Brian Kane, author of the
Companion and surely the world’s foremost authority on the strip and its creator, Hal Foster, has once again done a herculean amount of work, and Fantagraphics has once again clothed that work in a sturdy, pretty volume. Prince Valiant hasn’t been treated this well since the ersatz King of England sang his praises. Fantagraphics will continue to bring out deluxe volumes of
Prince Valiant reprints. I imagine this new
Definitive Companion will be open alongside them for years to come. (Khalid Ponte -
Open Letters )
In a year without a lot of good comics history books, this old-fashioned take on the
Prince Valiant strip stands out more than usual. (Tom Spurgeon -
The Comics Reporter )
Prince Valiant fans will find Fantagraphics'
The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion, filled with essays, appreciations and tons of great Hal Foster art, sheer indispensable pleasure. (Steven Grant -
Comic Book Resources )
The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion is the indispensable guide to the strip and a must have for its legions of fans new and old. No matter how long you’ve been a Prince Valiant fan…one year or seventy years, you’re certain to find this book informative and entertaining. Fantagraphics has produced another spectacular book! Grade: A. (Tim Janson -
The Gouverneur Times )
Elegantly presented, perceptively written, what emerges from Kane’s book is as intimate a portrait as we are likely to get of this humble, humorous and hard-working man, who transformed one page every week of the comic section into stirring American illustration and adventure fiction for millions of readers, whether Kings or commoners. (Paul Gravett, author of
Graphic Novels and
Manga: sixty Years of Japanese Comics )
Reader ReviewsThe Definitive Prince Valiant Companion (DPVC) is an essential volume for the Hal Foster or Prince Valiant fan, comic strip collector, pop culture historian, or anyone who just loves great stories and art. Prince Valiant, published continuously since 1937 as a Sunday comic strip, has long been considered one of the definitive adventure-based newspaper comic strips (rivaled, possibly, only by Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon). It's founder (writer and artist) Hal Foster, ranks with Raymond, Herriman, McCay, Segar, and a handful of other creators, as the all-time giants of the art form. Foster hand-picked his successor, John Cullen Murphy, who continued the tradition after Foster's retirement (and is probably the most under-rated and under-appreciated comic strip artists in the history of the medium). Think about this...for nearly sixty years, Prince Valiant was drawn by these two artists (with only a handful of try-out pages by Gray Morrow and Wally Wood included in the run). Recently, Mark Schultz (writer) and Gary Gianni (artist) have assumed the mantle of continuing the Valiant tradition. Brian Kane, "THE" expert on all things Hal Foster and Prince Valiant, has put together what is truly the definitive study of this seminal comic strip. Well written and lavishly illustrated, this is a beautiful tome which nicely complements Kane's prior book, "Hal Foster: Prince Of Illustrators". If it's Prince Valiant related, it's included in this book: story arc identification and summaries; important events and developments in Val's life; commentary on story arcs, individual strips, and more, including identification of continuity issues; artist identification and listing for each page; Foster and Murphy art reprints, many in vivid color; new PV art by current comic artists; short bios and career retrospectives of Foster and Murphy (Brian, if you're looking for your next project, I'd love to see a full-treatment biography of John Cullen Murphy, who certainly deserves it); and much more. The short take: If you have any interest at all in Prince Valiant, Hal Foster, John Cullen Murphy, or adventure comic strips, don't let this volume pass you by.
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