Fans of Frank: Jonathan Wyke

TV21 #81

I tripped over the fact that Jonathan Wyke had an affinity for Frank Bellamy and in the interests of getting someone else to write my blog for me here is Jonathan...Seriously I'm grateful to Jonathan for sharing his insights and I've enjoyed adding links to the names I would list in the great pantheon (Perez has no official presence on the web, really?) and also browsing Jonathan's own art.

Frank Bellamy

I was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire on the 21st May. On the exact date and in the exactly same place as Frank Bellamy. That means nothing of course, unless you're a young lad, who's just beginning to notice that the art in comics is done by different people. What it means then is that you spend your time hunting down examples of Frank Bellamy's work and pouring over them as if they're relics.

This obsession faded somewhat as I moved into my early teenage years and was seduced by the 4 colour wonders coming from across the Atlantic. These were exotic Marvels, and because I now knew to look at the art I began to like a whole different pantheon of artists - Byrne, Perez, Adams, Kirby, Kane - all great in their own way, but all really coming from the same source. Their roots were firmly set in the States, and didn't really speak to me. It was at this time I re-discovered Frank Bellamy.

In Kettering there was a second-hand book shop - the type you really don't see anymore - with boxes of books and magazines scattered around its two tiny rooms. On the counter was one small cardboard box of old Marvel comics - they were the reason I'd gone in, and as I was buying them (very early Fantastic Four and Avengers issues at 5p each), the owner of the shop pointed out a stack of annuals on the floor and said I might like to take a look. I added one to my haul and left. It was of course an Eagle Annual, and I went back the next day to grab the rest. Harris Tweed and his friends were interesting, but here was Dan Dare. And here too was Frank Bellamy. Bellamy's strengths were many. His draughtsmanship was without peer, but his astonishingly dynamic layouts were out of this world. Where the American comics I'd been reading were all pretty rigid - fixed grids broken up by occasional splash page, Bellamy's ripped through that. Circular frames that dragged the eye to them, cinematic viewpoints swirling around, fixing your focus onto what was important. And the drawings. No more cartoon like figures. These were real people. Real animals. Real spaceships. Frank Bellamy could make the extra-ordinary real.

Dan Dare and Garth are I suppose the strips that Bellamy's most remembered for, but my favourites will always be Thunderbirds and Heros the Spartan. Heros is a particular love. Bellamy's inspiring use of colour. The wonderful penmanship. The layout! This astonishing piece was begun in the early 1960s and the dynamism of the narrative is, I believe, unsurpassed to this day.

All of this influences me. From the first finding the coincidence of our birth dates causing me to start to draw, copying the crappy reproduction in the Kettering Evening Telegraph over and over. The first thing I'd ever seriously tried to draw. To being blown away by the re-discovery of his work which spoke to me far more than the stylised pieces coming over from the US. In everything I draw I try to portray the subject with a realistic air, and that comes directly from Frank Bellamy. My attempts at sequential narrative are influenced by the European New Wave cinema, but Frank Bellamy was, of course, there first too.

Frank Bellamy was our Jean Giraud. Our Jack Kirby. His understanding and mastery of the sequential form have never been surpassed, and I know that if anything I ever did held even a slight reflection of his work I'd be a happy man.

Regards,

Jonathan

Eagle Vol 14 #39

Jonathan's presence on the Net enables you to view his terrific work.  His blog "WobblyLines and Blotchy Colour" sounds too self-denigrating for such a good artist and he has a space on the wonderful DeviantArt site (took me a long time to realise this wasn't DeviantTart!) and he's on Twitter too. I'm sure you'll all head to his comic art but I loved this sketch.

 

St. John's Church, St. John Cornwall - by Jonathan Wyke

And like a lot of us I bet Jonathan can't wait for the Heros reprint (yes another shameless plug for Book Palace!)

Frank Bellamy and Doctor Janet Brown

This is going to be a very short piece....you know as much as I do about this.....I promised a new discovery of a piece from Bellamy, and here it is.

Doctor Janet Brown

Jeff Haythorpe, who has kindly shared so much artwork over the 13 years that I've been doing this research on Bellamy, just popped this into my inbox with no more clue than I had.

The word balloons say "So at last - Doctor Janet Brown - aren't you pleased?" with two name plaques - one with Dr. D. A. Brown and one with Doctor Janet Brown. Is this a husband and wife practice? An article on conquering sexism? A story of a country General Practice?

The three portraits look as if they might have been 'spotted' throughout an article/story, but the panel looks so like a comic panel that I half think it is too unusual for a romance magazine....but I have no idea really. I have no records to match anything here. The style looks very like the Monty Carstairs era, i.e. 1953.

I asked David Slinn (who worked in UK comics during the 50s and 60s) what he thought, and he replied:

"As I’m sure you’ve come across in researching magazines and newspapers of the early 1950s, small line portraits of the main characters were dotted about the text (even repeated during the run of a serial), either with or without a main illustration; or little vignettes of “typical professions” appeared in advertisements." 

So there you go. Does anyone know anything about this? Let me know.

And for no other reason than I mentioned the Monty Carstairs strip from Mickey Mouse Weekly, here's an arbitrary page from 21 November 1953 just because it looks so good!

Monty Carstairs from Mickey Mouse Weekly 21 November 1953

Frank Bellamy and "Cover Story: Radio Times at 90"

Cover Story: Radio Times at 90
at the Museum of London

I spent a delightful day with my wife and 24 year old son walking the streets of London as we headed to the Radio Times at 90 exhibition which is on until 3 November 2013 and is free to visit. Where? The wonderful Museum of London.

The Museum's exhibition page (from which the above picture is taken) states:

From iconic covers and Doctor Who, to historic broadcasts and never-before-seen BBC archives; the Museum of London is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Radio Times. The exhibition charts the history of the British weekly TV and radio listings publication and its close association with the history of broadcasting in Britain. Highlights include original Radio Times covers, a 1920s Marconi valve radio and a 50th anniversary display for Doctor Who, which has been a regular in the Radio Times since 1964.

What's the connection with Bellamy? Well, I was contacted with a query a few months ago, about whether I knew anyone who owned an original Bellamy Radio Times illustration. I don't know how the organizers decided who to talk to or which artwork of those I know I suggested they might use, but one collector's piece ended up in the exhibition.

The covers on the top row, you can just about see here, are reproductions and Doctor Who, unsuprisingly in this the 50th anniversary year, gets a space of his own. I don't want to spoil all your fun by showing you all the pictures I took with my Samsung Galaxy Ace but the big drawing in the middle is bound to get die-hard Dalek fans excited. But for me, I was there for Bellamy art. The two pieces at the bottom right hand corner are both by Bellamy.  Here are two more photos taken in far from perfect lighting conditions.

Radio Times (16/12/1972 - 29/12/1972)
Doctor Who and the Sea Devils [Omnibus edition], p.82

Radio Times (30/08/1975 - 05/09/75)
Doctor Who - Terror of the Zygons, p.17

There's not much original art in the exhibition, but those by Mark Thomas (the "Singing Detective" and the very recent "Call the midwife") are gorgeous as well as the laughing cat cover for the 'Humor' edition of 1936 by John Gilroy (who also did famous Guiness adverts) and a Nevinson original too. But I loved the Reinganum art too. I have always suspected that Bellamy was inspired by him. Their work appeared in similar places, such as Lilliput, and of course the Radio Times and both had a graphic design approach in my opinion. Unfortunately there's not a lot about him on the Net, thus ensuring I have another artist for my little retirement projects!

Here are his Daleks:

Reinganum's Daleks from Radio Times (9 June 1969)

If none of this has persuaded you to visit the Museum how about you can take your photo with a Dalek

And I haven't said a word about how really interactive the exhibitions are and how easy to walk from Liverpool Street the Museum is.

Other articles on the exhibition

• TimeOut
• Vintage Guide to London
• Guardian
• Mediaweek
• BBC News
• Mike Paterson & Russ Whilley's London Historians' Blog
•  Philip Bates' article on Kasterborous

Latest Garth reprint

Reprinted in colour Tues 30 July 2013 © Mirrorpix

The above is the next story to be reprinted in the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK starting today. The artwork is by Martin Asbury, the story "Voyage into Time" sends Garth on another time travel adventure. So we shall have to wait for the last two Bellamy-drawn stories that have not yet been reprinted in the Daily Mirror: "Freak out to fear" and "Man-Hunt" - the latter being Bellamy's last work on the strip which was completed, after his death, by Martin Asbury.

I have recently revamped and added to the Garth listing on the website (where I list all known work by Frank Bellamy) So if you're wondering when each of the Daily Mirror stories were reprinted - whether in the Daily Mirror or not, pop over there.  And if you want to know about international listings of Garth, they are included in my international reprint list - clever eh? And thanks to Ant Jones' great work on the Garth Facebook page I have learned of other international versions of Garth - I shall write about Bellamy's Turkish work soon! And while you are logged into Facebook I have never mentioned my FB FB page

Screen shot of the reprint list

Next Time - a newly, yes, newly discovered Bellamy artwork!

Frank Bellamy and Doctor Who: Sea Devils original art

Timeview p.23 - pink colour as published

Original Art 1

Original Art 2

Original Art 3

UPDATE: Winning bid with 15 bids: £466.56 (July 2012)

I have had it pointed out to me that a piece on eBay of Bellamy's art is for sale. The seller is tinkswesterman (with 100% good feedback) and lives in Kirkby on Merseyside and appears to sell quite a few Doctor Who rare items.

When I looked at it, I was a bit puzzled and decided to scan the version that appears in Time View: Complete "Doctor Who" Illustrations of Frank Bellamy written by Bellamy's only child, David.

The original reproduction in the Radio Times is not worth reproducing - for those who don't know - the Radio Times in 1972 when this appeared was published mostly on pulp paper and therefore linework didn't come out too clearly. However here is a scan of the listing for Doctor Who for the relevant day:

Radio Times (18/03/1972 - 24/03/1972), p.20

Why do I feel puzzled? The 'RADIO TIMES' and signature look a bit wobbly. Below is a photo I saved from ebay when the last original piece of these Doctor Who cameos came up for sale by a renowned Doctor Who collector based in Luton. I'm sorry the detail is not very clear, but one can see the 'Radio Times' lettering added by Bellamy and it appears somewhat at odds with the one above.

Also draw a vertical line from the bottom left and in the 'original' art you do not bisect the 'ear' - it appears whole; in the Radio Times version you bisect an incomplete 'ear'. There are other tiny differences I would query when I look very closely.

I don't want to claim this is a fake, but it appears puzzling, particularly as the seller has lots of unusual BBC Doctor Who materials and has had no complaints but he bought it in good faith. The piece below sold before I started this blog!

I'll add any comments I get and update the selling price as and when

Sold in June 2001

Frank Bellamy and Wide World

Martin Baines asked me about a few of the more obscure Bellamy pieces, so here I am again sharing....

pp. 2-3 "The toughest prey" written by Douglas Lockwood
(bigger version at FB.co.uk)

The cover of the issue in which Bellamy's work appears is credited to Langhammer - is this Walter Langhammer? Anyone tell me more?

January 1962 (art by Langhammer)

"There is no more formidable adversary than a monster buffalo" it says on the contents page of Wide World January 1962.The story it refers to is "The Toughest Prey" by Douglas Lockwood

Contents page

Douglas Lockwood
From the The University of Queensland, Fryer Library collection

Any of my Australian readers who fancy visiting the National Library of Australia can access the "Papers of Douglas Lockwood, 1942-1981" Lockwood lived from 1918-1980 and was predominantly a storyteller / journalist. Some of his books on native Australian life and his writings on what he called "the Australian Pearl Harbour" are still in print today. His writings in newspapers can been seen online via the excellent Trove resource which also contains loads of Lockwood's fascinating photographic collection.His biography can be found online, and from it come the following details.

 In 1941 Lockwood joined the Melbourne Herald. On 4 October that year at the Methodist Church, Wangaratta, he married Ruth Hay, a clerk. Soon afterwards he was sent to Darwin and in February 1942 saw the first enemy bombs fall on Australian soil. Enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 15 June, he trained in intelligence and security duties. He served in New Guinea and on Bougainville in 1944-45 with 'V' and 'Z' Field Security sections, and was promoted warrant officer. Following his discharge on 15 June 1945 in Melbourne, he was a war correspondent for the Herald, reporting from the Netherlands East Indies. In 1946 he returned to Darwin and, except for postings to the Herald's Melbourne (1947-48) and London (1954-56) offices, was to remain there until 1968. 

Taken from the Australian Dictionary of Biography

He obviously found the English weather not to his liking and returned home after only 3 years and perhaps encountered this international magazine, Wide World,  when here in 1954-1956. Wide World had been going since 1898. My other interest Raymond Sheppard did several pieces for Wide World and therefore I have trawled through quite a few. The tenor of the magazine was always real-life adventures told from all over the world. The earlier editions in the post WWII years have some fantastic covers on them, but interior art was reproduced in such a way to obscure any talent, thus the strange 'cut' photograph-dots look to them. Do a Google search to see images of the covers If you want to read some of the content from the past, try True Adventures for Boys or The Wide World: True Adventures For Men and of course the originals are fairly cheap - try eBay too.

p. 5 "The toughest prey" written by Douglas Lockwood
(bigger version at FB.co.uk)

In the late 50s and early 1960s up to its demise in 1965 more and more photographic materials, in lieu of illustrations, were used in Wide World which I personally found nowhere near as interesting. Contemporaries of Frank Bellamy produced for the magazine too but Bellamy appears to have only produced drawings for one issue. 


Douglas Lockwood Bibliography

• Crocodiles and Other People (London, 1959)
• Fair Dinkum (London, 1960)
• I, the Aboriginal (Adelaide, 1962) which won the Adelaide Advertiser's award for literature in 1962 and was later made into a television film We, the Aborigines (Melbourne, 1963)
• The Lizard Eaters (Melbourne, 1964)
• Up the Track (Adelaide, 1964)
• Australia's Pearl Harbour (Melbourne, 1966)
• The Front Door (Adelaide, 1968)
• My Old Mates and I (Adelaide, 1979)
• Northern Territory Sketchbook (Adelaide, 1968)

Co-author:

• Life on the Daly River (London, 1961) with Nancy Polishuk
• The Shady Tree (Adelaide, 1963) with Bill Harney
• Alice on the Line (Adelaide, 1965) with Doris Blackwell

Just before his death he was editing  a selection of Bill Harney's writings but this was taken on and completed by Ruth Lockwood and published as A Bushman's Life (Melbourne, 1990).

REMEMBER to see these Bellamy pictures in full size follow this link to Frankbellamy.co.uk and click on the 'MORE...' note

The second item Bellamy illustrated is introduced in the same contents page:"Britain's coastguards meet the challenge of unleashed elements" 

p. 20 "Killer wind" written by George Goldsmith Carter

George Goldsmith Carter was born in Aldeburgh and served on lightships during the war and has written extensively on the subjects of boats, ships and sailing.You can read the full text of "The Goodwin Sands" published in 1953 on Archive.org with its opening sentence "For two-and-a-half years I have stood my watch on the deck of the North Goodwin Lightship".Amazon have several of his titles

George Goldsmith Carter Bibliography

• Looming Lights: a true story of the lightships. London : Constable, 1945.
• The Smacksmen. A story of the fishermen of the Borough. London : Constable, 1947.
• Able Seaman. London : Constable, 1948.
• Peter Grimes’ Country, in Lilliput June 1948
• Lights on the Water, in Lilliput April 1949
• Tiger of the Channel, in Lilliput August 1949
• Margaret Catchpole, the Girl from Wolfkettel. London : Constable & Co., 1949.
• Red Charger. A trip to the Arctic fishing grounds. Illustrated by R. P. Bagnall-Oakley. London : Constable, 1950.
• Forgotten Ports of England. London : Evans Bros., 1951.
• The Goodwin Sands. London : Constable and Co Ltd, 1953
• Menace of The Out-Winds (illustrated by Hookway Cowles) in Everybodys August 14 1954 
• Death on the Longsand in Lilliput March 1956
• Sailors, sailors (Edited by Derek Lord.) London: Hamlyn, 1966
• Sailing Ships and Sailing Craft (Hamlyn all-colour paperbacks). London: Hamlyn, 1969
• Spotlight on sailing ships (Illustrated by Bill Robertshaw, Angus McBride). London : Hamlyn, 1973.
• The Battle of Britain : the home front. New York : Mason & Lipscomb Publishers, [1974]

 Co-authored

• Young Sea-Angler. (with Robert Bateman). London : Constable & Co., [1961]
• A fighting challenge (with John Ridgway; Michael Codd; Chay Blyth) London: Hamlyn, 1969.

Thank you Martin for an enjoyable afternoon doing some research! Your other choices will follow soon!

Frank Bellamy, Lilliput and W. R. Burnett

Lilliput 1954 (please excuse the crude joins!)

I have now produced 200 posts for this blog - frightening! If you had asked my teachers they would not have thought I could write the copy on the back of a [choose your favourite sweets/candy] let alone 200 articles!


I have mentioned the magazine called Lilliput in the past and felt it was time to show you some more of that artwork by Frank Bellamy.  The magazine begun by Stefan Lorant, photojournalist, was bought out by Hulton Press Limited who are best remembered for publishing Picture Post (which Hulton and Lorant created), and the famous and well-loved Eagle comic. But they also had Farmer's Weekly, Housewife, Electronic Engineering, Power Laundry and The Leader among others.

"War Party" by W.R. Burnett - Drawn by Frank Bellamy

The list of Bellamy's work in Lilliput:

1. LILLIPUT Vol. 34:4 #202 (April 1954) "Que-Fong-Goo" by Gerald Durrell
2. LILLIPUT Vol. 34:5 #203 (May 1954) "War Party" by W.R. Burnett
3. LILLIPUT Vol. 35:1 #205 (July 1954) "The drifters" by John Prebble
4. LILLIPUT Vol. 36:3 #213 (March 1955) "The raid to get Rommel" by Sandy Sanderson
5. LILLIPUT Vol. 36:5 #215 (May 1955) "Trick justice" by John Prebble
6. LILLIPUT Vol. 37:1 #217 (July 1955) "The demon bushranger" by Dal Stivens
7. LILLIPUT Vol. 39:6 #234 (Dec 1956) "Men with horse" by Allan Swinton

In his interview  with Dez Skinn and Dave Gibbons, Bellamy stated:

As soon as I gave [International Artists] permission to represent me, I had a commission to do two love story illustrations for Home Notes, a woman's magazine, regular commissions from Boy's Own Paper - covers and inside illustrat­ions, Lilliput - where I did my very first western illustration for a story by John Prebble

He wasn't remembering quite right. His first western story was by W. R. Burnett and his third commission and second western story for Lilliput was by Prebble. William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 - April 25, 1982) wrote many of the screenplays to films which I loved in my youth - well, now actually! I remember seeing The Great Escape and Ice Station Zebra in the 60s and loving the characters and stories, but this guy was writing back in 1930s with Little Caesar, Scarface, and High Sierra, all films I remember vividly (when they were broadcast on BBC1 back in the late 60s and early 70s - noir on a black and white TV - lovely! A very full bibliography appears here and many of his works can still be purchased
on Amazon Here are all the illustrations by Bellamy to accompany "War Party"

Lilliput 1954 Page 53

Lilliput 1954 Page 57

Lilliput 1954 Page 61

That's all the illustrations for this story, but one of them appeared again. Burnett states at the end of the story in an 'Author's Note': "The character of Walter Grein was drawn in part from the famous Chief of Scouts,of the Apache Wars, Al Sieber".

On the letter page of Lilliput August 1954, the following appeared:

The Internet is wonderful and has details for you (via Wikipedia) of Al Sieber, who was apparently born in Germany before moving to the States and you can even see his gravestone on Find a grave!