Prince Valiant rejoins our Sunday comics lineup

By Elizabeth Kieszkowski
Advertiser Features Editor

Readers: Prince Valiant is back!

The editors of The Advertiser don't take comics changes lightly, but we do make changes from time to time so that we can liven up the mix of our comics offerings, daily and Sundays, and provide panels that appeal to readers of diverse ages and backgrounds.

When we made the decision to pull Prince Valiant from our Sunday comics pages Nov. 23 as part of a change that allowed adding Opus to the Sunday lineup, we heard from dozens — make that hundreds — of readers.

Some contacted us to say they were happy to see the outrageous Berkeley Breathed return with Opus, but many more made a solid case for the reasons they'd miss Prince Valiant. We listened to their arguments, and we've decided to bring the strip back. We've done so without changing other comics in the Sunday section.

Prince Valiant, created by Hal Foster, has been a staple of the Sunday comics pages since 1937, when King Features first picked it up. Among its many attractions are its detailed artwork and intricate plot, bolstered by a continuing story line.

As many readers know, Val, or Prince Valiant, is married to Aleta, Queen of the Misty Isles. They have a firstborn son, Arn, twins, Karen and Valeta, sons Galan and Nathan; all play a part in the strip's far-flung adventures, which have ranged across frozen Greenland, India and China, the Sahara and even America.

Prince Valiant is the type of comic one reads, rather than glances at, as many readers pointed out. It combines narrative adventure and family drama, history and fantasy. And its artwork shouldn't be overlooked.

Its featured characters have flaws as well as virtues, and they are not always successful in their endeavors. And they have aged over the years.

For those with online access, four of the strip's past installments over the period it was absent from our pages are on view at www.kingfeatures.com.