Customer Reviews

Prince Valiant: An American Epic, Vol. 1, 1937

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Manuscript Press published three of these huge volumes (just under 17" wide and 22" tall) in the original newspaper size. Each volume contains one year's worth of strips. They sold new for $150 each.

For most collectors, the current Fantagraphics edition will be preferred; but the experience of plunging into Hal Foster's detailed drawings at their original printed scale is amazing.

Because these oversize volumes are paper-bound, they have to be handled with care. For serious collectors only. If you could find all three volumes they would cost about 20 times as much as the same strips collected in the Fantagraphics edition.

This is a beautiful book. As another reviewer wrote, it's the best way to plunge into the artwork of Hal Foster. However, I just bought it from the publisher for the original price of $150. That's a bit of a savings compared to what it's offered for here.

This gorgeous reproduction of the Hal Foster original art and original size for the first year of prince Valiant is amazing. The paper it is printed on is thick and woven, maintaining a very white to pearl color. The coloring is lush and NOT four color. There were only 1500 of each of the three volumes printed. Finding one in GEM Mint condition is nearly impossible.
Each one is hand numbered.
Better than the original art and strips are ten to fifteen pages of design art, conceptual drawings and a great amount of text defining the look , feel and character descriptions.

This Manuscript Press original is not just for the Prince Valiant Collector, but for any person who is a serious comic artist. The detailed line work, the panel spreads and story pacing a manifesto similar only to Eisner.