Original Art on Comic Book Auctions: Captain Scarlet

Lot#93 TV21 192 cover

John Freeman kindly alerted me to the fact that Comic Book Auctions are selling the original art of Frank Bellamy's cover to TV21 #192. It's Lot # 93 and priced with an estimate of £550-£650. Here's the description:


Captain Scarlet original front cover artwork (1968) by Frank Bellamy from TV 21 No 192 with original comic
Bright Pelikan inks on board. 15 x 12 ins
£550-650

UPDATE: Winning bid incl. 10% Buyer's Premium: £786 (January 2014) 


The picture above shows an issue of TV21 the comic plus the artwork and indicates, in my opinion, that the original has lost none of its vibrancy. And for those who are lucky enough to see Bellamy originals you can immediately see that the published work did him no favours - brilliant though it was!

Bellamy drew 5 covers to the TV21 comic which featured Captain Scarlet stories and to this little boy's eyes, strangely did not do the full stories. Later I understood why. He obviously had his work on Thunderbirds at the same time (and that work alone took about a week to do - two colour pages for this weekly comic!) so perhaps I'm being harsh. Don Harley completed the story in #185 and #186. We have seen Harley and Bellamy in the same area before - with Thunderbrids and Dan Dare. Jim Watson (see some of his Battle Picture Weekly art) completes the other stories listed below.

Just for the fun of it here are the other covers that Bellamy drew for the Captain Scarlet cover stories

TV21 185 (3 August 2068)

I love this design but worry about the plane carrying such flammable material!

TV21 186 (10 August 2068)

A headlonmg crash reminiscent of the Dan Dare one (below)

Eagle Vol 11:4

TV 21 & TV TORNADO 192 (21 September 2068)

Can you feel the crisp cold air on the ice? I always wondered whether boys (girls went to Lady Penelope, didn't they?) were interested in footballers and Gerry Anderson shows. I wasn't - except for one year in Secondary School!

TV 21 & TV TORNADO 193 (28 September 2068)

Bellamy was constrained by the giant advert for the Corgi Toy coupon but still thrills us with that storm

TV 21 & TV TORNADO 210 (25 January 2069)

Lastly I know that this cover is one loved by Rian Hughes and as stated on Gerry Anderson: Complete Comic History looks nothing like the more Anderson-type version inside the comic. But who's complaining?

I'll update the winning price after the auction closes on 26 November 2013