Today you can still see them in broadsheets - taking a pause form the daily news, to offer us some form of entertainment, an amusing tagline, or even a continuing adventure... and they come in many forms - be they Comedy, Science Fiction, Fantasy, or even Satire... I'm naturally talking about comic strips.
It, however, takes some patience to read these - specially the continuing adventure ones, since you'd be treated to three panels a day... maybe six if it were a Sunday script. These would normally just be in black and white - yet you could tell which ones were the really good ones. Two in particular that I really followed whenever I could were Prince Valiant and Secret Agent Corigan... and apparently, these two strips were literally decades apart.
Prince Valiant, for example was created by Hal Foster, a man I am still trying to familiarize myself with - but thanks to a new compilation of Prince Valiant, I am now able TO both familiarize myself with the creator -and his earlier works in Prince Valiant. Of course I could also let you read up on Hal through his Wikipedia link:
Hal Foster
Whatever would we do without Wikipedia?
Back to Prince Valiant. Why did this strip interest me? For starters, it's milieu happens to be during the time of King Arthur's Camelot and everything about it's majesty, nobility and a young prince wanting to be recognized as one worthy of joining Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
Val has a noble heart, courage, and - at least, in his early years, obstinance to spare. I say this because in the strips I've followed, he already had a family, and he sometimes sees a bit of himself in his son.
Hal's art was also a great attraction to me. The man could draw anything... people, horses, backgrounds... he was a rel artist. Okay, maybe his dragons were too realistic (looking more like Commodo Dragons than... well, Dragons I've come to expect), but that aside... it would be hard to criticize Hal's work at all.
Hal gave his characters specific looks. You could determine one form another - and not just because of their colors or banners - nope. Hal gave each one a distinct look... and yeah, maybe Val most of all for his mop top hairstyle. But again, it goes to show how popular the series was - as movies about Prince Valiant had to have Val with that unique fashion sense... and who knows, maybe it too is authentic to history.
Aside from that, I wonder if Hal had help with his story... if he had an editor - because what I read in Prince Valiant was nothing short of prose-worthy at times. His Drawings and captions were a potent combination. Here is but a sample of how a cartoon with the right caption, can capture drama so eloquently.
Read the caption... go on, and tell me it does not strike a chord in you. Val speechless - yet his tears tell Aleta all she needs to know... wow... really, wow. I hope I can someday write something as beautiful. I don't even aspire to be at Hal's artistic level... for it may be asking too much.
The scene's snow-covered simplicity even adds to the poignancy of the moment.
Naturally, Hal Foster had every intention of having Val knighted... eventually that is. In fact, it seemed that King Arthur was ready to knight Val in Hal's early series, after the prince had donned an armor and joined a jousting tournament... but - and maybe in Hal's mischievous ways, we read that Val, after racking up impressive victories, is unseated, and embarrased at the crowd's laughter - he then leaves Camelot with shame - unaware of Arthur's pronouncements.
But that's okay... when the event finally happens, you can imagine that Hal has built the suspense worthy of such the event... a momentous occasion - even if it just happens to be comics.
Should the series have ended then and there, maybe many people would have been satisfied - and who knows? Maybe Hal had thought of this as well... but he didn't and we're all richer for it. Hal continues the adventures of Val - both as Knight, husband and even later... father.
These are just some reasons I loved reading Prince Valiant, and was rather frustrated when the paper I was reading somehow stopped its syndication. Boy was I frustrated. Worse still, I could not find compilations being sold. I had to wonder... was I the only one seeing this strip's quality? I later learned that due to it's country of origin, Prince Valiant, did not easily lend itself to being published in the U.S. I can only guess that the U.K had more luck distribution-wise, but since the Philippines markets were always more U.S. tied, well... I guess we drew the short end of the straw - distribution-wise.
Last weekend, though, things finally changed for the better. I discovered that the local bookstore had a copy of the newly released compilation of Prince Valiant... boasting that this was the best version ever - but neve mind the version technicalities, I'm just glad I've finally been able to find a copy of a compilation... period.
Now I can look forward to some relaxing weekend (or evening after work) where I can enjoy reading Prince Valiant once again - and this time, chronologically form the start. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a kid again - and I hope that someday Bryce (or even Bernice) gets to appreciate my having this book. I've already reserved parts 2 and 3 (and hopefully more) with instructions to call me should these tomes arrive.
Meanwhile, Chivalry, Honor and the Quests of Arthur's Camelot are once again alive! So with Prince Valiant finally within grasp - how about Secret Agent Corrigan?
Apparently, as this picture shows, Corrigan did not even start with a name - but just a number (well... actually, a combination of a name and number), but this was unknown to me. You see, as I read Corrigan in the dailies, the title was already 'Secret Agent Corrigan'. And should you have asked me if I liked Agent X-9, you'd see some confusion on my face.
So why did I like Secret Agent Corrigan? Maybe because of 007 - yes... a British Spy led me to liking the Spy genre, and as I read Secret Agent Corrigan, well the title sort of got me obviously curious... and who knows, maybe it was a marketing handle riding on the popularity of James Bond's movies.
Yes the U.S. had Flint... but he only had two movies - while Bond is still - to this date, churning out silver screen adventures. So I think it's safe to say who won that popularity contest.
Back to Corrigan... apparently, though I did not know it at the time, two familar (to me in the future) names would be responsible for Corrigan's dailies adventures - and unlike Hal Foster's near cinematically colorful renditions, Corrigan would be rendered in pure pulp-fiction black and white with shades of gray mood. Who were these two gentlemen? Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin, that's who.
In the strips I saw, I always noted Al's signature on the strip, so I naturally got to connect Al's name with 'Corrigan'. Archie was... well, a writer for Marvel Comics (and later on, a really influential person for D.C. as well). But I first saw their dailies collaboration in Star Wars.
By then, of course, I was very much familiar with Al's unique inks - the way he plays with shadows and uses patterns and not just checkered marks for shades of gray. His art was clean - and Corrigan was lean. If you look at Corrigan and somehow see Han Solo... well, you know why. I guess Al draws rough action-type people the same way (he he he). But it will always be Solo looking like Corrigan - not the other way around.
Even before I found out that Archie had a hand with Corrigan, I found some similarities with one of Corrigan's regular villain - a Yellow Claw like character, but I just chalked it up to stereotyping.
Guess I should have known that Archie was involved and if there was ever any steroetype... well, I guess we could likewise blame flash Gordon (another daily that these two apparently did) and Ming the Merciless.
By the way, did you notice how Corrigan's hair style changed from the relatively trip 60's to the wavier - but still somewhat conservative look of the 70's? Guess you could tell when he was more X-9 than Corrigan.
So there you have it... like Prince Valiant, Corrigan goes up against some strong opponent - but while Val has knights and magic to contend with, Coriggan has science and Egotistical maniacs with rogues to deal with. I certainly hope to find a compilation of Corrigan as well. Maybe I'll try asking around for X-9... I might get better results.
If you happen to like quality comic strips, I highly recommend these two. they may not be Tarzan or the Phantom... nor Flash Gordon either - but their adventures are worth following. BTW, as a parting trivia... Hal Foster was the artist who put the nobility in Tarzan as well; a move that succeeding artists of the Ape-man's adventures kept when they handled the Tarzan art reins.
It, however, takes some patience to read these - specially the continuing adventure ones, since you'd be treated to three panels a day... maybe six if it were a Sunday script. These would normally just be in black and white - yet you could tell which ones were the really good ones. Two in particular that I really followed whenever I could were Prince Valiant and Secret Agent Corigan... and apparently, these two strips were literally decades apart.Prince Valiant, for example was created by Hal Foster, a man I am still trying to familiarize myself with - but thanks to a new compilation of Prince Valiant, I am now able TO both familiarize myself with the creator -and his earlier works in Prince Valiant. Of course I could also let you read up on Hal through his Wikipedia link:
Hal Foster
Whatever would we do without Wikipedia?
Back to Prince Valiant. Why did this strip interest me? For starters, it's milieu happens to be during the time of King Arthur's Camelot and everything about it's majesty, nobility and a young prince wanting to be recognized as one worthy of joining Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.
Val has a noble heart, courage, and - at least, in his early years, obstinance to spare. I say this because in the strips I've followed, he already had a family, and he sometimes sees a bit of himself in his son.
Hal's art was also a great attraction to me. The man could draw anything... people, horses, backgrounds... he was a rel artist. Okay, maybe his dragons were too realistic (looking more like Commodo Dragons than... well, Dragons I've come to expect), but that aside... it would be hard to criticize Hal's work at all.
Hal gave his characters specific looks. You could determine one form another - and not just because of their colors or banners - nope. Hal gave each one a distinct look... and yeah, maybe Val most of all for his mop top hairstyle. But again, it goes to show how popular the series was - as movies about Prince Valiant had to have Val with that unique fashion sense... and who knows, maybe it too is authentic to history.
Aside from that, I wonder if Hal had help with his story... if he had an editor - because what I read in Prince Valiant was nothing short of prose-worthy at times. His Drawings and captions were a potent combination. Here is but a sample of how a cartoon with the right caption, can capture drama so eloquently. Read the caption... go on, and tell me it does not strike a chord in you. Val speechless - yet his tears tell Aleta all she needs to know... wow... really, wow. I hope I can someday write something as beautiful. I don't even aspire to be at Hal's artistic level... for it may be asking too much.
The scene's snow-covered simplicity even adds to the poignancy of the moment.
Naturally, Hal Foster had every intention of having Val knighted... eventually that is. In fact, it seemed that King Arthur was ready to knight Val in Hal's early series, after the prince had donned an armor and joined a jousting tournament... but - and maybe in Hal's mischievous ways, we read that Val, after racking up impressive victories, is unseated, and embarrased at the crowd's laughter - he then leaves Camelot with shame - unaware of Arthur's pronouncements. But that's okay... when the event finally happens, you can imagine that Hal has built the suspense worthy of such the event... a momentous occasion - even if it just happens to be comics.
Should the series have ended then and there, maybe many people would have been satisfied - and who knows? Maybe Hal had thought of this as well... but he didn't and we're all richer for it. Hal continues the adventures of Val - both as Knight, husband and even later... father.
These are just some reasons I loved reading Prince Valiant, and was rather frustrated when the paper I was reading somehow stopped its syndication. Boy was I frustrated. Worse still, I could not find compilations being sold. I had to wonder... was I the only one seeing this strip's quality? I later learned that due to it's country of origin, Prince Valiant, did not easily lend itself to being published in the U.S. I can only guess that the U.K had more luck distribution-wise, but since the Philippines markets were always more U.S. tied, well... I guess we drew the short end of the straw - distribution-wise.
Last weekend, though, things finally changed for the better. I discovered that the local bookstore had a copy of the newly released compilation of Prince Valiant... boasting that this was the best version ever - but neve mind the version technicalities, I'm just glad I've finally been able to find a copy of a compilation... period.Now I can look forward to some relaxing weekend (or evening after work) where I can enjoy reading Prince Valiant once again - and this time, chronologically form the start. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a kid again - and I hope that someday Bryce (or even Bernice) gets to appreciate my having this book. I've already reserved parts 2 and 3 (and hopefully more) with instructions to call me should these tomes arrive.
Meanwhile, Chivalry, Honor and the Quests of Arthur's Camelot are once again alive! So with Prince Valiant finally within grasp - how about Secret Agent Corrigan?
Apparently, as this picture shows, Corrigan did not even start with a name - but just a number (well... actually, a combination of a name and number), but this was unknown to me. You see, as I read Corrigan in the dailies, the title was already 'Secret Agent Corrigan'. And should you have asked me if I liked Agent X-9, you'd see some confusion on my face.So why did I like Secret Agent Corrigan? Maybe because of 007 - yes... a British Spy led me to liking the Spy genre, and as I read Secret Agent Corrigan, well the title sort of got me obviously curious... and who knows, maybe it was a marketing handle riding on the popularity of James Bond's movies.
Yes the U.S. had Flint... but he only had two movies - while Bond is still - to this date, churning out silver screen adventures. So I think it's safe to say who won that popularity contest.
Back to Corrigan... apparently, though I did not know it at the time, two familar (to me in the future) names would be responsible for Corrigan's dailies adventures - and unlike Hal Foster's near cinematically colorful renditions, Corrigan would be rendered in pure pulp-fiction black and white with shades of gray mood. Who were these two gentlemen? Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin, that's who.
In the strips I saw, I always noted Al's signature on the strip, so I naturally got to connect Al's name with 'Corrigan'. Archie was... well, a writer for Marvel Comics (and later on, a really influential person for D.C. as well). But I first saw their dailies collaboration in Star Wars.
By then, of course, I was very much familiar with Al's unique inks - the way he plays with shadows and uses patterns and not just checkered marks for shades of gray. His art was clean - and Corrigan was lean. If you look at Corrigan and somehow see Han Solo... well, you know why. I guess Al draws rough action-type people the same way (he he he). But it will always be Solo looking like Corrigan - not the other way around.
Even before I found out that Archie had a hand with Corrigan, I found some similarities with one of Corrigan's regular villain - a Yellow Claw like character, but I just chalked it up to stereotyping.
Guess I should have known that Archie was involved and if there was ever any steroetype... well, I guess we could likewise blame flash Gordon (another daily that these two apparently did) and Ming the Merciless.
By the way, did you notice how Corrigan's hair style changed from the relatively trip 60's to the wavier - but still somewhat conservative look of the 70's? Guess you could tell when he was more X-9 than Corrigan.So there you have it... like Prince Valiant, Corrigan goes up against some strong opponent - but while Val has knights and magic to contend with, Coriggan has science and Egotistical maniacs with rogues to deal with. I certainly hope to find a compilation of Corrigan as well. Maybe I'll try asking around for X-9... I might get better results.
If you happen to like quality comic strips, I highly recommend these two. they may not be Tarzan or the Phantom... nor Flash Gordon either - but their adventures are worth following. BTW, as a parting trivia... Hal Foster was the artist who put the nobility in Tarzan as well; a move that succeeding artists of the Ape-man's adventures kept when they handled the Tarzan art reins.
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