of video and
audio recordings was realized. Among them were many treasures which had
previously been believed to be lost to the nation. This films delves
into just some of the highlights of that trove, and reveals the
multi-layered man behind the glossy TV persona.
It's not currently available on the BBC iPlayer or on YouTube (there are many Monkhouse videos on YouTube) but is repeated from time to time.
So what's the significance to Frank Bellamy? You'll know, if you follow this blog, that many Bellamy originals have now come on the market from Bob Monkhouse's extensive collection.
A quick tour of one corridor in Bob Monkhouse's art collection
As the camera pans down the corridor we can clearly see some Bellamy - the three Garth "Sundance" strips (see below) plus what looks like "Heros the Spartan" below them and the fantasy piece you've previously seen here. 3 Garth "Sundance" story strips (E206, E212 and E223) came to auction previously from Bob Monkhouse's archive so we are yet to see these three and of course, the family may decide to keep them.
Garth: Sundance E180
Garth: Sundance E182
Garth: Sundance E191
I think Alan Burrows saved me a lot of work when he showed us some of the Heros strips that Bob Monkhouse owned. Episode #21 of the Heros story "The Slave Army" (published in Eagle Vol 16:29 17 July 1965)
Eagle Vol 16:29 17 July 1965
and also from correspondence with Bob, Alan showed us this 'fantasy illustration'.
Fantasy illustration
I know for a fact that this is not all Bob owned (especially as some have come up for auction in the last few years) but several fans remember this documentary and the fact so many Bellamy pieces were identifiable. There! I've now blogged about that too!
The November catalogue at Comic Book Auctions Limited run by Malcolm Phillips has some amazing materials up for auction. Follow that link for his catalogue and illustrations and bid via The Saleroom here. He has been entrusted by Bob Monkhouse's Estate to sell some of this collector's extensive artwork and comics. As he says (without hyperbole in my opinion)
We are delighted to draw your attention to some magnificent artwork
boards consigned to us from the Bob Monkhouse Archive. They comprise
pieces from 1900–1974 and include Ally Sloper by W F Thomas, Film Fun’s
Terry Thomas by Terry Wakefield, Erik The Viking, The Trigan Empire,
both by Don Lawrence with Garth and Thunderbirds pieces by Frank
Bellamy. The Thunderbirds double-page illustration is magnificent and
one of his best boards ever to come up for auction.
Tom Derbyshire at Antiques Trade Gazette has written a piece on the auction, which in itself is going to raise some outside interest, in my opinion.
Original art - sans balloons - Thunderbirds from TV21 #90
The Thunderbirds strip comes from TV21 #90, from the story where TB3 crashes on Venus, after blasting some solar matter to pieces. The photo doesn't do this piece credit as I think the colours look very bright and preserved correctly. What's interesting here is the lack of balloons and captions. This is very unusual to see and I'd love to know how Bob Monkhouse managed to get this like this. Alan Davis' collection of Polaroids and other photos show how Thunderbirds would have been delivered by Bellamy to the publisher, but the artwork I've normally seen for sale has balloons stuck on (or falling off!) so this is a wonderful sale.
Malcolm describes the artwork like this:
Thunderbirds original double-page artwork (1966) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for TV Century 21 No 90 1966. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. The front cover of the comic screamed, "Nightmare Splashdown for Crippled Ship - Monster Attacks Thunderbird 3!" And here is Bellamy's brilliant double-page artwork to prove it! The 'Thunderbirds' logo is an unattached laser colour copy, as are the word balloons with the original comic, all included in the lot. Bright, fresh Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 20 ins.
Auctioneer's estimate
1,800 GBP - 2,300 GBP (opening bid 1,620 GBP)
The original with the word balloons and captions attached looked like this - bearing in mind it's a scan that's joined together, but you can still see how vibrant the original is.
The three Garth strips that are being offered form the Bob Monkhouse Estate are from "The Wreckers" story that ran in from 26 October 1973 - 18 February 1974. These three (H26, H27 and H29) show a lovely action sequence in the water - not quite consecutively - and demonstrate how very clear Bellamy's art was for the Garth strip in the Daily Mirror.
Garth: 3 original consecutive [sic] artworks drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy
from the Daily Mirror Jan/Feb 1974. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive.
Garth saves Andromeda from Tallion's clutches … Indian ink on board. 20 x
8 ins (x3)
Auctioneer's estimate
350 GBP - 400 GBP - (opening bid 320 GBP)
H26, H27 and H29 "The Wreckers" Frank Bellamy
As part of the wonderful public service I offer, here's the missing H28 that would have made these consecutive. BUT you are still getting 2 consecutive strips plus one more from the same story from the same source!
H28 of The Wreckers story
I shall record the details as usual here and on my spreadsheet, when the auction ends
AUCTION SUMMARY
Thunderbirds - TV21 #90
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Ltd
STARTING BID:£
ENDING PRICE: £4550 +16% VAT/Sales tax
NO. OF BIDS:
END DATE: Sunday 25 Nov 2018 14:00 GMT
Garth: The Wreckers
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Ltd.
STARTING BID:£
ENDING PRICE: £1200 +16% VAT/Sales tax
NO. OF BIDS:
Original art from the Bob Monkhouse collection
Thunderbirds from TV21 #131
I woke this morning to the announcement of three pieces of artwork produced by Frank Bellamy, in the latest (March 2019) Comic Book Auctions Limited and from the estate of the late Bob Monkhouse. You might recall that the previous lots appeared in November last year. If you follow the link (or jump to my page where I keep sales records) you'll see they raised a fair amount of money. Will these go for more? "No-Predictions Norman", they call me!
Let's start with the headliner: From TV21 #131, this is the second episode from the story which ran in TV21 #130 - 136 (15 July 67 - 26 August 67) called the "Voyage of the President". It is described as:
Lot # 102: Thunderbirds original double-page artwork (1967) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for TV Century 21 No 131, 1967
From the Bob Monkhouse Archive
Fearing a rebel attack on the President super-ship Thunderbirds 1 keeps station but a rogue tanker is on collision course… Bright Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 20 ins £1,800-2,300
I wouldn't call it a "rogue tanker" as Casta and Golan are deliberately aiming at the 'President'. Here's the page from TV21 so you can see how this page has retained the colour - remember children, do not hang your art on the wall! The sun is a killer as we've seen many times over the years. Bear in mind this is a scan of a printed page and nowhere as clear as the original art above!!
Thunderbirds from TV21 #131
The next lot I found interesting is Lot #92 which is a rare page from the serial "Brett Million" and this story was the only one illustrated by Bellamy, called "Ghost World". I've written about this before (and it's worth highlighting Steve Holland's brilliant index again). It appeared in Boy's World, a photogravure comic which ran the story from Volume 1:46 - 1:49 and continued into 2:1 - 2:17. (7 December 1963 -28 December 1963, 4 January 1964 - 25 April 1964). The lot is described:
Lot # 92: Boy's World/Brett Million and the Ghost World original artwork (1963) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy
From the Bob Monkhouse Archive
From Boy's World Vol. 2: No 9. To save the ship Brett undergoes the life threatening risk of neural amplication [sic] - invisibility! Bright Pelikan inks on board. 20 x 15 ins £1,200-1,500
Original art from Bob Monkhouse collection Boy's World 29 Feb 1964 Vol.2:9
This, the 13th episode of the story, shows how Bellamy was using different colours for this strip, for some reason. The artwork may be a bit faded but the comparison below with the printed version shows similar colouring. Bellamy had a knack of making ships look very futuristic and alien! Here's a photo of my copy of the comic to compare.
Photo of the comic Boy's World 29 Feb 1964 Vol.2:9
The idea of accelerated time = invisibility appeared on my radar in Star Trek: The Original Series (as they call it now!) in the episode "Wink of an eye". This was aired first on 29 November 1968, so did Lee Coon the author of the story read British comics? I doubt it, but who knows?
Then we have the third offer which is of three consecutive Garth strips from the Daily Mirror. "The Wreckers" story ran from 26 October 1973 - 18 February 1974 and these three strips certainly show how Bellamy had a very good command of such a small space.
Garth: The Wreckers Episodes G304-306
One episode of the story of "The Wreckers" is held by the Cartoon Museum which will soon be open in its new location in London.
The lot is described thus:
Lot # 104: Garth: 3 original consecutive artworks (1973) drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy from the Daily Mirror 22-27 December 1973
From the Bob Monkhouse Archive
Garth is trapped with Andromeda in Tallion's torture chamber… Indian ink on board. 20 x 18 ins (x3) £600-800
I'll update the spreadsheet with the sale prices as soon as they are published - thank you Malcolm!
Original art from the Bob Monkhouse collection
Thunderbirds from TV21 #105
UPDATED PRICES BELOW - Frank Bellamy record price for Thunderbirds!
I apologise for the quiet that has descended on this blog. Various life events occurred, the latest of which was my stupidity in lifting railway sleepers (used as raised beds in our garden) by myself and thus damaging my back! I'm recovering and doing my gentle exercises, but can I remind you all, be careful of your back... seriously!
Anyway better things. It's Frank Bellamy's birthday. The more I look at his artwork, the more I am amazed at how this self-taught man moved from a provincial advertising studio in Kettering to another in London before going on to a long career in comics and illustration week in, week out. His use of space in constricted newspaper strips was incredible - even to look at today and his full colour double page spreads still leave me wanting more!
In the latest (May/June 2019) Comic Book Auctions Limited we have again some artwork released from the estate of the late Bob Monkhouse. By the way, watch him on YouTube in his final performance and remind yourselves what a great comic he was!)
Let's start chronologically with Dan Dare
Eagle 9 April 1960 (Vol.11 No 15)
The printed version
I wrote about how Wally Wood used some of this page (in an article on Al Williamson) and here it is up for auction! Monkhouse looks to have stored his stuff very well and this very unique piece is likely to have started fading before he got it, in my opinion. The printed version above is too saturated in blue and therefore is not a great comparison but I thought might be of interest!
This piece is described as:
Dan Dare original artwork painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle Vol. 11, No 15 page 2 (9 April 1960)
Dan and Pierre blast off in Nimbus Two in search of the wreck of her sister ship
From the Bob Monkhouse archive
Pelikan inks on board. 17 x 13 ins
£1,200-1,500
It appeared in the third, and last Dan Dare story Bellamy part illustrated in Eagle, "Project Nimbus" - appearing in Vol. 11:12 - 11:28 (19 March 1960 - 9 July 1960) and it's amazing to see this piece become available.
The second item up for auction in chronological order was produced by Bellamy in 1967 (see the top of this article)
Comic Book Auctions Limited describes this:
Thunderbirds original double page artwork (1967) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for TV Century 21 No 105, 1967
From the Bob Monkhouse archive
Carrying a priceless shipment, Deathprobe 1's controls are jammed and the pilot is refused permission to abort ... Thunderbirds 2 and 3 are go ...
Bright Pelikan inks on board. 28 x 20 ins
£2,500-3,500
In the photos Nancy Bellamy shared with us, there was a photo of the cover of a magazine called Photography (May 1966). The same image was used on the Hotspur Annual of 1967 (dated 1968). Did Bellamy use it for reference for this Thunderbirds strip?
The Hotspur Annual 1968
Lastly we have also got three Garth strips from the story "The Mask of Atacama" which ran originally in the Daily Mirror from 13 July 1973 - 25 October 1973 (#G165-G254). These are beautiful and show exactly what I meant by his use of such restricted space. Why Malcolm photographed them in the wrong order I don't know, but three consecutive numbers are up for grabs!
Garth #G238, G239, G240
Garth: 3 original consecutive artworks (1973) drawn and signed by Frank Bellamy from the Daily Mirror 6-9 October 1973
From the Bob Monkhouse archive
High priestess, Tiahuaca, sets a fiery trap for Garth and Atacama …
Indian ink on board. 20 x 18 ins (3)
£700-900
I suspect these will go further than the estimate (as will the ones above!), and I'll update the spreadsheet with the sale prices as soon as they are published - thank you Malcolm!
And because we are celebrating Frank Bellamy's birthday here's an added bonus from the brilliant Menomonee Falls Gazette (#181), some episodes before the ones above and including them too!
AUCTION SUMMARY
Dan Dare
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Ltd.
STARTING BID:£1080.00
ENDING PRICE: £2050.00 hammer price
This time's blog is about Bellamy's appearances in the media this Christmas - yes I know that's impossible but it's my way of highlighting that Bellamy, although no longer with us, is still being mentioned by lots of people in one way or another
MIKE TRIM: Designer of many Gerry Anderson vehicles
In 1964, young Mike Trim answered a newspaper advertisement seeking modelmakers for a film production crew and began an odyssey that would last for more than 40 years. Beginning in the final days of Stingray, Trim would work as a modelmaker and designer for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's television series Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service, and UFO, as well as their feature films Thunderbirds are Go, Thunderbird 6, and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (a.k.a. Doppleganger).
Starting out in the model shop, Mike eventually became Special Effects director Derek Meddings' assistant in designing the fabulous futuristic vehicles, buildings, and look of the Andersons' imaginitive series. Eventually, he would take on the bulk of design work for the series as Meddings became more involved in feature films.
Contributing a single (unused) vehicle design and model to Space: 1999, Trim then moved into freelance illustration, creating an iconic cover painting for one of the best selling albums of all time; Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds, in 1978. Today, Mike is a freelance illustrator and conceptual designer for film and television. He lives in the south of England.
Taken from his website http://www.miketrimart.com/index.html
The website is well worth exploring. But let me point you to YouTube where "ACthelegend" has uploaded many of his films from last year's Fanderson convention. He says about Trim "he's a really nice guy" and gave me permission to link to his video. The video is worth watching (as are the others listed) but the reference to Frank Bellamy starts at 3 minutes 35 seconds. I've transcribed it below (so if I ever need it I can search for it on my PC).
INTERVIEWER:"You're a big fan of Frank Bellamy's artwork..."
MIKE: "Yes indeed"
INTERVIEWER: "What was it like reading the Thunderbird stories in TV21 and Captain Scarlet - especially with your designs in there?"MIKE: "Again that's quite weird, seeing someone else doing your designs. For me [one of my great regrets was that] Frank Bellamy did come into the studio with the original first spreads of Thunderbirds and I did meet Frank very briefly and I would have so loved to have sat down and had a chat with him. Having sat as a lad looking at his comic strips, it wasn't just the Dan Dare strip, which he also did [reference to earlier part of the interview on Hampson's creation] but he did strips before that which were absolutely brilliantly drawn, he just had this dynamic style that was superb, but I never got the opportunity but he carried that on through and the thing that struck me was none of the strips that he'd done before really ever called Frank to venture into the realms of science fiction"
JOHN COOPER: Fellow TV21 artist
The second piece was published by Terry Hooper in his interview with John Cooper (a fellow TV21 artist) on the interesting ComicBitsOnline
TERRY: I just realised there is a question I should have asked you earlier - has anyone influenced you great –art-wise- in comics and why?
JOHN: I always admired Frank Bellamy in comics. The man was a genius.
Unfortunately he says no more on the matter, but again shows Bellamy is far from forgotten.
EAGLE: THE SPACE AGE WEEKLY
Thirdly, many mailing lists and blogs mentioned the rather excellent programme over ChristmasEagle: The Space Age Weeklywhich was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 23rd December 2010. I managed to capture the comment on Bellamy within the predominantly Hampson programme (fair enough!) where Tim Curry says:
"Frank Bellamy, who inherited Dan Dare after Frank Hampson left, drew the gripping 'Heros the Spartan' about a Roman warrior. With his attention to fine detail Bellamy was as great a perfectionist as Frank [Hamspon]"
The programme was written by Roger Dobson and is produced by Stephen Garner and featured among others David Britton who produced the wonderful Eagle Exhibitions for the Eagle Society a few years back, one of which, in Northampton, featured a talk on Frank Bellamy by Paul Holder. This review by Steve Winders sums up my opinion of the programme nicely
THE SECRET LIFE OF BOB MONKHOUSE
Lastly for now in this catchup on Bellamy's appearances I hope you all saw the wonderful bio/documentary on Bob Monkhouse, a well known Bellamy collector. BBC Four broadcast this 90 minute documentary "The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse" on Monday 3 January 2011. A nice review can be found at Suite101: Television Review: The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse The interesting thing for me was the fact that in one dolly shot through a corridor we see original art (which was not, to my recollection, mentioned at all) and clearly visible are three framed Garths by Bellamy from the first Sundance story. He also had to my knowldge a wealth of Thunderbirds and other Bellamy art.
Perhaps we'll see this hit the market one day - but better still wouldn't it be great to see his work hanging in a public area for all to enjoy.
I apologise for the delay in posting recently (I missed my once-a-month target last month) this is due to re-plastering and the need to put everything into self-storage to protect it from the dust. I have identified what I can below but not exact numbers, if you need to know let me know and on un-packing I shall pin the issues down.
Alan Burrows kindly forwarded these pictures he received from the late Bob Monkhouse from his extensive Frank Bellamy collection. He forwarded them to my FB Facebook page and I thought maybe some people here may not be on Facebook, so here for your pleasure is Mr Frank Bellamy.
Bob appeared to be a really amiable guy - just look at the drawing on the envelope he sent Alan. People forget he started out as a comic artist, because his later career as a comedian and quiz show host was so successful.
Bob Monkhouse cartoon for Alan Burrows
Fantasy piece by Frank Bellamy
On the websitelisting I labelled this "Fantasy piece" and put it under Unpublished material . Does anyone know any different? Was it published? I love the skull mountain and the usual Bellamy device of a man pointing out of the frame!
Heros the Spartan from Eagle
Heros the Spartan from Eagle
Heros the Spartan from Eagle
Life study by Frank Bellamy
Lord of the Dragons - published in Once upon a time
This was published in Bellamy's lifetime in a book called Once upon a time (along with and the book is available via the usual channels and not too rare or expensive. I listed it in my Articles on Frank Bellamy section
Thunderbirds from TV21 #138
From the Thunderbirds story "Space Mirror" which ran in TV Century 21#137 - 140
It's well known that Bellamy, before taking on a strip, would provide the editors of comics with a sheet of designs. These would show his vision of the characters he would be drawing. However two have lawys puzzled me as they seem very specific
Below we see Dan Dare, Fraser of Africa and Thunderbirds and bear in mind these are photocopies of negatives, or older photocopies so this is all we have as a record, until someone scans the artwork.
Dan Dare operational uniform
Dan Dare Space Fleet uniform
Fraser of Africa
I have seen the next two before but not the inscription which explains why we have these pieces. In TV21 issues 93-98 Don Harley took over my favourite story from Bellamy while he took a break to produce the Avengers TV series episode "The Winged Avenger". So it looks as if Bellamy drew a character sheet for Alan Tracy and Brains in their spacesuits which Harley could follow. He could have just done a photo but we have to remember that this sort of reproduction process took longer than we do now, where phones, scanners and iPads are available to take instant photos for sharing!
"Frank Bellamy 'visual' given to Don Harley for Thunderbirds
Alan Tracy and Brains from Thunderbirds
I'll save the others for another day as I'd like to do some research in my comics but that will have to wait for my unpacking. Many thanks to the very generous Alan Burrows for sharing this wonderful collection of reference material
The second auction this month to feature multiple Frank Bellamy originals is from Compalcomics. As usual Malcolm Philips offers a listing at both his Compalcomics and TheSaleroom
The image at the top of this article shows the 25th episode of the story "The Eagle of the Fifth". There is a slight error in the listing, if you're trying to match this to the comic. It should say 1963 not 1962. This is the first time I've seen this original art and it looks pretty good - especially as Heros is so scarce! The auctioneer's estimate is £4,000- £4,500 and the last one sold at auction went for over £7000.
It is described as:
Heros The Spartan double-page original artwork (1962) [sic 1963] painted and signed by Frank Bellamy from The Eagle Vol. 14, No 34, 1962. [sic 1963]The Men of the Jackal's screaming warriors attack Heros, Berbrix and their small band as the traitor, Guthrac, strikes… Bright Pelikan inks on board. 27 x 18 ins
These three strips are all from the first that Bellamy drew in the Daily Mirror newspaper. Bellamy took over from John Allard on 12 July 1971 (#E162) and this first story ran to 11 October 1971 (#E226). Episodes from this story are certainly rarer than most and are one of my favourite in the Garth run.
The auction is estimated to reach £700-£900 but that is way under what I think will happen - especially as at the time of writing it's reached £1,120! Malcolm described them like this:
Garth: 3 original artworks (1971) by Frank Bellamy from the Daily Mirror 2nd/4th/14th August 1971. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. General George Armstrong Custer leads the U.S. Seventh Cavalry with Garth as his Chief Scout in search of Sitting Bull. Indian ink on board. 20 x 18 ins (x 3)
This sketch, thankfully, has provenance as it comes from the Bob Monkhouse collection. The auction is described thus:
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 Sgt's Mess!). From the Bob Monkhouse archive. Indian ink and wash on card. 14 x 10 ins
The Sergeant has written "Menu for tomorrow" and "How to cut up margarine into portions to look like butter" and I love some of the descriptions on the cans - "Kippers - Depth-Charge Brand" or "Salmon - Fresh from Hong Kong". We know Bellamy ran drawing classes before the war and we also know he is seen in some photos drawing whilst in his uniform, but where or if this ever appeared in print, I have no idea! I don't think the title is very clear "To be or not to be" or it's his best cartoon work - which were very good when he drew for the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. The auctioneer's estimate is £60-£80 with an opening bid of £55 but so far no-one has bid
Finally this interesting early work, I say early because the lips on the woman are very crude and nothing like the Bellamy we see in the 1930s newspaper work or later. This might possibly be his earliest work that still exists!
They are described as:
Frank Bellamy (1940s). Two original charcoal pencil sketches, both signed in capitals 'Frank A. Bellamy', probably of his parents. 9 x 13 ins, 10 x 14 ins (2)
I think Malcolm is being ambitious with his estimate of £250-£350 but I've been wrong before! And whether they might be Bellamy's parents I have no idea. I've forward the idea to Tess Bellamy to see if she could comment, but the image of the man looks to be of someone in uniform. As Horace Bellamy was born in 1885 he would have been 45 years of age in 1930, for example, so I wonder. But let's see what turns up
AUCTION SUMMARY
HEROS THE SPARTAN
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £3600
ENDING PRICE: £5,700
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019
GARTH: Sundance 3 episodes
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £640
ENDING PRICE: £1,180
END DATE: Sunday 24 November 2019
Comic Book Auctions have their latest catalogue available which includes a few exciting Bellamy items. As usual bidding is also available on The Saleroom where pictures can be seen of all lots - which I have borrowed here in the case of Bellamy.
The first piece of original art up for auction is "Heros the Spartan" episode 21 (17 July 1965) of the last full length Heros story Bellamy illustrated in Eagle. It's the penultimate episode of the story "The Slave Army" which ran in Vol. 16:9 - 16:30 (27 February 1965 - 24 July 1965) and certainly showed off Bellamy's colour work beautifully. These art boards are so rare that we might see a record broken for the highest priced Heros artwork by Bellamy. The last one I saw was in 2017 and sold for £1,559.43. Comic Book Auctions describe this particular one:
Heros The Spartan double-page original artwork (1965) painted and signed by Frank Bellamy from The Eagle Vol. 16 No 29, 1965. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. Heros and his renegade slave army counter a ferocious attack from the Berbers and Abdullah the Cruel until the Berber Chieftain, El Raschid, challenges Heros to a deadly duel... Pelikan inks on board. 27 x 18 ins
Here's the published version for your (not at all perfect) comparison but you can see that the blues have held well on the original:
Next we have another rarity. "Fraser of Africa" (written by George Beardmore) which must have been one of Bellamy's favourite strips. The subject of Africa was his favourite and his artwork - drawn the same size as published - showed a wonderful muted colour palette to mimic the arid African heat. This example has a lovely portrait of a lion. This is from the first story, "Lost Safari" which ran in Eagle Vol. 11:32-12:4 (6 August 1960 - 28 January 1961) and was reprinted in the Hawk Book Fraser of Africa (Eagle classics series) in 1990. If I wanted one thing reprinted from original art it would be these three stories of "Fraser". Notice that three captions are missing from the artwork - most likely fallen off at some point, but do show where Bellamy did and didn't do the lettering.
Eagle Vol. 11 No 36 (3 September 1960)
The auction is described:
Fraser of Africa/Eagle original artwork (1960) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy from The Eagle Vol. 11: No 36. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. As part of his research, Bellamy had corresponded with a farmer in Kenya who had advised him on the wildlife he depicted and, ever the perfectionist, he used a limited palette of yellows and browns to capture the parched East African landscape. This page is Episode 5 of Bellamy's first Fraser of Africa story. Pelican inks on board. 14 x 12 ins
3 episodes of "Garth: Sundance" Drawn by Frank Bellamy
This amazing lot has three Garth episodes (E206, E212 and E223) of the first story that Bellamy illustrated called Sundance. It was a strange situation which Bellamy himself admitted, with John Allard, the previous artist, still contributing to the strip - note the lines to indicate clouds on the first two. You can read what Bellamy said here. To see strips from this story is extremely rare so expect high amounts of money to be exchanged.
This lot is described:
Garth: 3 original artworks (1971) by Frank Bellamy from the Daily Mirror 1st/8th/25th September 1971. From the Bob Monkhouse Archive. Garth and General Custer lead the 7th Cavalry charge against Sitting Bull. Indian ink on board. 20 x 18 ins (x3)
And finally....
I don't usually highlight other comics in which Bellamy's work appears, when they're in the same auction (where would it end?!) But because we recently discovered The Mighty Comic Annual which has a cover by Frank Bellamy and was published by Gerald Swan before 1950, here it is. Peter Hansen (watch an interview with him by John Freeman) shared the cover on Facebook and said that there is no artwork by Bellamy inside - just the cover.
Malcolm Phillips describes this item, which is from the Hansen Archive:
Mighty Comic Annual (1948 G.G. Swan) with Frank Bellamy cover art containing Archie, Betty and Veronica and Katy Keene US reprints - interior stories by Henry Banger and Ron Embleton
Geoff Harrison mentioned on Facebook that he has two copies of The Mighty Comic Annual in which the contents are different but the cover the same - so see the listing above!
The annuals sold for £80 plus fees
AUCTION SUMMARY
FRASER OF AFRICA
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Linited
STARTING BID: [Opening bid £740 - Auctioneer's estimate £800-£1,000]
ENDING PRICE:£5,800 (plus fees)
END DATE: Sunday 1 September 2019
GARTH: E206, E212 and E223
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Linited
STARTING BID: [Opening bid £640 - Auctioneer's estimate: £700-£900]
ENDING PRICE:£1,140 plus fees
END DATE: Sunday 1 September 2019
HEROS THE SPARTAN
WHERE?: Comic Book Auctions Linited
STARTING BID: [Opening bid £1,360 - Auctioneer's estimate £1,500-£2,000]
ENDING PRICE:£7,300 plus fees
"Mikeluxy" has done us a favour. He has uploaded the complete 25 minute episode of "Quick on the
Draw" in which Frank Bellamy appears.It's not a great copy but beggars can't be choosers! The video is hosted on the always busy Archive.org - the link to his original is here but I've uploaded an edited version above which shows the introduction and Bellamy's bit. If you want to watch the whole programme, Bellamy appears at around 19 minutes and 24 seconds in the link to Mikeluxy's version.
BACKGROUND: QUICK ON THE DRAW
The format of the 25 minute show (including an advert break) was devised by Denis Gifford and the compère, Bob Monkhouse was a close friend. The format was for Monkhouse to sketch a visual joke and then ask the three other members of the panel to do the same in a given time. Each work would then be reviewed and nominal points added. Bill Tidy, the cartoonist famous for the Daily Mirror's "Fosdyke Saga" appeared regularly and this week, we see Leslie Crowther (of "Crackerjack" fame) and Diana Dors, the actress whom Bellamy got to know well, exchanging greeting cards. Monkhouse has Diana Darvey - an ex-Benny Hill girl - assist him.
In a letter dated 8 April 1974, Bellamy received his contract to appear on the show and on 23 April 1974 David Clark of Thames TV (Producer) thanked Frank Bellamy for his appearance and confirmed the transmission date as Wednesday 19 June 1974 at 3.55pm. Bellamy received a nominal £5 for his appearance. The programme was part of the post-school afternoon broadcasts (one wonders whether this was suitable with its seaside innuendo?) and was followed that day by "Little Big Time" at 16.20 and the very popular "Follyfoot" at 16.50. This episode's Director was Daphne Shadwell.
TRANSCRIPTION
The transcription was rather difficult as the audio is not good in places. Any corrections, please let me know. I have only transcribed the Bellamy section (c.3 minutes 11 seconds).
Bob Monkhouse: And this is a gentleman for whom I have the deepest possible respect. A great many of you who read one of the most popular daily papers in this country will follow the adventures in a strip there of a truly fantastic character. The character was created long ago, but only within the last three years has the finest dramatic illustrator in the British comic world taken on the job of bringing his adventures to the world. The only dramatic illustrator in fact to appear in this series, Quick On The Draw, is behind that door and I invite the panel to tell me, do you know the character that’s taking form?
PANEL : Garth
BM: Garth it is! Can you name the much celebrated……
BILL TIDY: FB!
BM: FB, indeed it is Bill, BT: Frank Bellamy, BM: Frank Bellamy, come out Frank, you’ve been caught at it.
[APPLAUSE]
BM: Frank, you know, I follow you around and pick up scraps of paper, that you happen to have …used for anything, quickly if you draw on them, so you know that I’ll do anything you say. But we want to find out if the panel will do as you say. Can you set them a problem?
Frank Bellamy: Something to do with a superhero, you know the old strong man, similar to Garth.
BM: Similar to Garth. We have the Garthfield ladies in the audience tonight….
[LAUGHTER]
BM: Right, A strong joke please in 30 seconds, and could you give us something similar please Frank? Thank you, draw away on my board, it’s um, fun to watch.
[SOUNDS OF ACTIVITY AND MUSIC IN BACKGROUND]
Camera 2 is peeping at you, from over your shoulder, or trying to. Can you just err, give a little bit that way [helps position FB for the camera], thanks. Ah, now camera 3 has a view. All our panellists are working away to try and produce a joke, about strength. It seems to me that Diana’s making a nice simple clear job of it. Diana would you like to tell us what the err, what the strength of that one is? [Background music fades]
DIANA DORS: Well that’s about the strongest thing I can think of, it’s a piece of Danish blue.
[LAUGHTER]
BM: That’s strong. Out of 5 Frank?
FB: Three
BM: Just three points for that. Bill Tidy, can you tell Frank what you’ve done?
BT: Yes, this is the strong lady, at the circus and the, err circus chief is saying to the clown, as he watches her struggling with his giant barbells, “By Jove, she’s come on a bit since “Plucky Postmistress Foils Nine Masked Intruders””.
[LAUGHTER APPLAUSE]
BM: Maximum marks for that one don’t you think…[FB: Yeh]. That’s a definite five. Leslie, what have you got for us?
LESLIE CROWTHER: Well, this, is, .. is designed to show the strength of the animal world, as you can see, it’s the zoo, this giraffe, but what you can’t see is the zoo keeper inside the house, who’s saying, “Shut that door. There’s a tremendous giraffe in here!”
[LAUGHTER APPLAUSE]
BM: Your job
FB: Um, er..4
BM: Another 4, another 4, and what have you done for us here Frank?
FB: Well, I haven’t time to draw Garth so I’ve just drawn his chest. BM: That’s his chest.
AUDIENCE GROANS
BM: Frank Bellamy thank you so much [for being here]
FB: Thank you so much, thank you
[APPLAUSE]
Finally, more on the TV Show on NostalgiaCentral and Denis Gifford created a book Quick on the draw! with a cover and caricatures by Chas Sinclair. It was published Arrow Books, in 1978 in conjunction with Independent Television Books.
The latest piece of art by Frank Bellamy to be made
available for sale on eBay shows Garth throwing two thugs around which wakes the host and hostess. This comes from the story "Freak out to fear" which starts with one of my favourite panels of a boutique in swinging London named "The Scene" on King's Road! I would love to know whether the word "dangerous" in the last panel is cut in the board and replaced, as did so often happen with John Allard's lettering. He would also be quite clumsy in my opinion with 'white-out' or Tipp-ex as we called it when I was a boy and that would be the only time you'd see any on Bellamy artwork.
Being a great detective on your behalf I asked the seller whose first name is Bob about how he came by the piece. I spent an enjoyable 45 minutes on the phone with a great guy. He told me some amazing stories - his life as a Police Officer/Detective that touch on murder plots with Bob Monkhouse and a crowd of 500 as witnesses; his helping Paul Neary with his early artwork around the time of Heroes Unlimited and the Hunter strip in Warren magazines and many other things.
But regarding Frank, he told me about how he rescued a man from a car that was in a head on collision and kept in contact with him for many years and the obviously grateful survivor asked if there was anything he'd like as a present. Bob remembering his childhood rides by bike with his dad to the local newsagents to pick up the Eagle, thought of Bellamy's Churchill strip and how Frank was at that time illustrating Garth in the Daily Mirror. He asked for Frank Bellamy's signature! The man, whose name is forgotten, managed one better and got hold of a copy of the original art - yes, you've guessed it, the above! Bob, at a later date, spent a delightful day with the charming Nancy, who by that time was widowed and Bob was shown her favourite etchings done by Frank of her as the 'life study'!
Many thanks to Bob for sharing such interesting anecdotes
The opening bid for this art is £200 and the auction ends 28 April having previously been unsold at the same price. I always wonder if a low start price helps get to the price a seller wants and will watch this again with interest and let you know what it goes for.
UPDATE: The seller told me. he had tried three times at the same price on ebay and eventually sold it "near to the asking price", (June 2012)
I have scanned below a clearer copy of the strip for you to see more detail - click to enlarge!
