On 21 May 1917, Frank Alfred Bellamy was born to Horace George Bellamy (born in 1885) in Rothwell, Northamptonshire and Grace Winifred Ashley (born 1887) in Kettering. Frank had one sister Eva born in 1912 (so 5 years his senior).
The image above comes from Ally Sloper, a new comic he contributed to in the year he died, 1976. It was published two months after his untimely death.
Gone but never forgotten. Happy Birthday Frank!
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| Garth: People of the Abyss F246 and F266 |
Compalcomics are offering more Garth strips this month, drawn by Frank Bellamy. The images are gorgeous and clear and make me re-appreciate his work here.
As Malcolm Phillips, the Director of Comic Book Postal Auctions Ltd, says:
Welcome to our May/June catalogue. The catalogue is open for bidding. You can place realtime bids at The Saleroom. Click here to visit our catalogue at The-Saleroom. You can also browse lots here and fill out a fax or mail bidding form.
The fact he still gets faxes (is that the plural?) is amazing to me. It's been years since I sent or received one!
Onto the Garth strips
GARTH: People of the Abyss - 2 episodes: F246 and F266
Garth: 'The People of the Abyss' two original artworks (1972) by Frank Bellamy for the Daily Mirror 18.10.72 and 10.11.72. Indian ink on board. 21 x 17 ins (x2)
That's the description for these two strips in Lot #103 (see top of article for the image). Please click on these images and view them in detail. Bellamy's gorgeous linework is sublime. And for those who want to know it's a torch and an electro-gun he's holding in that first strip! Notice those famous Bellamy swirls which add tone in a light-handed way. In the second strip he creates a bubble of light.
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| Garth: The Women of Galba: G22 and G26 |
GARTH: The Women of Galba The Beast of Ultor - 2 episodes: G22 and G26
Garth: 'The Beast of Ultor' [sic] two original artworks (1973) by Frank Bellamy for the Daily Mirror 25/30 January 1973. Indian ink on board. 21 x 17 ins (x2)
These two strips are actually not from "The Beast of Ultor", but from "The Women of Galba" story. I'll let Malcolm know so this may change before you see it. Nevertheless they are lovely drawings. Look at the third panel in G22 and how Bellamy uses diagonals and cuts them off, to show a background of some sort.
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| Garth: The Wreckers G280 and G283 |
GARTH: The Wreckers - 2 episodes: G280 and G283
The third lot (#107) has two strips from "The Wreckers". I've always wondered who Bellamy used as a model for his version of Andromeda, a recurring character who meets and helps (and loves) Garth in his time-travelling adventures. Malcolm's brief description:
Garth: 'The Wreckers' two original artworks (1973) by Frank Bellamy (both signed) 24/28 Nov 1973. Indian ink on board. 21 x 17 (x2)
These two strips have some usual Bellamy devices: beautiful woman, the sweeping thrust of an arm, the frame behind Garth and Andromeda in G283 (the middle panel).
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| Garth: The Bride of Jenghiz Khan H245 and H250 |
GARTH: The Bride of Jenghiz Khan 2 episodes: H245 and H250
These two strips come from "The Bride of Jenghiz Khan" story (Lot #110) are described:
Garth: 'The Bride of Jenghiz Khan (1974) two original artworks by Frank Bellamy (both signed) 18/24 Oct 1974. Indian ink on board. 21 x 17 ins (x2)
If you want information on reprints of the strips travel to the menu on the website "Garth Reprints" and I'll add these to the spreadsheet, where I record sales of original art by Frank Bellamy.
Lastly I NEVER ask for money for the website or blog but gifts are very much appreciated, check out the Mike Noble Fireball XL5 - I suspect it might sell for the higher end of the reserve! And also there are lots of Eagle comics which have Bellamy artwork - but I have those!
AUCTION SUMMARY
GARTH: People of the Abyss - 2 episodes: F246 and F266
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom -Lot #103
STARTING BID: £450 reserve
ENDING PRICE: £450
END DATE: Sunday 6 June 2021
GARTH: The Women of Galba The Beast of Ultor - 2 epsiodes: G22 and G26
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom -Lot #105
STARTING BID: £450 reserve
ENDING PRICE: £920
END DATE: Sunday 6 June 2021
GARTH: The Wreckers - 2 episodes: G280 and G283
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom -Lot #107
STARTING BID: £450 reserve
ENDING PRICE: £520
END DATE: Sunday 6 June 2021
GARTH: The Bride of Jenghiz Khan 2 episodes: H245 and H250
WHERE?: Compal/Saleroom -Lot #110
STARTING BID: £450 reserve
ENDING PRICE: £840
END DATE: Sunday 6 June 2021
UNKNOWN BELLAMY #9: COMIC STRIP
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| Used by permission of Alan Davis |
Thanks to Alan Davis for permission to use the above image. as he states on his website:
I was simply one of the guys lucky enough to help Nancy Bellamy clear Frank's studio when she was moving home. AND enough of a fanboy to ask if I could keep the rubbish.
Compared to new images recorded and created in our digital age none of the source material I have is good, some is very poor but I believe it offers a unique and valuable insight to any true Frank Bellamy fan.
Thanks to Nancy Bellamy for giving me the two bags of studio debris, permission to use it here and for her time in relating anecdotes and tales of Frank's life and career.
I have no information to provide for this unknown piece. It's done in a comic strip form, yet there is space for a libretto text beneath the first row - but as with all this material I am arguing from silence! We have to use what we have, to see if we can move this further.
I have no correspondence that fits this strip and can only guess it's from later in Bellamy's career. The structure of the panels is lovely and clear - but note they do seem to sit on top of each other with that space between the rows. Perhaps a newspaper article might have some text between them? Is this reportage of a kidnapping incident? We had the IRA bombings, Bader-Meinhof Red Army incidents in the 70s - when I think this was drawn. Could it be one of these?
Alan kindly let me scan the photos he recovered - which I'll show in later blog articles - here's a scan I have converted from TIFF to JPG - perhaps this might give another view of Alan's photo?
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| Used by permission of Alan Davis - version 2 |
Bellamy did "try-outs" for newspaper strips before landing "Garth" for the Daily Mirror. I have seen copies of "Modesty Blaise", "The Saint", "Wes Slade", and earlier, "Antony Falloway" Could this be the opening of a character's strip before the lead enters the scene? Which strips in the late 60s-early 70s were of the secret agent / political thriller type?
Let me know your thoughts!
NEXT: Unknown Bellamy # 12 - that astronaut picture
Tony Smith, appears in the Frank Bellamy Checklist as he interviewed Frank Bellamy, shortly before Frank died and also published various articles in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. His articles helped keep Frank's name in the limelight - just search for his name on the Articles on Frank page.
Anyway he was inspired by the start of the new series I'm doing based around Alan Davis' findings amongst Frank's studio 'detritus'! I'm so glad the series has prompted such a response. Tony sent me three images by Frank I have never seen before and with Tony's permission I present them here. As Tony explained they are all behind glass and therefore not the best representations of the master's work! But I'm more than happy to spread the love!
Tony added that the middle one is, according to Nancy Bellamy herself, Frank's drawing of her!
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| Nancy Bellamy kneeling |
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| Used by permission of Alan Davis |
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| Used by permission of Alan Davis |
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| Used by permission of Alan Davis |
Alan Davis (in his Unknown Bellamy section of his website) shows three images next to each other (numbers 6-8 as I have labelled them here). I can reveal they are actually advertising for a cine-camera as you might guess.
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| Movie Maker June 1967 cover |
Movie Maker - note the two separate words (unlike MovieMaker in the USA) was a magazine that began as a new title in March 1967 (and ran till October 1985) and was published by Fountain Press Limited, publishers of many books on photography too. I confess I have only ever seen the one I own - June 1967 - and you know why I have that issue in particular! The cover shows a woman - hardly visible, ironically - behind a film projector and the magazine cost 3/6d.
The title began life through the incorporation of Amateur Cine World, 8mm Movie Maker and Cine Camera. The British Library states it also incorporated Film Making as well, but that's not in the one I own, and they say its later title was Making Better Movies. This glossy black and white magazine is 28 x 20.5cm and was published on the second Thursday of the month "preceding the month for which it is dated"- well, in June 1967 anyway! The Editor was Tony Rose, the Assistant Editor Alan Cleave and the Art Editor Anthony-Brian Grant. The Advertising Manager was John Patrick. It contains loads of advertising but also "How-to-do-it" features, Special Features, News and Reviews- one of which is by Denis Gifford: "Films to Buy"! Gifford commissioned Frank Bellamy for his comic Ally Sloper, which became Bellamy's last comic strip ever in 1976, so is too far-fetched to assume he put a word in for Bellamy? Or maybe it all went through an agency and is just coincidence!
Anyway our focus today is on Bell and Howell's "The Optronic Eye: Report on the Bell and Howell Optronic Eye Super 8 camera in action" which appears over three right-hand pages (which any advertising person will tell you costs more than any left-hand page) - p309, 311, 313.
The first thing I notice in Alan Davis' rescued Polaroid (see top of article) is the lettering is surprisingly not by Frank Bellamy but added later. However it seems obvious Bellamy left space in the designs for boxes containing text.
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| Movie Maker June 1967 p.309 |
The first page introduces us to this simpler Super 8 camera with cartridge loading capability. I felt the way the guy is holding the device in the first panel looked awkward but this is demonstrated properly by the lady on the instruction manual below
The script is a bit stilted in order to show off all the features and our protagonist uses phrases like ""I don't tolerate mistakes, I gritted" and ""Nix", I grunted"!
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| Movie Maker June 1967 p.311 |
The second page ignores "Uncle Arthur" and moves to the father of the bride who obviously knows how to do it properly but is outdated. I'd love to know who the model for this was, as he looks like a politician to me, but I suspect he can't be. The last panel is empty of text.
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| Movie Maker June 1967 p.313 |
The last page has Bell and Howell's technical sheet for three versions of the camera at £49.19.0, £79.15.0 and lastly £125.0.0 The advert states the camera was developed as a result of "cooperation with official U.S. Government Moon-shot experiments" - whatever that means. The Bell & Howell Research Center in Pasadena certainly looked at spectroscopy at this time. I like the line on this page that seems to thing we are, I presume, secret agents: "Further Classified Information: All agents to memorise"!
Unfortunately, despite having access to the Bellamy's financial accounts for the period (for which I'm ever grateful to Nancy Bellamy) I can't find anything attributed to the brand or any agency that can be identified.
So we can tick off those three images now!
NEXT: Unknown Bellamy # 9 - that comic strip.
FRANK BELLAMY "Unknown artworks"
Alan Davis (does he need an introduction?) has given me permission to reproduce some of the Bellamy artwork on his website, thus making it a lot easier to discuss individual pieces and see if anyone out there can help identify what they are? Yes, it's been 45 years since Frank Bellamy left us but anyone following this blog will know we have found a lot, we knew nothing about previously. Alan has other images that are worth discussing but for now we'll get started on identifying these pieces.
INTRODUCTION
So if we use Alan's Unknown page as our starting point, I've given each image a number to help remember what we will have covered and help me keep clear in my own mind which image I'm talking about, as they have no titles. I shall blog each different image as separate entries to make it easier to update as we go.
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| Alan Davis' Unknown Frank Bellamy work |
There are 18 images, and we now know what several of them are:
Have you got any thoughts on these? I'd love to see what you think? My next article will cover these in as much detail as I can round up.
I loved Crikey! the fanzine Glenn B. Fleming and Tony Ingram and many others kept going for 16 issues from 2007 to 2010! I had them all before giving them to someone else. It was a labour of love and made me laugh out loud sometimes. The writing was spot on for a fan publication - affection, jocularity and serious research. Therefore most of its mistakes could be forgiven. Glenn wrote a 5 page article in Crikey!, Issue 1, (2007) on "My Comic Hero- Frank Bellamy" a personal view - fun and easy to read. I remember at the time thinking there were a few mistakes, but not enough to worry too much.
Now we have had 5 issues of Crikey!'s successor publication called Comics Unlimited (I've linked to Glenn as author as Amazon has no single page that I could find) and the latest has an article by Glenn about Frank Bellamy - he obviously loves Bellamy's work.
However quite a few errors and misunderstandings are in this article and I felt I must say something as these things get perpetuated all too easily. Having recently completed the writing on the soon-to-be-published Illustrators Special on Bellamy, I know how hard these things are, writing original material, ensuring factual accuracy, and making the article interesting. Once you write something you also seem to become the authority, whether you think you are or not.
I wrote to Glenn to talk to him about this and he kindly replied. I said I felt bad correcting his article in this way and he kindly said "The truth is the truth and doesn't care about feelings" and "I will have to fall on my sword and just say I got it wrong."
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| Comics Unlimited #5 2021 |
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| Page 13 of Comics Unlimited |
One last comment: There are 2 pages of Thunderbirds shown, and, although the captions do make clear they are faded, I think better versions of un-faded work might do Bellamy more credit. As Glenn says, I might not have appreciated why he showed the faded art, which I accept.
He then asked: "How were the other 92 pages??!!"
So before anyone starts thinking I'm an old curmudgeon (which might be the truth) I paid £10.50 for this issue (I also have #1). I enjoyed much of both issues and don't want you to be put off buying this great fan publication. Its square-bound with full colour throughout all 104 pages with glossy covers. I read all of it and I found some articles of not much interest; some fascinating; and most enjoyable. Some are about things I know already, and the different perspective was interesting, and some were about comics after I stopped following the Marvel and DC universes. To put such a thing together is incredible and I applaud such efforts.
Watch the video for a glimpse of how well presented Comics Unlimited is, and here's a list of the Contents that Glenn kindly sent me after I mentioned my thoughts.
