“Long Live the King”

There can be great dignity in frailty, and the aging [King Arthur] stands before his people and announces that the time has come to relinquish the powers of the crown.

“When she reaches her maturity, my granddaughter Ingrid, child of Maeve and Arn, shall rule in Camelot as queen. Ingrid unites the blood of two great houses – the House of Thule and my own House of Pendragon. Until then, Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta of the Misty Isles shall act as a regency council. And I? I shall spend the time that is left tending my gardens and reading my books.”

Tears roll down a thousand faces, and a thousand voices cry as one: “Long live the King!”


Art: Gary Gianni (from page 3513, June 6, 2004).
Text: Mark Schultz.

See also the previous posts:
• Arthur Pendragon, High King of Britain
• An Audience with King Arthur and Queen Guinevere
• Arthur and Launcelot
• “The King Is But a Man”
• Mistress of the Hounds
• “I Dare You to Learn My Secret”
• The Ring
• Maeve, Woman of Mystery
• Prince Arn, Regent of Camelot

Permission

Art and text: Hal Foster (circa 1960).

Prince Arn, Regent of Camelot

Last week’s page saw the welcome return of Arn and his family to the Prince Valiant saga.

Prince Arn is the first-born of Prince Valiant of Thule and Queen Aleta of the Misty Isles. In his youth, Arn was smitten by Maeve, a woman of great mystery. In time it was revealed that Maeve was King Arthur’s niece, the daughter of his evil half-brother Mordred.

After many trials and tribulations, Arn and Maeve eventually married. They have a young daughter named Ingrid, whom Arthur decreed the heir to his throne.

When Arthur retired to a life of solitude and seclusion, he made Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta co-regents of his realm until Ingrid came of age. In time, however, Arthur realized that Prince Valiant was ill-suited for such a task. He therefore relieved Val and Aleta of their duties and made his niece and her spouse the co-regents of Camelot.

Page #4363 (September 20, 2020) of Prince Valiant shows Arn for the first time in a long time. It's been just as long since Maeve has made an appearance, and even longer for little Ingrid.

Of the five children of Val and Aleta, the three who have figured most prominently in the strip over the past decade are the youngest, Nathan, and the twins, Karen and Valeta. The one who has been seen the least is Galan, who for years has been studying medicine in far-off Jerusalem.

At long last [back in Britain], Val, Aleta and Nathan report their travels in the southern and eastern worlds to Camelot's regents, Arn and Maeve, and to Ingrid – the heir to Arthur's throne. As they are all family, separated for years, there is much exchange, and gossip well outside the bounds of official court business.


Art: Thomas Yeates (from page 4363, September 20, 2020).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Comics Kingdom.

See also the previous posts:
• Reunion
• A Sweet Reunion
• “We Are the Daughters of the Queen of the Misty Isles and the Prince of Thule”
• The Return of Karen and Valeta
• Marital Woes
• A Valiant First Effort, Wouldn't You Say?

Sir Launcelot’s Offer

Art and text: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from page 1781, March 28, 1971).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 18): 1971-1972 – Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (Fantagraphics Books, 2018).

The Ring

See also the previous posts:
• Rumours
• A Distant Memory
• The Forest
• Merlin Ambrosius

Art: John Cullen Murphy (circa 1983).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (circa 1985).

Karran's Story

NEXT: The Round Table

See also the previous post:
• Karran

Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (circa 1980). At this point in Prince Valiant's run, Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Foster since 1970, was well into his first decade of drawing the strip over Foster's writing and roughs.
Source: The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (circa 1981).

In the Tomb of Ch'in Shih Huang-Ti

Click on image for a larger view.

Two of Prince Valiant's children, Arn and Karen, have accompanied Giovanni (Vanni) to Cathay in search of his long-lost father. Unaware that Prince Valiant, Gawain, and Yuan Chen are also in Cathay, in search of the fabled Prester John, the three young people stumble upon the tomb of the great Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang-Ti, filled with thousands of full-sized terracotta soldiers and horses.


NEXT: A Sweet Reunion

Art: John Cullen Murphy (1989).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), 1992; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

A Sweet Reunion

In far-off Cathay Prince Valiant is reunited with his son Arn and his daughter Karen. He also meets for the first time Karen's love interest Vanni, son of the legendary Prester John.


Art: John Cullen Murphy (1991).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), 1993; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

"I Dare You to Learn My Secret"

NEXT: Maeve, Woman of Mystery

Art: John Cullen Murphy (from page #2334, November 1, 1981).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), 1984; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

See also the previous post:
• Mistress of the Hounds

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.

NEXT: "I Dare You to Learn My Secret"

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.

Mordred Flees

Click on any image for a larger view.

NEXT: Mistress of the Hounds

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.

Homecoming

Art and text: Hal Foster (from page 561, November 9, 1947).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 6): 1947-1948 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2013).

Maeve, Woman of Mystery

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.

But the mysterious Maeve has, she says, a terrible secret. Only if Arn can learn this secret and win his spurns as a knight of King Arthur's Round Table may he return to her island.

See also the previous posts:
• Mistress of the Hounds
• "I Dare You to Learn My Secret"

Art: John Cullen Murphy (from page #2479, August 12, 1984).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Tragedy

"Come! I'll race you to the lookout post," cries Lydia to her sweetheart Arn, eldest son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta.

"No! No!" yells Arn, "There is ice under the snow!" And even as he speaks, a crevasse opens and begins to widen . . .

Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from page 2179, November 12, 1978). At this point in Prince Valiant's run, John Cullen Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Hal Foster since 1970, was well into his first decade of drawing the strip over Foster's writing and roughs.
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 49): Road to Sorrow's End, comprising pages 2168 (August 27, 1978) through 2211 (June 24, 1979). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.


See also the previous posts:
• Sweethearts United
• Halcyon Days
• Lydia
• The Makings of a Queen?
• Prelude to Tragedy

Prelude to Tragedy

NEXT: Tragedy

See also the previous posts:
• Sweethearts United
• Halcyon Days
• Lydia
• The Makings of a Queen?

Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2178, November 5, 1978). At this point in Prince Valiant's run, John Cullen Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Hal Foster since 1970, was well into his first decade of drawing the strip over Foster's writing and roughs.
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 49): Road to Sorrow's End, comprising pages, or installments, 2168 (August 27, 1978) through 2211 (June 24, 1979). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

The Makings of a Queen?

Above: Prince Valiant's father King Aguar of Thule is aware that his grandson Prince Arn has fallen in love with the Viking maiden Lydia, daughter of the warrior-king Haakon. Since her mother's death long ago, Lydia has been raised among Haakon's rough and mannerless warriors. Aguar does not question Arn and Lydia's love for one another. But does Lydia have the makings of a queen, he wonders.


See also the previous posts:
• Sweethearts United
• Halcyon Days
• Lydia

Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2176, October 22, 1978). At this point in Prince Valiant's run, John Cullen Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Hal Foster since 1970, was well into his first decade of drawing the strip over Foster's writing and roughs.
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 49): Road to Sorrow's End, comprising pages, or installments, 2168 (August 27, 1978) through 2211 (June 24, 1979). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Murphy and Gianni Collaboration

Above: Panel three of installment #3401 (April 14, 2002) is an impressive example of artists John Cullen Murphy and Gary Gianni working together on Prince Valiant. The foreground figures of (from left) Arn, Galan, Prince Valiant and Sir Gawain are drawn by Murphy, while the detailed battle scene behind them is by Gianni.

In his 2008 book The Prince Valiant Page, Gianni writes the following about his collaboration with Murphy.

This arrangement wasn't permanent . . . and when the venerable master retired, he made it quite clear he no longer wanted anything to do with the strip. As of March 28, 2004 I was on my own.

"Don't send your finished pages to me," he directed. "Send them directly to King Features. I won't need to see them anymore."

"Wouldn't you care to draw a page occasionally, just to keep your hand in it?" I asked. The artist's response seemed all too brief, given the years he's invested in the enterprise.

"No . . . I'm done."

At that time, I did not know how ill he was.

Art: John Cullen Murphy and Gary Gianni (from installment #3401, April 14, 2002).
Source: The Prince Valiant Page – Gary Gianni (Flesk Publications, 2008).

The Banquet

As a member of a hunting party from Camelot, Prince Valiant has crossed half of Britain, from King Arthur's citadel to the monarch's estates on the eastern sea where Valiant's son Arn is the Royal Parker. They will pass the night in the warmth of Castle Orr, where a surprise awaits Prince Valiant . . .

Be sure to click on image for a larger view!

Art: John Cullen Murphy (installment #2446, December 25, 1983).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Reunion

After time away adventuring in Vikingsholm, young Prince Arn returns to Camelot and is reunited with his family. The text that accompanies this panel notes that Prince Valiant's "eyes are moist as he watches his family reunite with such evident affection." (Be sure to click on image for a larger view!)


Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2197, March 18, 1979). At this point in Prince Valiant's run, John Cullen Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Hal Foster since 1970, was well into his first decade of drawing the strip over Foster's writing and roughs.
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 49): Road to Sorrow's End, comprising pages, or installments, 2168 (August 27, 1978) through 2211 (June 24, 1979). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

As Wise a Mate As She is a Queen

Art: Gary Gianni (from installment #3537, November 21, 2004).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: Prince Valiant: Far from Camelot – Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008).