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).

Karran

NEXT: Karran's Story

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).

The Shield of Boudicca Reveals Its Secret

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Prince Valiant, his son Galan, and Yuan Chen have journeyed into the Fens in search of the tomb and treasure of Boudicca. They have the ancient warrior queen's shield and a long-passed down rhyme: "When lying flat on Turtle Knoll, with head turned toward the sea, a tiny hole will yield the goal: my treasure trove and me."

Now atop Turtle Knoll, the trio make a startling discovery.


Art: John Cullen Murphy (page 2818, 1991).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald newspaper (Sydney, Australia), 1993; from the collection of Michael J. Bayly.

Loft Lodgings

Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from page 2150, April 23, 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. 48): Return to Camelot, comprising pages, or installments, 2124 (October 23, 1977) through 2167 (August 20, 1978). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

Talking Strategy

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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.

NEXT: The Relief 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).

The Water Clock

Returning to the Misty Isles from their adventures in India, Galan and Yuan Chen encounter Prince Valiant in the Dalmatian city of Salonae, where something very special of Yuan Chen's is stored in a dusty warehouse . . .

Click on image for a larger view.

Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2415, May 22, 1983).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

"The Ring, the Ring!"

Galan, son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta, has been successful in his quest for Emperor Harsha's missing sacred ring. But will he make it back to Ujjain in time to save his friend and teacher Yuan Chen who, accused of stealing the ring, faces execution?

Click on image for a larger view.

See also the previous posts:
• Parting Words
• Accusation
• Ujjain
• The Jains
• Yuan Chen




Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2383, October 10, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Parting Words

Accused of stealing Emperor Harsha's sacred ring, Galan and Yuan Chen are brought before the emperor and his daughter, Princess Mayana . . .

NEXT: "The Ring, the Ring!"

See also the previous posts:
• Accusation
• Ujjain
• The Jains
• Yuan Chen




Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2377, August 9, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Accusation

The adventures of Galan, second son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta, continue in India . . .

NEXT: Parting Words

See also the previous posts:
• Ujjain
• The Jains
• Yuan Chen




Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2374, August 8, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

Ujjain

After a long and arduous journey eastwards from the Misty Isles, Galan arrives at the great city of Ujjain – 'Pearl of India,' home of Princess Mayana, and a renowned center of learning.

Galan, the second son of Prince Valiant and Queen Aleta, has traveled to Ujjain with the Chinese scholar Yuan Chen.

NEXT: Accusation

See also the previous posts:
• The Jains
• Yuan Chen




Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2373, August 1, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

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 Jains

Prince Valiant's son Galan has journeyed to India with the Chinese scholar Yuan Chen.

Above is a detail of the opening panel of installment #2372 (July 25, 1982). The text that accompanies this panel reads:

Galan and Yuan Chen cross the Indus River into India. India! Not since Rome has there been an empire so vast, so rich, so civilized, so busy. The university at Benares is among the greatest in the world. Yuan Chen spies a sect of Jains.

"I have heard of these men," he says delightedly, scribbling in his book. "They live a frugal and holy life. We shall pass the night with them."

NEXT: Ujjain

Art: John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2372, July 25, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).

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.

Galan to the Rescue

As his father and Sir Launcelot engage a troop of King Claudas' horsemen, young Galan sees one of the king ruffians approaching his mother, Queen Aleta, and sisters, Karen and Valeta, hidden in the nearby woods. Prince Valiant hears his wife scream, yet even as he sets spurs to his mount he knows he cannot reach the danger in time. It is Galan who charges to the rescue.


Art: Hal Foster and John Cullen Murphy (from installment #2153, May 15, 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. 48): Return to Camelot, comprising pages, or installments, 2124 (October 23, 1977) through 2167 (August 20, 1978). Fantagraphics Books, 2003.

The Relief of Camelot

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Returned from his banishment, King Arthur's half-brother Mordred has raised an army and laid siege to Camelot. A curious band of allies led by Rory Mor, High King of Hibernia, and including the corsair Salam Fulda and Prince Valiant's young son Galan and father Aguar of Thule, land in Britain to lift the siege (above).

Aided by Prince Valiant and the knights of the Round Table (below), who for the past three months have been holed up in Arthur's citadel, Rory Mor and his allies rout Mordred's army and bring relief to the besieged Camelot.

And Mordred? He eludes capture and attempts to flee Britain by boat. Learning of his escape plan, Prince Valiant's eldest son Arn does what he can to bring Mordred to justice. Both men, however, end up adrift at sea. While Mordred is seemingly lost to the waves, Arn is washed up on the shores of an "isle beyond the north wind." Here he meets the woman who will forever change his life.

NEXT: Mordred Flees

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

Yuan Chen

Art: John Cullen Murphy (installment #2367, June 20, 1982).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: Prince Valiant, Book Two (Kings Features Syndicate, 1986).