Prince Valiant in Philadelphia

My friend John sent me the above installment of the Mother Goose and Grimm comic strip from yesterday's edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

As you can see, it features the Prince of Thule and the Queen of the Misty Isles . . . in Philadelphia, no less!

As the strip humorously notes, the National Cartoonists Society recently met in Philadelphia. According to the Society's official website . . .

The National Cartoonists Society is the world's largest and most prestigious organization of professional cartoonists. It was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops. They found that they enjoyed each other's company and decided to get together on a regular basis.

Today, the NCS membership roster includes over 500 of the world's major cartoonists, working in many branches of the profession, including newspaper comic strips and panels, comic books, editorial cartoons, animation, gag cartoons, greeting cards, advertising, magazine and book illustration and more.

Membership is limited to established professional cartoonists, with a few exceptions of outstanding persons in affiliated fields. The NCS is not a guild or union, although we have joined forces from time to time to fight for member's rights, and we regularly use our talents to help worthwhile causes.

The NCS's Reuben Award (determined by secret ballot) is presented annually to the Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. The 2017 Reuben recipient, named at this year's event in Philadelphia, is Glen Keane.

Hal Foster, creator of Prince Valiant, won the Reuben in 1957. He would go on to win the NCS's Story Comic Strip Award in 1964 and the Special Features Award in 1966 and 1967, all for Prince Valiant.

Foster's successor, John Cullen Murphy, was honored with the NCS's Story Comic Strip Award in 1971 and again for Prince Valiant in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1984 and 1987. He also received the NCS's Elzie Segar Award in 1983.

Mike Peters, creator of Mother Goose and Grimm, won the Reuben in 1991.