Thursday, April 14, 2011

Prince Valiant Vol. 2: 1939-1940

Volume 2 of the new Fantagraphics series begins with Val battling the Vikings to win back his father's kingdom. It's a real smackdown, but once over, peace ensues, and Val is soon bored. In search of adventure, he heads for Europe, where the rest of this volume takes place.

Foster weaves a lot of real history into these stories. While rescuing peasants and villagers from the onslaught of the Huns, Val and his friends unknowingly assist in the founding of Venice. On a visit to Rome, they witness the assassination of Rome's last great general (and are blamed for it), then witness the retaliatory assassination of the last Emperor, Valentinian (and are blamed for that too).

Amazing as the artwork in Volume 1 was, it just keeps getting better. I would love to see some of this original art. Anyone know a museum with pages on display?





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7 comments:

  1. Cap'n BobApril 13, 2011 at 10:35 PM

    When I see this and think of the garbage most strips are these days I could scream.

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  2. David CranmerApril 14, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    I always appreciated the art in this series.

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  3. AnonymousApril 14, 2011 at 8:01 AM

    It's obvious I have to get these from the library. You're right, the artwork is stunning. I'm not familiar with anyplace that has a collection of the originals.

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  4. Charles GramlichApril 14, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    Just love this art/

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  5. GeorgeApril 14, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    I love the detail in these pictures! Like Cap'n Bob, I groan whenever I see how far we've fallen from the classic strips. The quality just isn't there.

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  6. Oscar CaseApril 14, 2011 at 3:13 PM

    Prince Valiant storis were interesting and well drawn.

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  7. Nik MortonApril 16, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    I was pleased to get many of these the first time Fantagraphics brought them out. Superb art and colour. I still like his Tarzan series too, and have his 1931-35 adventures published by NBM. Treasured possessions.

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