ORIGINAL ART: Heros, Thunderbirds and 3 Garth at Excalibur, oh my!

Unbelievably, just when I move house and while offline, two auction houses have Bellamy artwork for sale. So let me catch up quickly - these auctions are tomorrow (8 November-9 November). I'll do a second blog article on the Compal Auction (24 November)

Excalibur are "Collectables and Memorabilia Specialist Auctioneers" and were established in February 2016.

HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 1 Dec 1962 (Vol. 13:48)

HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 1 Dec 1962 (Vol. 13:48)

 It's lovely to see the colours preserved. Click on the image above (and below) and just gaze at those colours - all done in ink over a double page spread - despite Exclaibur thinking it was watercolour and ink!

You also get a copy of the comic!

Estimate: £5,000-£7,000 - the last time this sold was in March 2017 when it went for £4,332.01

Described as:

HEROS THE SPARTAN (1962) - ORIGINAL SIGNED FRANK BELLAMY ARTWORK from EAGLE Comic - FRANK BELLAMY (Artist) - Eagle Comic (Volume 13) Issue #48 - "Heros the Spartan" Episode 6 - SIGNED BY FRANK BELLAMY IN PANEL 13 - A fantastic colourful two-page spread (centrefold feature in the comic, page numbers 12 & 13) Painted in water colours [sic - Norman] & pelikan inks on CS10 Colyer & Southey line board - 26.25" x 18.25" - (66.5 x 46.5 cm) Image area 25" x 15.25" (63.5 x 38.5 cm) - Flat/Unfolded - Very Fine (Full Colour) In addition the buyer will receive a copy of the Eagle Comic issue number 48 (Volume3) from 1962 the artwork appeared in.

THUNDERBIRDS: TV21 #178 (Page 10)

You also get the comic (with a great Mike Noble cover!)

Estimate: £1000-£1500
Described as:

THUNDERBIRDS (1969) - ORIGINAL FRANK BELLAMY ARTWORK from TV21 Comic- FRANK BELLAMY (Artist) - TV21: Issue #178 - Part 6 Page 10 (of story) - "Scott and Virgil - Trapped in the Tunnel of Fire !" - A marvellous colourful piece with bright Pelikan colours & inks on board - 19.25" x 15" - (49 x 38 cm) Image area 15.5" x 12" (39.5 x 30.5 cm) - Flat/Unfolded - Very Fine (Full Colour) In addition the buyer will receive a copy of the original TV21 Comic issue number 178 (1968) the artwork appeared in.

GARTH: Bride of Jenghiz Khan (J1)

Garth: The Bride of Jenghiz Khan #J1

Interestingly we can see that J1 was pasted over the number underneath. Did John Allard lose track whilst lettering this piece?

Estimate: £200-£300 - last time this sold was in 2015 when it went for a paltry(!) £181
Described as:

GARTH (1975) - ORIGINAL SIGNED FRANK BELLAMY ARTWORK from Daily Mirror - FRANK BELLAMY (Artist) - Chapter J1 - SIGNED BY FRANK BELLAMY ON FIRST PANEL (Bellamy's signature is almost a piece of art in its own right) - GARTH is the long running syndicated strip featuring the adventures of the cult time-travelling hero. This is the original art used for chapter J1 and published in The Daily Mirror newspaper on 2nd January 1975 - Fantastic clean detailed pen and ink work by this hugely popular and very collectable British artist - Pen & Ink on CS10 Colyer & Southey line board - 7" x 21.5" (18 x 54.5 cm) - Flat - Very Fine

GARTH: The Spanish Lady (K77)

Garth: The Spanish Lady #K77

 In this lovely close-up we can see 'white-out' or correction fluid, which Bellamy always claimed he did not use. But it's obvious here that Allard, the letterer chose to change to the position of the balloon 'tail'. Did Bellamy get it wrong?

Estimate: £200-£300
Described as:

GARTH (1976) - ORIGINAL SIGNED FRANK BELLAMY ARTWORK from Daily Mirror - FRANK BELLAMY (Artist) - Chapter K77 "The Spanish Lady" - SIGNED BY FRANK BELLAMY ON SECOND PANEL (Bellamy's signature is almost a piece of art in its own right) - GARTH is the long running syndicated strip featuring the adventures of the cult time-travelling hero. This is the original art used for "The Spanish Lady" Chapter K77 and published in The Daily Mirror newspaper on 31st March 1976 - Fantastic clean detailed pen and ink work by this hugely popular and very collectable British artist - Pen & Ink on CS10 Colyer & Southey line board - 7" x 21.5" (18 x 54.5 cm) - Flat - Very Fine

GARTH: The Spanish Lady (K88)

Garth: The Spanish Lady #K88

Estimate: £200-£300

Described as:

GARTH (1976) - ORIGINAL SIGNED FRANK BELLAMY ARTWORK from Daily Mirror - FRANK BELLAMY (Artist) - Chapter K88 "The Spanish Lady" - SIGNED BY FRANK BELLAMY ON SECOND/THIRD PANEL (Bellamy's signature is almost a piece of art in its own right) - GARTH is the long running syndicated strip featuring the adventures of the cult time-travelling hero. This is the original art used for "The Spanish Lady" Chapter K88 and published in The Daily Mirror newspaper on 13th April 1976 - Fantastic clean detailed pen and ink work by this hugely popular and very collectable British artist - Pen & Ink on CS10 Colyer & Southey line board - 7" x 21.5" (18 x 54.5 cm) - Flat - Very Fine

AUCTION SUMMARY 
HEROS THE SPARTAN: Eagle 1 Dec 1962 (Vol. 13:48)
WHERE?: Excalibur
STARTING BID:
ENDING PRICE:£5,000
NO. OF BIDS:

END DATE: Friday8 November 2019

THUNDERBIRDS: TV21 #178 (Page 10)
WHERE?: Excalibur
STARTING BID:
ENDING PRICE:£1,500
NO. OF BIDS:
END DATE: Friday8 November 2019

GARTH: Bride of Jenghiz Khan (J1)
WHERE?: Excalibur
STARTING BID:
ENDING PRICE:£320
NO. OF BIDS:
END DATE: Friday8 November 2019

GARTH: The Spanish Lady (K77)
WHERE?: Excalibur
STARTING BID:
ENDING PRICE:£250
NO. OF BIDS:
END DATE: Friday8 November 2019

GARTH: The Spanish Lady (K88)
WHERE?: Excalibur
STARTING BID:
ENDING PRICE:£350
NO. OF BIDS:
END DATE: Friday8 November 2019

Original Art: Garth on Comic Link - The Spanish Lady (K103)

K103 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

This episode comes from the Garth story "The Spanish Lady", which was the penultimate story illustrated by Bellamy before his early death.   It's up for auction in the USA on Comic Link (their full Original Comic Art auction is here)

Comic Link describes this piece very briefly and I notice they have "1-15" in the title, which I think they've taken from the pencil saying "Fri - Sat 1-5-76" - (a topic I have yet to tackle and try to explain) :

Primary Artist Name: FRANK BELLAMY
Secondary Artist Name:
Year: 1976
Dimensions: The art has an approximate image area of 20.5" X 5".
Auction Start Date: 6/7/2018 8:00:00 PM [7th June]

This auction starts on Thursday 7 June 2018 and the bidding starts at $1, but don't believe you'll get it for that. Recent performance tells me, it will be around 200 times that amount, if not more.

The Spanish Lady story has been reprinted in the following places:

• Garth: The Spanish Lady (Daily strips, Garth No. 3). London: John Dakin, Nov 1979 A4 size reprint 20 pages Reprints Garth strips K65-K160 from the Daily Mirror, March 17 - July 7, 1976.
• Garth: The Spanish Lady All Devon Comic Collectors Club Daily Strips: Collectors Club Editions No.3 [No date] - Information from Garth: the index (Pub: ADCCC)
• Daily Mirror Wednesday 08 June 2011 - Tuesday 2 August 2011 Two tier reprint coloured by Martin Baines

I'll update the sale price here and on my spreadsheet

And for the person who buys the piece, here's the two episodes on either side of K103

AUCTION SUMMARY
WHERE?: Comic Link
STARTING BID:$1
ENDING PRICE: $242 = £190.23
NO. OF BIDS: 15

END DATE: 7 June 2018 28 June 2018

Original Art: Garth on Heritage - Garth: The Spanish Lady (K89)

K89 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

The latest strip by Frank Bellamy that appears on Heritage comes again from "Garth: The Spanish Lady" story. My spreadsheet (here) tells me that these episodes sell for approximately £220-£250 but that all depends on what's in them! I love the ships in this one but especially the clouds done in that brilliant Bellamy "swirl". In case you're wondering Garth has time-travelled to the Elizabethan age and is called Carey - thus the mention in the opening panel.

And reading on to the next panel, we presume the 'gentleman' in the crew has gone as there is no mention of him!

K90 & K91 Garth: The Spanish Lady

Heritage describe this piece:

Frank Bellamy Garth #K89 Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 4-14-74 (Daily Mirror, 1974). Frank Bellamy drew the exquisite fantasy/time-travel strip, Garth, from 1971 until his death in 1976. This daily, from the story arc "The Beast of Ultor", was done in ink over graphite on Bristol board [sic], and has an image area of 20.5" x 5.25". Aside from some light edge toning, the condition is Excellent. From the Ethan Roberts Estate Collection. 

AUCTION SUMMARY
WHERE?: Heritage Sunday Internet Comics Auction #121745
SELLER:Heritage
LOT #11014
STARTING BID:$
ENDING PRICE:$382.40 (incl. Buyer's Premium) = £291.82
NO. OF BIDS:5

END DATE: 5 November 2017

Original Art: Garth on Heritage - Garth: The Spanish Lady (K129)

K129 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

Here's the latest strip by Frank Bellamy that appears on Heritage which comes from "The Spanish Lady" story again.

Heritage describe this piece:

Frank Bellamy Garth #K129 Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 1-6-76 (Daily Mirror, 1976). Frank Bellamy's meticulously-drawn strips were always vibrant and full of life. In 1971, he began drawing the time-traveling adventures of Garth in the Daily Mirror, which he drew until his death in 1976, just six months after this strip was published. This ink over graphite on Bristol [sic - CS10 in actual fact] daily has an image area of 20.5" x 5.25", and is in Excellent condition. From the Ethan Roberts Estate Collection..

I love this one as the smoke from the 'fireship' sent towards the Spanish is so vibrant and the black  (almost) silhouette of Sir Francis is highlighted too and leads the eye to the right! A discussion recently on a Neal Adams Facebook page was debating the merits of how he drew a specific X-Men page and how a figure on the right side of the page was turning 'into' the left thus causing - to summarise- a jolt to the 'left to right' reading ability. Here FB shows how to make it work.

 I'm adding sales figures when they appear and the previous "Spanish Lady" episode is due to end today (Sunday 22/10/2017). And I see the next one from Ethan Roberts extensive Garth collection is from "The Beast of Ultor" story.

AUCTION SUMMARY
WHERE?: Heritage Sunday Internet Comics Auction #121744
SELLER:Heritage
LOT #36003
STARTING BID:$
ENDING PRICE:$358.50 inc. Buyer's Premium = £272.91
NO. OF BIDS: 7

END DATE: 29 October 2017

Original Art: Garth on Heritage - Garth: The Spanish Lady (K78)

The Star Inn, Geddington

Here's the latest strip by Frank Bellamy that appears on Heritage which comes from "The Spanish Lady" story which ran originally in 17 March 1976 - 7 July 1976 (K65-K160). It was reprinted in Garth: The Spanish Lady (Daily strips, Garth No. 3), London: John Dakin, Nov 1979 which was an A4 size reprint of 20 pages. It also appeared Garth: The Spanish Lady from the "All Devon Comic Collectors Club Daily Strips" collection - Collectors Club Editions No.3 [No date]. Its latest repint was back in the Daily Mirror newspaper itself  - Daily Mirror Wednesday 8 June 2011 - Tuesday 2 August 2011, coloured by Martin Baines

K78 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

Heritage describe this piece:

Frank Bellamy Garth Daily Comic Strip Original Art dated 1-4-75 (Daily Mirror, 1975). Frank Bellamy was a perfectionist who created some of the best color work to ever appear in British comics. His meticulously-drawn strips were always vibrant and full of life. In 1971, he began drawing the Garth strip in the Daily Mirror, which he drew until his death in 1976. This ink over graphite on Bristol [sic: CS10) daily has an image area of 20.5" x 5.25", and is Excellent condition.

If you're wondering what "Canary sack" is, which Francis Drake mentions in the first panel - Wikipedia comes to our rescue. Sir Richard Grenville has a very exciting biography which I'll leave you to explore.

Oh and before I forget, the reason for showing you the Star Inn, Geddinton is that it appears later in "The Spanish Lady" story, as Tony Smith points out in his article on Frank in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph of 3 September 1987 (thirty years ago Tony!!)

K67 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

And just in case anyone is still reading this, if anyone around Geddington knows where the building is that appeared in episodes K68 and K69 below, I'd love to know. It could be in Kettering.

K68 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

K69 episode of  "Garth: The Spanish Lady" Drawn by Frank Bellamy

AUCTION SUMMARY

WHERE?: Heritage Sunday Internet Comics Auction #121743
SELLER:Heritage
LOT #14005
STARTING BID:$
ENDING PRICE:$286.80 inc. Buyer's Premium = £218.37
NO. OF BIDDERS: 6

END DATE: 22 October 2017

Spanish Lady starts in Daily Mirror

Three exciting things this time round (well, at least for me!) including a confession from your Blog writer!

But first...yesterday, "The Wreckers" concluded in the Daily Mirror, in this superbly drawn ending and innuendo-ridden last word from Garth.

© Daily Mirror

Martin Baines, the colourist, on the Daily Mirror's reprinted Garth strips has kindly shared the latest installment - the first - in this magnificent story called the "Spanish Lady". This story has only been reprinted in a series by John Dakin in 1979 in a 900 limited edition black and white reprint, so this may be the first time many people have seen some of this art - especially those under 30 years of age - I'm now feeling very old!

© Daily Mirror

I've shrunk the version Martin sent me for purposes of internet loading, but I think it still shows how his original colouring misses out in letterpress printing, however I still love it and find he does brilliantly understate his work by not overcolouring Bellamy.

That's the first exciting thing - thanks again Martin. I owe you a pint or two!

Now, the second excitement is that coincidentally a sale on eBay comes from this very story.  I'll let the seller describe the piece of original art:

From the story 'The Spanish Lady' from 1976 which was the last complete story that he produced before his untimely death later that year. Code K122. With a great action scene showing far more detail than the much smaller printed version. There is a little discolouring of the white board where it as been framed in the past.

Artwork panels measure 135mm x 520mm. Signed with his distinctive signature and drawn on heavyweight CS10 board. The blacks are very dense, having been inked over many times - sometimes as many as eight - to give the density of black that he required.

I've copied the strip below from the John Dakin reprint - go to eBay for the actual scans - it looks to be in very good condition. I'll add an price update after the sale

© Daily Mirror

UPDATE: Sold for £181.00 with 5 bids (June 2011)
And thirdly and lastly for now, my confession!

When I came back to the job of creating this listing circa 2001 - ask me about it if you don't know - I had copies of the 2 Titan Garth paperback reprints. In the introductions written by Nick Landau, there is a handy checklist of all the Garth strips to appear. Here the problem begins...

I believed them!

In writing today's blog entry, I checked the sequence of the strips for the Spanish Lady as I was surprised by the dates I had on the website (- which I've now corrected). I remember that Ghost Town, Bellamy's favourite Garth strip, was reprinted shortly after his death on 5 July 1976, so how could Landau's dates for the Spanish Lady be right? Landau has the dates and number sequence as K65 (17/03/1976) to K160 (07/08/1976) which would make the story continue for another month before Ghost Town started. I checked a few photocopies I have of the paper and found there was something definitely wrong.

The wonderful Garth: the index by Dave Westaway and friends Geoff Wren and Ann Holmes was far more meticulous and confirmed my fear, correctly listing the dates and numbers as 17/03/1976 - 07/07/1976 - K65-K160 for Spanish Lady. So we have 96 episodes in total for this story.

This was all a terrible revelation to me and proof that I was right to (but inconsistent in) checking everything on the list before launching the website. I'm very unlikely to win the (non-existent) "Steve Holland Bibliographer Lifetime Achievement Award"but confession is good for the soul!

And if I ever get a spare day to re-vamp the website I'll also get rid of the confusing date arrangements to indicate 8 June instead of the confusing 08/06 which my American friends would see as being the 6th of August.