Re: Threats and Missed Opportunities
Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:59 am
Many spanking-in-sequential-art-enthusiasts have a fond memory of an image that they recall from a by-gone year perhaps even dating back to their own youth. This might be a spanking from Abbie an' Slats, Lancelot perhaps the Jackson Twins. I have a long held fond recollection of an "off-stage" spanking found in a May 1971 Prince Valiant strip. Unfortunately, like the problem so many of us share, that strip was lost to me for decades. Recently however, following my purchase of a new newspaper archive and an extensive search, I was able to rediscover this important to me episode.
Maurice Horn writes, "Carefully plotted and laid out far ahead of time, the scenario of Prince Valiant is not a collection of unrelated episodes arbitrarily woven around the central character, but an organic whole reflecting the vicissitudes and joys of the hero's life as well as the (legendary) times and society around him. The action however, moves slowly, due partly to Foster's rather weighty text, partly to the static composition of his pictures."
Since Hal Foster relinquished the drawing of the page to John Cullen Murphy at some point in 1971 I can't be sure of the artist of this particular story. In this adventure Valiant, his son Arn and new friend Ben Zirara are headed to the Misty Isles for a reunion with Queen Aleta and further opportunity for adventure.
It's typical of the Valiant story that the main quest is interrupted by a small incident, sometimes for purpose of advancing a character's development or for comic relief. Here a domestic situation unfolds right in front of them as they are on the road. Zirara's resolve as the protector of all womanhood is put to the test. The traveling lady has left her long-suffering husband, perhaps she is going home to mother! Her escort is a young man who obviously has an infatuation for his traveling companion. When the irate husband catches up to the pair the young escort climbs a tree to avoid conflict.
Maurice Horn writes, "Carefully plotted and laid out far ahead of time, the scenario of Prince Valiant is not a collection of unrelated episodes arbitrarily woven around the central character, but an organic whole reflecting the vicissitudes and joys of the hero's life as well as the (legendary) times and society around him. The action however, moves slowly, due partly to Foster's rather weighty text, partly to the static composition of his pictures."
Since Hal Foster relinquished the drawing of the page to John Cullen Murphy at some point in 1971 I can't be sure of the artist of this particular story. In this adventure Valiant, his son Arn and new friend Ben Zirara are headed to the Misty Isles for a reunion with Queen Aleta and further opportunity for adventure.
It's typical of the Valiant story that the main quest is interrupted by a small incident, sometimes for purpose of advancing a character's development or for comic relief. Here a domestic situation unfolds right in front of them as they are on the road. Zirara's resolve as the protector of all womanhood is put to the test. The traveling lady has left her long-suffering husband, perhaps she is going home to mother! Her escort is a young man who obviously has an infatuation for his traveling companion. When the irate husband catches up to the pair the young escort climbs a tree to avoid conflict.