Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938
By Hal Foster

HAROLD FOSTER’S LEGENDARY MEDIEVAL EPIC, FINALLY IN ITS DEFINITIVE EDITION

Universally acclaimed as the most stunningly gorgeous adventure comic strip of all time, Prince Valiant ran for 35 years under the virtuoso pen of its creator, Hal Foster. (Such was its popularity that today, decades after Foster’s death, it continues to run under different hands.)

The giant Sunday-funnies pages (Valiant ran only on Sundays) gave Foster a huge canvas upon which he was able to limn epic swordfights, stunning scenes of pomp and pageantry, and some of the most beautiful human beings — male and female — ever to appear in comics. And he matched his nonpareil visual sense with the narrative instincts of a born storyteller, propelling his daring young hero from one crisis to another with barely a panel to catch one’s breath.

Prince Valiant has previously been widely available only in re-colored, somewhat degraded editions (now out of print and fetching collectors’ prices). Thanks to advances in production technology and newly available original proof sheets, this new series from the industry leader in quality strip classics is the first to feature superb restored artwork that captures every delicate line and chromatic nuance of Foster’s original masterpiece. Comic strip aficionados will be ecstatic, and younger readers who enjoy a classic adventure yarn will be bowled over.

Volume One is rounded out with a rare, in-depth classic Foster interview previously available only in a long out-of-print issue of The Comics Journal, as well as an informative Afterword detailing the production and restoration of this edition, which you can read in its entirety right here on our website.

120-page full color 10.5" x 14.25" comic book • $29.99
Add to Cart • More Info & Previews

Today's hot batch of Online Commentary & Diversions:

• Review: "...[T]he furtive griminess that Jason wrings from his stock character designs is impressive to behold... [Y]ou'll enjoy any number of his typical moments of storytelling grace..." - otherwise Tom Spurgeon is unfortunately somewhat sparing in praise for Jason's Low Moon at The Comics Reporter

• Review: "Miss [Lasko-Gross]' previous book, Escape from 'Special,' launched her fearless plan to produce an autobiographical trilogy. [A] Mess [of Everything] tackles the high-school years, which involve mean girls, mean boys and plenty of awkward social situations. Each anecdote is super-short with cringeworthy dialogue that you'll identify with and will remind you of how fortunate you are to have lived through that rough period." - Whitney Matheson, "Three Graphic Novels You Should Read Immediately," USA Today Pop Candy

• Review: "I’ve read some crazy comix, and while he won’t scare you under the sheets like S. Clay Wilson, [John] Kerschbaum can be as raw as R. Crumb, Peter Bagge, and [Johnny] Ryan, who may be his closest comix cousins... No fan of adult funny animal comics (like Fritz the Cat) will want to miss Petey & Pussy... Petey & Pussy is some funny shit." - Leroy Douresseaux, Comic Book Bin

• Interview: The Pull List podcast talks to Bob Fingerman about his latest releases, including Connective Tissue

• Plug: Jeet Heer gives a nice shout-out to Humbug ("amazing") in this interview on the topic of "Cartoon Conservativism" (worth reading in its own right) with Inside Higher Ed

• Plug: "I’m really looking forward to [You'll Never Know Book 1: A Good and Decent Man by C. Tyler]: a graphic memoir and family drama exploring the person we try to present to the world, and reality." - Corey Blake

• Plug: "Fantagraphics is shortly to publish a new edition of Prince Valiant, Hal Foster's legendary, Golden Age comic strip of knights, swashbuckling, romance and chivalry... Foster's artwork is amazing. Foster was an exceptional talent in an era of exceptional talents."  - OK Erok

• Plug: "The fifth issue of Tales Designed to Thrizzle is in and it's even weirder than the last one. See aliens give a bloke sexy lady legs! Twain plus Einstein plus enraged badger! Hobo fashion! If you've not read any of Michael Kupperman's stuff before now's yer chance..." - Gosh! Comics

• Analysis: The following academic journal article contains discussion of Daniel Clowes and especially the Hernandez Brothers: "Artif[r]acture: Virulent Pictures, Graphic Narrative, and the Ideology of the Visual." Mosaic: Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 28.4 (December 1995): 79-109 by William A. Nericcio (link courtesy the author, via Facebook)

• Events: This Portland art show at Guapo Comics & Coffee features Andrice Arp and lots more local talent

• Things to see: Conan O'Brien by Drew Friedman, for the NY Observer. Freckles, liver spots; tomato, tomahto

• Things to see: Hairy Green Eyeball presents a Vaughn Bodé "Cheech Wizard" story

Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 by Hal Foster is now available for pre-order. This new series begins the definitive collection of Foster's masterpiece, reproduced from newly available original proof sheets for a truly revelatory reading experience and presented in a beautiful oversize hardcover format. This book is scheduled to be in stock and ready to ship in mid-June and in stores approximately 4 weeks after that (subject to change).

Click through and you can download a free PDF of the first 10 Valiant strips! We don't have the photo previews yet (stay tuned), but we do have a nifty bonus feature for you: Kim Thompson's Afterword, "A History of Valiants," details the restoration and production of this edition and compares it with previous editions from various publishers around the world, and we've put it online for your reading enjoyment. Fascinating stuff!

(And don't forget, if you also order the black & white Libri Impressi edition of Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 that we imported specially from Portugal, you can get a special deal to save $9.99 off the combined prices!)

Prince Valiant Vol. 1: 1937-1938 (Libri Impressi edition)
By Hal Foster

In February 2008 a Portuguese Prince Valiant fan published a special, English-language black and white edition of the first two years of Prince Valiant, shot from the very best proof sheets and carefully restored. Due to contractual limitations on territory this edition was NEVER made available in the U.S. — until now! By special arrangement with King Features Syndicate and the publisher, Fantagraphics has a little under 300 copies available for mail and website orders. They just arrived in our warehouse.

Fantagraphics is the EXCLUSIVE distributors in North America. This book is not available in comics shops (well, except for the Seattle Fantagraphics store). It is not available in bookstores. It is not available through Amazon.com. (We expect copies will turn up on eBay and Amazon's second-hand store at hugely inflated prices before the year is out, though.) This is it! And there are, as we said, fewer than 300 copies. We expect to be sold out within no more than a month or two.

It's a gorgeous, big 11" x 14" hardcover, and it's a thrill to see Foster's sumptuous linework for these first two years reproduced so crisply. Every Foster fan will need one! (It also includes a good, heavily illustrated five-page introduction chock full of rare Foster art.) See more images in our photo slideshow embedded below. Click here if it is not visible, and/or to view it larger in a new window (recommended).

Price is $35.00 per copy.

If you want to pre-order the full-color Fantagraphics edition of Prince Valiant 1937-1938 (due out in June 2009) as well, we're offering the two together at $55.00 (so you'd be getting $10 off the Fanta edition) -- just select that option when placing your order. (Our edition will be available for pre-order on its own in a few days from now.) Remember, the two books contain the EXACT SAME STORY MATERIAL — just one is black and white, and one is color — totally different reading and visual experiences. Order online or call 1-800-657-1100 (206-524-1967 in Canada).

Please note this is ONLY for North American customers (customers outside North America can order copies direct from the publisher: mcaldas59 [at] sapo [dot] pt), there are NO wholesale discounts available (although 20/20 Club discounts do apply), and only ONE copy per customer.

100-page black & white 11" x 14" hardcover • $35.00
Order Now!

• The Comics Waiting Room Podcast talks about Love and Rockets: New Stories #1 (and a half-dozen other recent graphic novels)

• Flickr user "tvsavior" posts this photo of Gilbert Hernandez giving a talk at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival on Saturday

• Great Caesar's Post! recommends Popeye Vol. 3...

• ... and Pol Culture takes a thorough look at Popeye Vol. 2

• The Oregonian reports from the "Comics and Politics" panel that featured Spain Rodriguez, Patrick Rosenkranz, and Alison Bechdel at last weekend's Wordstock festival in Portland, OR

• Look, a groovy mid-'90s Fantagraphics house ad from J.R. Williams

• The Onion A.V. Club Comics Panel looks at Pocket Full of Rain and Other Stories by Jason

• A Norwegian (I think) ode to Ivan Brunetti

• Four Color Commentary looks at the 45th volume in our Prince Valiant series

• Comics Waiting Room reviews Petey & Pussy by John Kerschbaum

• Link of the Month and Possibly the Year: "The book seems to have been done tongue in cheek... However I am posting this as serious as I want as many as possible to avoid this time in Earth's history."

Thanks to some inventory reshuffling we now have several formerly out-of-stock books back in our warehouse and available to order! Quantities are very limited — in some cases, literally a handful — so get your order in quick before they're gone again! The list:

• The Comic Strip Art of Lyonel Feininger
• The Comics Journal #290 (with the Schulz and Peanuts roundtable, this one sold out fast the first time)
• Crumple by Dave Cooper
• Greetings from Hellville by Thomas Ott
• Prince Valiant Vol. 11: Intrigues at Camelot (1946-1947) by Hal Foster
• Prince Valiant Vol. 41: King of Atheldag (1971-1972) by Hal Foster & John Cullen Murphy
• Prince Valiant Vol. 50: Vikings on the Isle of Man by Hal Foster & John Cullen Murphy (undamaged copies)
• Tell Me Something by Jason