Prince Valiant - Volume Three - Queen of the Misty Lsles

New York: Nostalgia Press Incorporated - In Partnership King Features Syndicate, 1978. First Edition . Hard Back. Very Good/Very Good. 9 1/4" x 12 1/4. Foster, Harold. 125 Pages Un-Numbered. Blue cloth with blue on white illustrated endpapers. Lettering on front boards and spine is in gold. No defects noted to this as new gift quality book with the feel of a new book.. Interior text and illustration pages are flawless. Dust jacket has the $14.95 unclipped price and there is a dot puncture at mid-spine area. Light wear to edges of the dust jacket particularly at the bottom spine area. Nothing missing. This Book is the Third color portfolio of the adventures of Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur. Prince Valiant always appeared as a Sunday page feature in newspapers across the nation. It is actually a massive, illustrated novel divided into weekly chapters. All the pageantry and detail of medieval times is brought to life by Foster's meticulous research and painstaking artistry. This book originally appeared in Sunday newspapers from January 31, 1943 to April 28, 1946. Only January 7, 1945 does not appear in this book. This volume marks a major turning point in the adventures of Prince Valiant With the beginning of his quest for freedom from the haunting vision of Aleta, the realm of fantasy and magic associated with Medieval days begins to fade from the strip. Reality becomes the main theme of the strip. The author wanted to show magicians, ogres and dragons besides knights. However, after Prince Valiant began, the characters in the strip became too real to do much fantasy. Foster presents us with the full panorama of Medieval life. All the hard- ships of daily living are here besides the pageantry of court life. All the emotions of mankind from love to hate appear embodied in Foster's characters, major and minor. Here is a Prince Valiant who is no longer only an adventure hero out to prove his manhood or his strength. In his place is a man possessed by a quest, thwarted by man, law and nature from his goal, yet finally obtaining it against all odds. Foster also finally introduces us to Aleta, the woman who from this book forward will influence Valiant's actions and be a leading force in the strip. No delicate female is Aleta. Foster, the artist, here becomes more Foster, the writer. His development of plot line and the growth of his characters, both mentally and physically, are admirable. If one wanted to, they could ignore the art and still feel the emotions of Foster's characters from his words only. But enjoy it all - the magnificent art, the authentic detail, the strong plot and characters. Prince Valiant is Hal Foster's gift to the world.