Beric served as the young Prince Valiant's faithful squire during Val's early days as knight of King Arthur's Round Table.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #318, March 14, 1943)
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Described as a "tender-hearted rouge" with a "scarred and bony face," the brave and resourceful Beric shared many adventures with Prince Valiant.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #370, March 12, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above and below: Beric is first introduced in installment # 291 (September 6, 1942), when he is shown riding out of Camelot with Prince Valiant, Sir Gawain, and Gawain's unnamed squire. Throughout the subsequent adventure that takes place in Scotland, Beric is simply identified as Prince Valiant's "faithful squire."
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #293, September 20, 1942).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 3): 1941-1942 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
We first learn of Beric's name in installment #301 (November 15, 1942), when it is noted that he is the first to greet Prince Valiant upon his return to Camelot (below).
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #301, November 15, 1942).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 3): 1941-1942 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above and below: On more than one occasion Beric saves Prince Valiant's life, including the time Val is trapped in an ice cave.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #368, February 27, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #322, April 11, 1943).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above and below: Not only do the two men share times of high adventure, but also times of loss and grief.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #334, July 4, 1943).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above: Being 10-15 years older than Val, Beric frequently serves as a voice of reason and calm for his often hot-headed young master.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment 343, September 5, 1943).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above: Together Val and Beric face many dangers.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #386, July 2, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above: Prince Valiant and Beric return once more to Camelot after sharing an adventure.
The text that accompanies this panels reads: "Camelot! Far across Winchester Heath its towers soar skyward and Val's heart swells with pride. For he is a part of its splendid tradition!"
Image and text: Hal Foster (from installment #380, May 21, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Image and text: Hal Foster (from installment #350, October 24, 1943).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
Above: The beginning of the last adventure . . .
Accompanying Prince Valiant on his quest to once again see Aleta, Queen of the Misty Isles, Beric does not hesitant to leap into the sea to save Val after he is struck by their ship's falling mast and cast adrift on the storm-tossed waves.
Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #392, August 13, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).
So, I happen to be reading Vol.4 right now (and just finished Vol.3 very recently), and I was indeed impressed with this neat sidekick-but-almost-mentor relationship we see develop between Val & Beric. I do wonder if Foster was influenced by other heroes of the time that had partner/sidekicks (Lone Ranger, of course, immediately comes to mind), or if it was simply a more reader-friendly way to approach telling these long stories. Val did an awful lot of wandering around on his own, and I do find that he's more interesting when he's got a companion to bounce his personality off of. Well, as long as it's a more subdued companion like Beric. As much as I love Gawain, he does tend to overwhelm the Prince's personality a goodly bit. . .
ReplyDeleteHB
Great thoughts and insights, HB! Thanks for sharing them, and I look forward to more!
ReplyDeletePeace,
Michael
Good Guh-rief!
ReplyDelete(SPOILER ALERT!!)
And then after all that, he gets killed???
Obviously, I hadn't gotten that far yet when I posted earlier. But geeze, I can't say I'm totally on board with how Foster does seem to very easily dispose of characters that we've become invested in. Look at Sir. . . Tristan, was it?. . . shortly before this sequence. A brief affair, and he's 86'ed. But poor Beric. . . saves a drowning, injured Val, drags him through an endless swamp, busts them both out of a foul dungeon, gets Val to the Misty Isles. . . and then is routinely killed in a fight on the shore. No last words, no nothing. For someone who tends to exhibit a pretty sentimental streak as Foster does, this is a rather callous dispatching of a strong supporting character.
It actually underscores what would be one of my few criticisms of the strip so far: the cheapness of life other than Val's. There's also an uncomfortable tendency for the heroic figures to kill or even execute others with a dismissive smile or joke. There's an underlying cold-bloodedness that's ever-so-slightly disturbing if it happens to catch your eye.
HB