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BS: Prince Valiant comic strip
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Subject: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Songwronger Date: 05 Jan 12 - 11:57 PM Didn't see a mention of Prince Valiant in the search... For Christmas some family members pitched in and bought 4 books for a member who's 85 years old. He grew up reading the Prince Valiant comic strip and has always said it was his favorite. And then one of us stumbled across the books at the link below (this is not a sales pitch): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=prince+valiant So, four different households pitched in and bought the 4 books of comic strips. And they are extraordinary. I was able to browse a few of the pages over Christmas and the books are impressive. They're large (11x14 inches) and each page reproduces one of the Sunday pages of the comic. They're releasing the books in 2-year increments (first volume 1937-38, Vol 2 1939-40, and so on). Beautiful quality printing, binding, the whole works. They're releasing one volume every 6 months, and the next is due out in April, I think, maybe March. My uncle couldn't be happier. I think he's read through the books twice already, and we've promised to keep him supplied as other volumes are released. Just thought some of you might want to know about this. I expect some of you grew up reading the comic strip, and it's reproduced here, in chronological order, in beautiful editions. The "Look Inside" feature on Amazon gives you an idea what the books contain, but the quality is grainy. The paper editions are smooth, sharp and eye-popping. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Little Hawk Date: 06 Jan 12 - 12:31 AM Neato. "Prince Valiant" was a really cool comic with great art and adventure. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Jan 12 - 04:00 AM & still is! We had 2 strips last Sunday as the Sunday papers weren't published on Christmas day! Last year I saw one of the volumes in a local bookshop & nearly bought it, but it was too expensive & too big (imagine a shelf full of all the future volumes!) I don't have the room. I need a bigger place sandra |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: kendall Date: 06 Jan 12 - 08:35 AM Mad magazine did a spoof of this. They called it Prince Violent. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Jan 12 - 08:51 AM One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on my grandfather's lap reading the "Sunday Funnies" and foremost amongst them was Prince Valiant. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Bill D Date: 06 Jan 12 - 11:11 AM I had Prince Valiant in my papers all during my childhood and early adulthood. The thing is, I never paid much attention to it. I am not sure why....maybe it was the way the dialogue was mixed with descriptive text.... or maybe because it WAS only Sunday and I didn't get daily updates. But I do remember that when I tried to follow it, it felt like a soap-opera, with really odd changes of direction and too many characters & plot lines to keep track of. I didn't 'dislike it', I just considered it too muck work.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Jan 12 - 11:30 AM At one time, somewhere I lived (I think it was when we were in West Seattle), Prince Valiant was the cover strip on the Sunday comic section. Over the years most of the other places I've lived have had Peanuts as the front comic. I haven't thought of it in years, but I always read it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Little Hawk Date: 06 Jan 12 - 12:19 PM Mad's parody of Prince Valiant was hilarious. They changed it to "Prince Violent of Drule" (instead of Thule). Prince Violent was a psychotic heir to the throne of Drule, a northern kingdom. He went about the land exterminating very large numbers of Celts, Vikings, Huns, Saxons, Normans, Franks, Germans, and other unfortunates who crossed his deadly path. His "singing sword" wrought utter mayhem wherever he went, cleaving in twain entire ranks of charging warriors, leaving heaps of dismembered corpses scattered hither, thither, and yon. The narration was also quite interesting. I remember one passage which went... "Prince Violent of Drule, who aspireth to becometh a knighteth ateth Kingeth Arthureth...rounth...rath...rooth...p'tooie!!!" He also had a nickname. He was called "Vile" for short. Vile had a lascivious eye out at all times for long-haired maidens in distress and frequently set out to "rescue" them, but usually ended up accidentally killing them in the process, poor fellow! He just wasn't safe to be around. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Arkie Date: 06 Jan 12 - 12:22 PM This was one of my favorites from those early years and have often thought of it since. Even checked the net to see what will might be around but have not gone so far as to purchase any of the Prince Valiant material. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: kendall Date: 06 Jan 12 - 01:06 PM Trompity tromp... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 06 Jan 12 - 03:57 PM The Prince Valiant Collection in the bound volumes is excellently printed. At roughly $20/volume (Amazon) the price is amazingly low. Volume 5 will be released soon. I bought the six volumes of "Terry and the Pirates", my favorite. These cost about $40 each. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Charley Noble Date: 06 Jan 12 - 05:52 PM The artwork in this comic series has generally been of very high caliber. I always check it out every weekend, regardless of how hokey the plot runs. Thanks for posting this link, Songwronger. Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: ChanteyLass Date: 06 Jan 12 - 05:54 PM I was a fan, but I had a hard time dealing with one episode where Valiant had been away for a long time and when he returned he thought his wife had become too bossy. He bent her over his knee and spanked her. Now, I know that would probably be the best episode for some, but even though I tried to place it in the context of that period of history, it still depressed me. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Little Hawk Date: 06 Jan 12 - 06:13 PM That sort of thing used to be considered "normal" right up into the maybe mid-60s, and was often seen in movies. Some men did such things back then, and they thought it was okay. I do recall the episode you're referring to, ChanteyLass, and I couldn't sympathize at all with a man doing that to his wife...but it was symptomatic of the time There was a John Wayne cowboy movie in the early 60's (McClintock?) where he did that to Maureen O'Hara. She had played such a bossy and aggressive role in the film that it was sort of understandable...and she seemed plenty tough enough to handle it in the context of the story. I would think, though, that any husband who did that to his wife might be well advised to watch his own back for some time afterwards, in case he got a cast iron frying pan or a rolling pin over the head in return. Vile's wife would probably just have slipped some poison into his ale... (I have to say, by the way, that Maureen O'Hara was the one and only actress whom John Wayne seemed to have some real chemistry with onscreen. They were somehow perfectly matched.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Songwronger Date: 06 Jan 12 - 06:36 PM It was amusing to watch my uncle on Christmas day. He was as excited as any of the kids, and while they ran around with their honking, beeping toys he sat quietly leafing through the books. Every once in a while he'd laugh out loud. Eventually most of the kids went over to see what could amuse an old man like that, and he began telling them about the stories he was looking at. I never knew Prince Valiant was so violent, and I think he kind of forgot that part. He'd look up and ask people every once in a while if the violence (not shown in the panels) was too much for the kids--kids who see no telling how many murders per week on prime time TV. I flipped through all four books (8 years worth of comics) and Val was still 18 in year #8. Is he still 18, in today's comics? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: open mike Date: 06 Jan 12 - 09:21 PM I used to have a Plymouth that I named Prince Valiant. Good old slant 6 |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: ChanteyLass Date: 06 Jan 12 - 10:32 PM Open Mike, was your Plymouth a Duster? I had a purple one, first new car that I owned, and it was a Slant 6. All the paint on purple Plymouth Dusters and Dodge Demons peeled. Other than that, you couldn't kill them. I could identify the no longer purple cars approaching from far down the road. I learned a lesson: stick to a basic car color, not a new one. Thread drift, I know. Sorry. Songwronger, Prince Valiant must have aged eventually. He had children who grew up. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp Date: 06 Jan 12 - 10:38 PM Prince Valiant is what I call my.... Well...never mind. Sorry. I had a couple drinks tonight. You know how it is. - Chongo |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Seamus Kennedy Date: 07 Jan 12 - 12:10 AM And played in the movie by Robert Wagner. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 07 Jan 12 - 01:36 AM Songwronger - maybe this is more info than you wanted! About the series Prince Valiant online comic |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Don Firth Date: 07 Jan 12 - 09:32 PM Good movie. I remember it well. Robert Wagner and Janet Leigh as Val and Aleta. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Songwronger Date: 08 Jan 12 - 07:51 PM Thanks, Sandra. I didn't know the strip was published online. The guy still looks 18, even after, what, 75 years? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Prince Valiant comic strip From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 09 Jan 12 - 09:50 AM but at least he has aged in the strip - he now has a granddaughter - even if it's a tad slower than we age! |
