No knights who say “Ni,” neither
Prince Valiant, 8/8/04
Click here to view the full-sized comic in a new window.
I made a cheap shot last week when I cited Prince Valiant in an entry about the comics and “failed” classicists (though as a failed classicist myself, it was largely meant to be self-deprecating). As a well-informed but anonymous reader pointed out, the storylines for Prince Valiant are written by John Cullen Murphy, a medieval history major in college and current managing editor for the Atlantic, the hem of which publication’s robes I am not worthy to touch. Prince Valiant is in fact one of my great, non-ironic pleasures in the comics. Back when I was in grad school, in the waning days of the Clinton administration, my specialty was in what was then trendily called “the Late Antique” (no doubt it has a different name now), which covers very broadly the period from about the third century A.D. to about the seventh. It’s later than the Ancient Rome of I, Claudius, and it’s earlier than the knights-in-armor-and-damsels-in-distress middle ages; and so, while burdened with the dire poverty, grinding workload, and blighted social life that afflict all graduate students, I also had the additional problem of describing to normal human beings what the hell it was I actually studied.
Now I wish that I had been familiar with Prince Valiant then, because if I had, I just could have said, airily, “Oh, you know, it’s the stuff that happens in Prince Valiant.” In a country where anything that happened before World War II is generally considered ancient history, in the comics pages every Sunday we have a strip dedicated to goings-on sometime in the middle of the 500s A.D. While of course the characters’ adventures happen more or less outside the realm of real history, in my several years of following it I’ve yet to spot any real historical goofs.
One thing I’ve noted over time is the absence of any references to the magic and wizardry that most people associate with the time of King Arthur. In addition, although the characters live in a world that is obviously Christian (Galan is seeking the Holy Grail, after all, and has met with the Pope on his quest), that aspect is significantly underplayed. The current action features a hermit on the spot where Moses supposedly received the Ten Commandments reading from an unnamed “sacred book.” He tells the story of the Assyrian seige of Jerusalem from 2 Kings 18-19 — except that where the Old Testament has the Assyrian army struck down by an angel of God, our hermit attributes the victory to the King of Judah’s ingenuity in blocking up a spring. One imagines that the people who are up in arms about creeping secular humanism in the funnies are shooting off angry letters to the editor about this comic (written by a major player in the East Coast liberal media elite, no less!). Personally, I’m just glad to have a counterweight to Johnny Hart.
Of course, Prince Valiant is beautifully drawn, too. It’s impossible to find current strips online, though, which is why I haven’t commented on it earlier. I ended up scanning this one from the paper myself, cutting it up and reassembling in with image editing software, which was a big pain in the ass. So I insist rather forcefully that you click on the link to the full-sized comic above and appreciate the artwork, particularly in the dark and moody middle panel.
Anonymous
January 18th, 2005 at 3:25 am
I have admire your unselfishness in taking the time to make this web site.
Alex
January 25th, 2005 at 9:15 pm
Gary Gianni, the current artist of Prince Valiant, is one of the more talented illustrators working today. Aside from doing outstanding comic book work here and there (Check out his “Monstermen” if you can), he paints absolutely gorgeous plates for the new editions of Robert E. Howard collections (Conan, Bran Mak Morn, and Solomon Kane so far). He’s amazing. I saw him give a lecture once, and the amount of time and energy and research that go into his pieces is mind-blowing.
Mad props to Gary Gianni, yo.
Also, I have a man crush on you because you hate CATHY.
-alex
Mike
February 4th, 2005 at 7:59 pm
Just found this blog, referred from The Norm. Wow. I’m blown away. How many of us can there be left, who religiously follow PV?
I gave up trying to find the current PV on the web, and just accept that I have to live two weeks behind the times. Except, of course, when I find the rare paper that still carries it. For a while, up until a year or so ago (maybe two?), there was a site that had the up-to-date comic, but then King Features became the only outlet and we’re stuck with reading it two weeks behind.
Have been reading PV since the 50’s. My mom used to tell me about reading it years before then. Before Algore invented the Internet, though, many years went by when I couldn’t follow the strip. Moving every couple years in the military allowed me to follow it in some places, not in others.
Thanks for the info on Cullen Murphy. And special thanks to Alex above for the info about Gary Gianni. It’s wonderful to see the same style carried over, after all these years. I still haven’t gotten over the “updated” look they gave Sally Forth some, what–10? years ago.
I do wonder why Val & Aleta’s kids have aged at least twice as fast as Val & Aleta. I mean, Val’s got to be at least 80 by now, but looks and acts like he’s 50.
Interesting point…that PV has never had any of the magic associated with Merlin and Arthur. It would have been out of character, except for the various seers and strange beasts and beings that have cropped up in the one-day stories between adventures.
manfred
February 10th, 2005 at 9:18 pm
Prince Valient is the only comic that taught me the true meaning of life
tomas
April 28th, 2005 at 10:41 am
i will be 70 this sept. 2005 and was reading pv in the forties. this is by far the most beautifully illustrated comic strip ever. the story lines as well are truly an incentive to study history. it would be great if kids today could fall in love with this strip as so many have in the past. thanks for your website.
the Other michael
May 13th, 2005 at 8:25 am
The syndicate seems to have the previous month’s strips online, but it could never change and just be limited to April, 2005, seeing as I only found it yesterday.
The current writer is Mark Schultz. His best known work may be “Xenozoic Tales” (repackaged as “Cadillacs and Dinosaurs”) which is not all that far removed from the medieval fantasy world. Well, except for the lack of cars. And dinosaurs. Although I think I saw a pleisosaur in a PV, once, years ago….
Bookworm
May 23rd, 2005 at 10:39 pm
Actually, the Bible describes both the blocking up of the spring and the deliverance by the Angel of the Lord in 2 Chronicles 32.
Sherwood
June 3rd, 2005 at 5:22 am
No major historical inaccuracies? How ’bout them dinosaurs in the lake???
Kauri
December 17th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs/dragons that Prince Valiant was recently duped into fighting were in Loch Ness. ;-)
Re: magic in the strip, I seem to remember a story or two about enchanted islands of some sort or another that Val landed on during his journeys.
Now that the King Features site has seriously limited unpaid access to its comics, has anyone found an online newspaper site that has current Prince Valiant strips?
Marco Bijl
March 13th, 2006 at 10:29 am
For all those fans: take a look at http://www.princevaliant.net
I created it for fans like you!!
Enjoy!
Marco
Paul King
December 16th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Long live the PV comic strip! Great storylines, still untainted by modern morales. Magnificent teachings and magnificent artwork. Thank you to all who obviously work so hard to bring this treasure to us every Sunday!
-Buffalo, NY
Peter L Nelson
April 8th, 2009 at 5:00 am
I am almost 80 and read Price Valiant from its beginning. I believe I remember some magical episodes involving Merlin and the Lady in the Lake. I recently came across a book about old time comics that had the whole panel of an old man challenging Valiant to a wrestling match. The longer they wrestle, the older Valiant becomes. As a child, I didn’t completely understand that the old man was Death, but it really stuck in my memory. So much that, when I saw it again, I had a rush of emotion and clearly remembered reading it about 70 years before.
richard vandemark
January 10th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
I am 72 and have followed Prince Valiant for years but my Sunday Paper dropped it in mid adventure. Can you list some papers that still print it.