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| Why Prince Valiant?
In 1980, I somehow got hold of the 4 Nostalgia Press hardback books and was simply stunned. Harold Foster's artwork quite frankly has become the basis for how I draw Wandering Ones (Though I'm not fit to shine his boots as artists go). His early works are filled not only with the wonderful scenery and figure drawing that has become legend, but also if you look closely, they're filled with nature and animal drawings that truly shine. The writing, always short, concise and witty had some of the wryest humor ever found in an adventure comic. Foster understood that people were not picking up the papers to read a novel. His brevity was the soul of wit. My favorite line in the whole series was Boltar the Viking saying to Val, Gawain, and Lanceleot, after coming close to having his neck stretched, " Now let us have a meal, for these scenes sharpen the appetite of a sensitive man..." Well, maybe you better read it yourself... I recently completed my collection of the Fantagraphics books reprints of the entire series, and I can't think of a more wonderful Christmas present each year when my Sweet Susie D. would order them from Bud Plant. The strip is currently in the hands of Foster's handpicked successor John Cullen Murphy who has been drawing the strip (unfortunately greatly reduced from a full newsprint page to a third page). Almost current pages run at King Features .
I now have a 2nd page up! Hope you like my fannish sample! -Clint |
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