InsaneJournal

A visit with Merlin
Some of these classic strips can't be over-praised. Hal Foster's PRINCE VALIANT is a good example, a perfect blend of great art and great storytelling. Imagine waking up Sunday morning to see this page in your newspaper. Here's an example from 1938.




At this point in the saga, Prince Valiant is still a youth, maybe in his late teens, trying to prove himself to Arthur by deeds of valor (while also tumbling headlong in love as youths do). Val has managed to escape from Dolorous Garde, where Morgan Le Fey (HER again!) is holding Sir Gawain. Merlin promises to free Gawain if he can obtain a personal possession prized by Morgan, and Val returns with her falcon. (I've seen hunting falcons up close and to be honest, stealing one in flight agaiinst its will would not occur to me. I'd bring Merlin one of Morgan's slippers or something..)

The art here really deserves taking a minute to study. Look at the way the drawbridge operates with a counterweight, or Morgan's snuggly lap robe (those castles were drafty). Details like that weren't strictly speaking necessary to the tale, but they help give PRINCE VALIANT a feeling of solidity. (Sorry the bottom tier is a big larger, but these pages are too big for my scanner to do in one go and I'm not sure how to align the two sections in size.)