Prince Valiant, Vol. 44: Karak the Terrible

Prince Valiant (Paperback) #44

by Hal Foster

The greatest adventure epic since Beowulf continues in this perennial, full-color series.

Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, with its thrilling continuities of a noble knight in the days of King Arthur, began in newspapers in 1937 and continues to this day. There had been continuity strips, and even strong elements of adventure, before Hal Foster started drawing comic strips, but approximately 35 years after the birth of the artform, it was Foster who introduced illustrative techniques—and the sensibilities and standards of such illustrative greats as Howard Pyle—to the comics page. Realistic depictions and sophisticated compositions had been curiously absent before him. He is still considered, twenty years after his death, to be comics' supreme classicist.

Fantagraphics' deluxe, full-color library-quality editions of Prince Valiant were initially intended to end with 2000's Vol. 40, the final volume in which Foster was the chief architect of the strip's visual look. Due to overwhelming public demand, however, we are continuing the series, reprinting strips written and roughed-out by Foster and finished by Foster's prodigious assistant, John Cullen Murphy. Murphy, who had been quietly assisting Foster for several years, actively took over the bulk of the drawing chores in 1971 and immediately developed a fan following himself (although, for the most part, your average newspaper reader couldn't discern a difference between Foster and Cullen Murphy's styles).

Each volume of Prince Valiant features close to a year's worth of full-page Sunday strips, in an oversized format showcasing the strip's spectacular artwork.

Author Biography: Hal Foster (1892-1982) created Prince Valiant in 1937. Though remaining involved with the strip until his death in 1982, Foster handed the bulk of the scripting and art chores over to his longtime assistant, John Cullen Murphy, in 1971. John Cullen Murphy, a six-time recipient of the National Cartoonists Society's "Best Story Strip" for his work on Prince Valiant, continues to draw the strip from his home in Connecticut, while his son, Cullen Murphy, writes the strip in between serving as the Managing Editor for The Atlantic.

Genres: Comics

46 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2002

About the author

Harold Foster, also credited as Hal Foster, was a comic book artist best know for Prince Valiant.

Reviews

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't get the people who complain that PRINCE VALIANT became trash when John Cullen Murphy became the artist. For nine years Hal Foster plotted the feature, did the breakdowns, and early on scripted VAL with Murphy finishing the art, and Murphy was an artist of considerable skill. As best I can tell, the knuckleheads simply resent Murphy for not being Foster. OK, I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5, but all the Murphy hating is ridiculous.

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The incredible artwork of Hal Foster makes these a true treasure to read. Being able to go through a year's worth of the Sunday strips is fantastic. Awesome story and incredible art make these books get my highest recommendation.