Artist: Hal Foster (biography)
Medium: Pencil on Acid-free Paper
Size: 8" x 11" (214mm x 278mm)
Date: 1971

This is the unique original Pencil drawing by Hal Foster.

This is the original preliminary drawing by Hal Foster created for Prince Valiant Sunday page #1778 published on 7th March 1971.

In this page, Val, who is heartbroken, speaks with Lionors, Merlin's student from the days before King Arthur. Our hero recounts the tales of having defeated Donardo, Ulfrun the Sea King and Dragda Khan all for the Love of his wife Aleta. Lionors enthuses Val with a new winning spirit, and he is filled with hope and renewed vigour. The final panel sees Val setting off on his quest to regain the hand of his love.

This detailed drawing was drawn by Foster to guide John Cullen Murphy who would be inking the finished page. This is only the 5th page Cullen Murphy had inked for the series, so Foster was being incredibly precise with his visual instructions, including a very faint but visible series of diamond shaped layout grid to help with balance and perspective.

When we compare Fosters' original pencil drawing to Cullen Murphy's published final, it gives us an intimate insight into the working practices and visual communication between the artists - simply look at the additional photos.

This page appears only 10 pages before Hal Foster's final ever page.

Hal Foster, whose work on Prince Valiant is legendary, hand picked John Cullen Murphy to be his successor on the strip, but also tried out Wally Wood and Gray Morrow for the task. The Page was subsequently taken over by Gary Gianni and now Thomas Yeates.

A certificate of authentication will be provided with the artwork.

Click for larger image ...

Compare Foster's guide to Cullen Murphy's published page

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