Frank Bellamy's Robin Hood

Robin Hood by Frank Bellamy

 Way back I wrote to Marv Wolfman (yes, THAT Marv Wolfman!) because I knew he had communicated with Frank Bellamy back in 1969 and later. He managed to obtain a drawing from Bellamy which is the subject of this short article. Marv also wrote again in early 1974 when he asked Bellamy whether he would be able to contribute to the newly launched black and white horror magazine line put out by Marvel. I would have loved to have seen that, as we know Bellamy's chiaroscuro line work was superb.  Unfortunately due to his daily comic strip work on "Garth" he was unable to comply with the request.Imagine an alternative world of Frank Bellamy drawing for Marvel Comics!

I've been meaning to share this with everyone for ages so without further ado -with permission from Marv - here you go.

Simon Osborne also write to me a while after Marv forwarded the above image and shared with me his drawing by Bellamy of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood in colour

Similar images with added Bellamy interest around the backgrounds at hip height! One B&W; the other colour - although it looks faded. It's hard to tell with Simon's photo as it has a sepia tinge all over but what an amazing find

Incidentally Marv has stated on Twitter he has "several Bellamy originals" including "Heros originals". I'd love to see those too Marv - ad thanks again

ORIGINAL ART: David The Shepherd King

Eagle 14 March 1959 (Vol: 10 No.11)
"The Shepherd King"

I've always loved Frank Bellamy's early Eagle colour strips and "David The Shepherd King" is one of them - or to be more accurate with its title "The Shepherd King: The Story of David". 

Heritage Auctions have episode #27 of the 31 published in Eagle (Vol. 9:37 - 9:52 and 10:1 - 10:15, (13 September 1958 - 27 December 1958, and 3 January 1959 - 11 April 1959). This particular one comes from Eagle 14 March 1959 (Vol.10:11) and was, of course, on the back page in glorious photogravure print! 

The subject matter is not so glorious as Abner (formerly Saul's army commander) had agreed to give David all of Israel but Joab, the commander of David’s army, accused Abner of trying to trick David. Without David’s permission, Joab murdered Abner under the pretence of being loyal to David when in fact he wanted to avenge his brother’s death at the hands of Abner. So in the strip above, David makes it clear he had nothing to do with it and commenced a day of mourning.

The auction description:

Frank Bellamy Eagle Vol.10 #11 King David Episode 27 Story Page 1 Original Art (Longacre Press, 1959). Fans of this long-running weekly UK series know it often had gorgeous Frank Bellamy artwork! This one features rich color work and beautiful detailed linework. Ink and watercolor [sic] over graphite on illustration board with an image area of 14.25" x 17.5". The board has corner sear and a stain on the upper left, as well as foxing down the right side. In Very Good condition.

It's actually all inks - which many people cannot understand, but Bellamy was a stickler for getting it right so it would print correctly.  

Here's the printed version for reference and the front cover of the relevant Eagle - with a nice piece by Frank Hampson.

 

Eagle 14 March 1959 (Vol: 10 No.11)
"Dan Dare" - Frank Hampson

Eagle 14 March 1959 (Vol: 10 No.11)
"The Shepherd King"

 

And because David Slinn reminded me the 73rd anniversary of Eagle falls next Friday 14 April, here's the cover of the first issue! Yes, I know there's a lot of Hampson today, but hey, it's my blog!

Eagle 14 April 1950 (Vol: 1 No.1)

AUCTION SUMMARY

The Shepherd King Eagle 14 March 1959 (Vol.10:11)
WHERE?: Heritage (2023 April 26 Wednesday Comic Art & Animation Select Auction #322317 )
ENDING PRICE: $4000 (£3,207.92)
END DATE: Wednesday 26 April 2023

Frank Bellamy and Garth numbering and dates

 

I was recently alerted to the fact I have never stated anywhere what the hand-written numbering and dates on Garth original art mean. It's flattering when people think I know everything to do with Frank Bellamy and his run on the Daily Mirror's Garth strip from 1971 to 1976.

So let's have a go at presenting my thoughts and see whether anyone can add anything.

Here's an example of the printed page (scanned very poorly) which shows one episode of the strip "Garth" (H118) published on page 24 of the Daily Mirror 21 May 1974 from the story "The Beast of Ultor". 

For those who haven't seen how these strips first appeared in print, this gives you some idea. However over the 6 years Bellamy drew "Garth" there might be more strips on this page. "The Perishers" strip appeared later in the run on this same page, as did "Andy Capp" and "Little Joe" - and that page may appear in different places day-by-day. I remember a kind friend of my Dad's cutting the page out for me, so I got to know the recently departed Bill Tidy's work too.

Daily Mirror Tuesday 21 May 1974 p.24
Garth: The Beast of Ultor (H118)

I have a scan of the following day's original artwork and the original shows, around the border, two things usually in pencil: two days and a date and secondly a single letter from A-F.

Daily Mirror 22 May 1974.
Garth: The Beast of Ultor (H119)

On this artwork we can see the pencilled "Tues-Wed 22 May 1974" and the letter "F". But notice the "Mon-Tues 21-5-74" is crossed out. I think this is where there was a jump in days and date because the Daily Mirror dated Wednesday 8 May was not actually published according to the Newspaper Archive. I infer that the "double day" notation plus date had to be moved as a result until the art editor had caught up, usually three weeks later - why 3 weeks? - see below.

Hand notations

But why write two days and then publish the strip on the second day - H119  was published on Wednesday 22 May 1974 - I double checked. it seems likely that the first day is the 'preparation' day and the second the publication day. This seems the most likely. I did wonder if this had anything to do with Northern editions or Scottish editions (remember my matching strip numbers in the Daily Record?) but it's not, that I can see.

 Here's a second example:

Daily Mirror 2 September 1972, p.18

You can just about see an episode from "The Wolfman of Ausensee" - episode F207. This page comes from the Daily Mirror Saturday 2 September 1972 and here is the original art with the corresponding numeration

Handwritten notations

This shows the "Fri-Sat" note plus date which matches publication. Also we have the letter "B" which to my mind is Bellamy's notation to the Art Editor that this is the second one of the 6 strips he delivered every week. 

We have never seen any other letters besides A, B, C, D. E and F and the Daily  Mirror was not published on a Sunday and the sequence rotates -A-F.

A friend and I lined up several originals and saw all of them are different sizes from top to bottom where Bellamy cut single boards from a bigger CS10 board. 

Here's another example:

F206 with notes and stamp

Daily Mirror 1 September 1972 p.20

Here we see "Thur-Fri 1 Sept"  (not shown on this image but the letter "A" appears on the original board) but also a red sticker - which is seen infrequently on the boards - with "1972 VIII 8 13:57" which logically tells us the date the piece arrived at the Daily Mirror offices. If this is correct it also gives a clue as to the lead time for Bellamy to produce the strips and them being published - from and including: Tuesday, 8 August 1972 to and including: Friday, 1 September 1972 = 25 days. This is not always the case as one would expect. Do the "received" stamps/stickers only appear on the "A" boards?

There are also anomalies where we see dates crossed out and alternatives given in these pencil notations, as mentioned above.Checking some of the published Daily Mirrors there were strikes -two messages included in two papers:

• Daily Mirror 22 March 1973: "Southern editions of the Mirror didn't appear yesterday because of industrial action. Here's a double ration of strips"
• Daily Mirror Tuesday 6 November 1973: "Here's a double ration of your favourite strips" 

No explanation is given for the latter but presumably industrial action again! And notice the differentiation between Northern and Southern editions.   

The problem putting this article together is that anyone who frames the strips is likely to hide/cut off the notations. Also some people who have originals may rub out the pencil notations. So thank you Paul Holder for his assistance in analysing these obscure ephemera!

So to conclude:

• The two days are 1) 'prep' day and 2) publication day
• The date is the publication date
• The letter (from A-F) indicate the order of any one strip in the 6 delivered each week
  
• The date and time stamp show date of receipt

One other notation is to the internal production team that a strip should be reproduced at a certain size. J154 has "Wed-Thu  3-7-75"; a receipt date and time of "1975  VI 11 16:19" and a note to say "197mm" - the width of the published image -one episode is approximately 21.5 inches by 8 inches as drawn by Bellamy

 

Any questions, or observations?

ORIGINAL ART: Masai Warrior (#5)

 ***UPDATE: 16 March 2023 - NOW SOLD, Best Offer accepted***

"Masai #5"

In  my list of 'unpublished' Frank Bellamy artwork I have listed several - what I have termed "Masai Warrior" and I've given them arbitrary numbers just to help me differentiate which one is being talked about.  The one that has just come up for sale on eBay is the one I call:

MASAI WARRIOR #5: Side portrait with earring and necklace - bottom right signed

Now I have to admit I assume these are 'warriors' as I have no direct evidence beyond a little searching online. Bellamy loved all things African and one can tell from his glorious artwork for the second "Thunderbirds" story in the comic TV21 that he was especially intrigued by the Masai (read more about the people here).

TV21 #59 (third page)

The portrait came up for sale back in 2016 but, in my opinion, although a beautiful artwork, was too highly priced. The current price is much more realistic for a non-comic piece. I know that when Paul Holder photographed these personal artworks of Frank Bellamy they were very problematic, so I'm not surprised that the seller has problems showing all its glory!

The seller (whiteboxcollectables) says this about the piece:

Frank Bellamy Original Artwork from Personal collection

This listing comprises of the original from Frank Belaamy's [sic] personal collection. Crayon and paint on a black card/paper
Size 20 x 23 inches This drawing started Franks passion of Africa, which ultimately led to his creation "  Fraiser [sic] of Africa in the Eagle boys comic of the late 50's.

I can't say anything about whether this "crayon and paint" as I have not seen the original just scans/photos. But I can tell you Frank's surname is Bellamy and that Fraser of Africa was published in Eagle (Vol. 11:32 - Vol. 12:32) 6 August 1960 - 12 August 1961 not the late Fifties. I am also not sure that "This drawing started Frank's passion" but I'm sure I too can be accused of hyperbole at times!

Here are the other accompanying images from the auction

AUCTION SUMMARY
MASAI WARRIOR #5
WHERE?: eBay-whiteboxcollectables
BUY IT NOW: £349.99 or Make an offer

ORIGINAL ART - Thunderbirds from TV21 #72

"Thunderbirds" from TV21 #72

I was speaking to my friend and fellow Frank Bellamy fan Paul Holder about the latest artwork to appear on eBay - a Thunderbirds episode from TV21 #72. We both mused what a shame it was that it's so faded. For those who don't know, Paul was the one who inspired me to get this blog and listing together when we first met in 2000. He has been scanning original artwork by Bellamy for many years and has assisted in many projects to display Bellamy's work at its best - (for example in my "Art of Frank Bellamy", still available, as they say, in good bookshops everywhere - or direct from The Book Palace.)

The shocking thing is Paul has a much better version of this piece, from the time before it faded. He photographed it on 10 x 8 inch large format film (which he subsequently had scanned), so was able to capture the artwork before it faded If any of you have Bellamy artwork you'd like scanned, he does a great job and we'd have artwork in its best condition to share with future generations when they mention the mythic Frank Bellamy and you'd have a true scan for your use. 

Here's the version Paul photographed before it faded, you'll see clamps holding the artwork as there wasn't much room to hold it as it had been cut down for some reason, perhaps framing.

 

Transparency of TV21 #72 before fading

I suspect the last line of the seller's description gives us a clue why he's decided to sell now:

Stunning 1966 TV Century 21 comic Double page
THUNDERBIRDS. FRANK BELLAMY ORIGINAL ARTWORK.
Rare chance to own a piece of ORIGINAL artwork from this very poplar [sic] comic .
Frank Bellamy art is highly collectible

The image is amazing Thunderbird 1 Thunderbird 2 and Thunderbird 4 included in the action
Sadly this double page has gone the way of most pages with fading to the overall image. The artist used cheap inks which do fade over time

Fantastic artwork by the late GREAT Frank Bellamy
faded pages are rare and fetch premium prices
Two individual unfaded pages sold at Heritage auctions in US for over £10000 each last month 

I have to mention that "The artist used cheap inks which do fade over time" isn't the case with Frank Bellamy at any time in his career. He was meticulous in using prescribed Pelikan inks for his work and even visited printers to ensure his work with those inks would remain true when printed. 

David Jackson, helpfully sent me this:

John Grant & Ron Tiner's The Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Science Fiction Techniques says:
 
TIP The great advantage of coloured inks is their transparency; you can get clear, delicate effects by overlaying successive glazes of colour.  But remember that artwork done in coloured inks is not lightfast.  There is no way a picture in this medium can be preserved. 

This piece is indeed faded and I'd warn everyone reading this - KEEP YOUR ART OUT OF SUNLIGHT. Art galleries cover display cases for a reason with cloths and museum glass (when added to a piece BEFORE fading occurs) works very well, but I still would treat any artwork carefully!

Here's the scan of the published comic to make a rough comparison.

"Thunderbirds" TV21 #72

AUCTION SUMMARY

THUNDERBIRDS TV21 #72
WHERE?: ebay - d.g100
STARTING BID: £1,950
ENDING PRICE: £2,500
No of Bids: 5
END DATE: Saturday 18 February 2023

ORIGINAL ART: Dan Dare from Eagle

Eagle 14 November 1959 (Vol 10:39)

***UPDATE February 2023***

This original is in beautiful condition and not at all faded, thanks to the owner storing this out of the sunlight. A more action-packed scene would be hard to find. It comes from Bellamy's first story "Terra Nova" for the Dan Dare strip in the Eagle from 14 November 1959.

The artwork appears in this quarter's Compalcomics auction ending 26 February and already two bids have bumped this piece (which I personally think has been under-valued), to £1,380.

As usual the listings for the auction appears at both Compalcomics and TheSaleroom with the latter showing current bids.
 

Lot #65 is described as:

Eagle/Dan Dare original artwork (1960) drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy. From the Eagle Vol. 10, No 39 page 2. The missing panel texts are pasted to the back board. Anastasia zooms down towards the mound city of the fearsome Nagrebs… Bright Pelikan inks on board. 14 x 12 ins

The estimate is £1,500-2,000 but I predict, it will go for more, as the last one to appear (mentioned here) went for £2,050 and I'd say this was a lot more iconic.

Below are both pages from the story as printed in Eagle   - and you'll remember the famed American artist Al Williamson borrowed one panel from this very strip. The cover page with the Eagle logo looks to me to be drawn by Gerald Palmer (and a bit of Don Harley) but the second page is definitely pure Frank Bellamy whose middle initial was A - for Amazing?, no, just Alfred! 

If you want to see more of Bellamy's "Dan Dare" use the blog search box (or Google, please search Norman's blog for "Dan Dare")

Eagle 14 November 1959 (Vol 10:39) Page 1

Eagle 14 November 1959 (Vol 10:39) Page 2

UPDATE: Bill Storie provided this amazing Star Wars strip. Have you seen this explosion anywhere before? For more of Williamson's love of Bellamy start here. 

Al Williamson "Star Wars"

Anyway as Malcolm Phillips states:

Our UK artwork section continues with two action-packed Dan Dare boards, one by Frank Hampson, the other by Frank Bellamy. There’s also an iconic Daily Mirror piece from 1976 introducing the Garth comic-strip by Martin Asbury.

If anyone knows where the latter was published (if at all) I'd love to know as it's listed as having various art from the garth strip and being published in 1976 which is when Asbury took over from Bellamy, so seems unlikely to me, but who knows?

And don't forget there's a single Bellamy Garth strip on eBay that ends this weekend on the 12 February

AUCTION SUMMARY

DAN DARE: Terra Nova
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom
STARTING BID: £1,360
ENDING PRICE: £2,650
END DATE: Sunday 26 February 2023

ORIGINAL ART: The Spanish Lady (K125)

The story Frank Bellamy illustrated for the Daily Mirror (17 March 1976 - 7 July 1976 - #K65-K160) was Garth: "The Spanish Lady"

Garth: The Spanish Lady" K125

Silver-Acre are selling another original art board. This time it's K125 of the "The Spanish Lady" which started at £6.99 and is - as of writing - at £29.

The rear of the artwork

The rear looks terribly messy but is mostly a wrapper that's been placed on it. The important thing is has the artwork suffered in any way? I suspect the wrinkles I can see on the front artwork are actually cellophane of some sort.

9 strips from this story have been sold since 2011 and the average price has been £283.15 for one strip. However another one didn't sell at auction - and it was this particular one. Anyway what does this price mean as it's based over 12 years? And this is Francis Drake warning Garth (sorry I mean "the roistering Elizabethan gallant John Carey"!) .

Autograph

Whilst talking of ebay auctions there's an unusual one there now. It's Bellamy's autograph and I have no reason to think it's not authentic. I'm guessing somebody got it back in the mid-1950s as Bellamy illustrated four strips before "Robin Hood" between 12 May 1956 and 17 August 1957 (as well as some illustrations) in Swift, the "junior" Eagle comic. I'm guessing the photo of Bellamy is for illustrative purposes. Before anyone asks, "is it worth anything?" I'd say no, not really, but there is a bid on it!.  [UPDATE: Frank Bellamy's autograph is worth £48.00 (7 bids)!]

But it certainly made me asks some questions. Did FB ever attend the Hulton's Boys and Girls Exhibitions? See Getty Images who have a photo of the 1956 Exhibition - if the creation date can be reconciled with the dates in the image! And my friend  Richard Sheaf has covered the topic well. But I suspect someone living in Kettering asked him for the autograph and Bellamy knew to give his signature some context by adding what his current assignment was.

AUCTION SUMMARY
GARTH: The Spanish Lady
WHERE?: eBay
STARTING BID: £6.99
ENDING PRICE:£240.89
No of bids: 24
END DATE: Sunday 12 February 2023