Tuesday, December 30, 2014

At the Ready



Art and text: Hal Foster (from page 630, March 6, 1949).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 7): 1949-1950 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2013).

Friday, December 12, 2014

Mistress of the Hounds


In the aftermath of the relief of Camelot, Prince Arn, eldest son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta, finds himself shipwrecked on an "isle beyond the north wind."

Here he encounters Maeve, Mistress of the Hounds. He is instantly smitten.




Art: John Cullen Murphy (August 1981).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), November 27, 1983; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Thomas Yeates: "My Biggest Thrill is Seeing the Prince Valiant Logo on My Drawings"

Prince Valiant illustrator Thomas Yeates was the subject of an October 31, 2014 Press Democrat article by Stephen D. Gross. Following with added images and links is an excerpt.

Prince Valiant came into [Tom Yeates'] life in 2011 at the ComicCon convention in San Diego, when a King Features representative approached Yeates about taking over the venerable comic strip. Its previous illustrator, Gary Gianni, had been hired to do illustrations for Game of Thrones. The first strip illustrated by Yeates appeared April 1, 2012.

“I was speechless” said Yeates. “It was like a dream come true.”

Prince Valiant is the longest continuous comic strip story in print, created by Hal Foster in 1937 and still appearing in more than 300 papers, including The Press Democrat. [NOTE: Actually, Prince Valiant is not the "longest continuous comic strip story in print." Dick Tracy (1931), The Phantom (1936), and, arguably, Gasoline Alley (1918) have been in print since their debuts without resorting to reprints.] It stars the distinctive prince and his kin, who are immersed in medieval Arthurian battles with sea serpents, shipwrecks, specters and sirens. And Yeates and his readers would have it no other way.

Valiant endures, he said, because of the ongoing action-packed story line and because the strip is visually well done and carefully crafted. To keep it fresh, Yeates keeps a watchful eye on movies and other people’s work.

Since 2004, the story line is written by Mark Schultz, who sends Yeates three or four stories at a time. He spends at least three days illustrating each strip with the high quality, complicated drawings in the strip’s characteristic style.

As Yeates juggles Valiant with all the other art projects in his airy studio overlooking the Russian River estuary, music is a constant companion. It follows him into his private life as a singer/songwriter.

Yeates performs locally with his band, the Jennerators, but nothing beats the national notoriety that comes from following in Foster’s footsteps.

“My biggest thrill,” said Yeates, “is seeing the Prince Valiant logo on my drawings.”

To read Stephen D. Gross' article "Tom Yeates' Princely Appointment" in its entirety, click here.




See also the previous posts:
Thomas Yeates: The New Illustrator of Prince Valiant
4000
Mark Schultz on Prince Valiant as an American Invention

Image 1: The Press Democrat.
Image 2: Thomas Yeates (from Prince Valiant, page 4050, September 21, 2014).
Image 3: Thomas Yeates (from Prince Valiant, page 4057, November 9, 2014).

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Like a Deadly Scythe


Click on image for a larger view.


Art and text: Hal Foster (from page 655, August 28, 1949).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 7): 1949-1950 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2013).

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Mordred Flees


Click on any image for a larger view.










See also the previous posts:
The Banishment of Mordred
The Return of Mordred
"Camelot, You Are Mine!"
Talking Strategy
The Relief of Camelot

Art: John Cullen Murphy (August 1981).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), November 20, 1983; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Polyphemus' Fall



Journeying from Camelot to the Misty Isles, Prince Valiant and his family are shipwrecked on an island seemingly inhabited by the sirens of Greek legend.

As Aleta is menaced by the scylla, her husband battles the sirens' protector, Polyphemus. Their battle ends with the giant stumbling down a sea cliff, a fall which miraculously aids Aleta.








Art: Thomas Yeates (from page 4023, March 15, 2014).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Comics Kingdom.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Friday, September 5, 2014

The Vampire


"The girl backs away slowly, the sweet innocence fades from her face and the somber eyes glow with a mad hate. 'A vampire!' whispers Gawain."


Art and text: Hal Foster (from page 282, July 5, 1942).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 3): 1941-1942 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Talking Strategy


Click on image for a larger view!

Galan, son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta, has brought together his grandfather, King Aguar of Thule; Rory Mor, high king of Hibernia; and the corsair chieftain Salam Fulda to lift Mordred's siege of Camelot.




See also the previous posts:
The Banishment of Mordred
The Return of Mordred
"Camelot, You Are Mine!"

Art: John Cullen Murphy (July 1981).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), November 6, 1983; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (1983).

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

"I Bid You Welcome"


As a captive of Thorwolf and his raiders, Prince Valiant is forced to serve as a beast of burden to a landing party on the desolate northern coast of Iberia. Here a crumbling watchtower is approached, from which a ghostly figure bids them welcome.




Art: Gary Gianni (from page 3607, March 26, 2006).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Prince Valiant: Far from Camelot – Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008).

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Sunday, July 20, 2014

"Camelot, You Are Mine!"





See also the previous posts:
The Banishment of Mordred
The Return of Mordred

Art: John Cullen Murphy (from page 2320, July 26, 1981).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (September 11, 1983).

Friday, July 18, 2014

The Haunted Staircase


. . . and shadows that seem to writhe
with a life of their own.


Art: Gary Gianni (from page 3616, May 28, 2006).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Prince Valiant: Far from Camelot – Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008).

Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Scylla

While her husband confronts the hulking Polyphemus, Aleta finds herself facing a potentially fatal ordeal of her own . . .


Click on image for a larger view!




See also the previous posts:
Sea of Myths
The Whirlpool
A Miraculous Grounding
The Siren's Call
Calypso
Polyphemus
No Desire to Engage

Art: Thomas Yeates (from page 4020, February 23, 2014).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Comics Kingdom.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Olive Branch



NOTE: For Prince Valiant's adventures on the Isle of Sloth,
click here and here.







Art: John Cullen Murphy (page #2418, June 12, 1983).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Old Friends


Prince Valiant and Sir Gawain as drawn by John Cullen Murphy.


Art: John Cullen Murphy (from page #2618, April 12, 1987).
Source: The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (1990).

Sunday, May 18, 2014

No Pageantry


Art: Gary Gianni (from page 3643, December 3, 2006).
Text: Mark Shultz.
Source: Prince Valiant: Far from Camelot – Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008).

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Riding to a Friend's Defense


Art and text: Hal Foster (from page 1361, March 10, 1963).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 30): Arn, Son of Valiant, comprising pages 1327 (July 15, 1962) through 1372 (May 26, 1963). (Fantagraphics Books, 1987).

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Ladies of the Court


The Lady Maud (left) and Queen Aleta of the Misty Isles watch a tournament at Camelot.


Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from page 2127, July 2, 1978).
Text: Hal Foster.
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 48): Return to Camelot, comprising pages, or installments, 2124 (October 23, 1977) through 2167 (August 20, 1978). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Far from Beaten



NEXT: Thwarted


See also the previous posts:
Releasing the Djinn
Neshem's Proposal

Art: Gary Gianni (from page 3702, January 20, 2008).
Text: Mark Shultz.
Source: Prince Valiant: Far from Camelot – Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008).