Ship's Master

Prince Valiant's longtime friend Gundar Harl has been summoned to Camelot from Thule to serve as ship's master on a voyage to find the lost colony of Thule.

Years earlier, Val's father, King Aguar of Thule, had sent forty families to colonize the newly found lands west of Greenland. Yet no one has heard from them in years, and now King Godfred of the Danes wants the lands for himself.


Art: John Cullen Murphy (February 1990).
Text: Cullen Murphy.
Source: The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); from the collection of Michael J. Bayly (1993).


See also the previous posts:
• Gundar's Story
• Friends on the High Seas
• The Whirlpool

The Whirlpool

NEXT: A Miraculous Grounding

See also the previous posts:
• Bound for the Misty Isles
• Sea of Myths


Art: Thomas Yeates (from page 4012, December 28, 2013).
Text: Mark Schultz.
Source: TimesUnion.com.

Gundar's Story

"Our cargo of ivory was valuable," continues Gundar.
"We were attacked and in the fight I lost my hand and the captain was killed."

Art and text: Hal Foster (from installment #361, January 9, 1944).
Source: Prince Valiant (Vol. 4): 1943-1944 – Hal Foster (Fantagraphics Books, 2011).

Something Very Special . . .

To mark the February 13 75th anniversary of Prince Valiant, the team currently producing the strip – artist Gary Gianni and writer Mark Schultz – have created something very special . . .

Yes, it's this weekend's installment, page #3914, of the ongoing adventures of Valiant, Prince of Thule and Knight of the Round Table; a page that in harkening back to a surreal adventure experienced by Valiant in his youth, provides a wonderful opportunity for Gianni and Schultz to not only convey the strip's key values of adventure, camaraderie, family and hope, but also highlight and celebrate many of the characters that have appeared throughout Prince Valiant's 75-year history and helped make it one of the most beloved and enduring 'comic' strips of all time.

Be sure to click on the image above for a larger view!

These highlighted characters include Valiant's wife Aleta, eldest son Arn, twin daughters Karen and Valeta, second son Galan, father King Aguar of Thule, good King Arthur of Camelot, Sir Gawain, Sir Tristram, Horrit of the Fens, Boltar, Tillicum, Geoffrey, Gundar Harl, Angor Wrack, Makeda, Sir Lancelot and Prince Arn of Ord.

And if you look carefully you'll see standing with the wizard Merlin none other than Hal Foster (1892-1982), the creator of Prince Valiant, and his successor John Cullen Murphy (1919-2004), who drew the strip for over 30 years before passing it on to Gianni in 2004.

Without doubt, Gianni and Schultz's 75th anniversary page is a beautiful and fitting tribute to Prince Valiant, the greatest work ever produced in the comic art medium.


See also the previous post:
• Prince Valiant Celebrates 75th Anniversary

Recommended Off-site Links:
• Happy 75th Birthday, Prince Valiant! – Tyler Tichelaar (Children of Arthur, February 1, 2012).
• Supporting Cast: Happy Wedding Anniversary, Aleta and Val – DailyInk.com (February 10, 2012).

Friends On the High Seas

Prince Valiant and Captain Gundar Harl – friends who have traveled to far distant shores (including the Americas) and experienced many adventures together.


Art: Hal Foster (1948).
Source: From one of the Prince Valiant comic books my father collected in 1954-55 and which were published and distributed by Associated Newspaper Ltd. of 60-70 Elizabeth Street, Sydney.