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How to Sell Your Original Prince Valiant Comic Strip Art

ByNate D Sanders

Hal Foster got his start in the comic strip industry in the early 1930s when he adapted the book Tarzan into a comic strip. The Tarzan comic art stood out among the other strips at the time for its realism and detail. Foster created the Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur comic strip, which debuted on 13 February 1937. Foster stopped illustrating the series in 1971 due to health issues, but continued to write and oversee the comic strip until 1980. We at Nate D. Sanders Auctions have sold many memorable Prince Valiant strips. Please feel free to contact us if you have original Prince Valiant comic strip art that you’d like to sell or have appraised.

Here are some of our top Prince Valiant / Hal Foster realized prices:

Prince Valiant Sunday Comic Strip From 1939

Andelkrag is the mythical fortress in the Prince Valiant comic strip series that stands for resistance and bravery and one motif of the storyline includes Prince Valiant constantly fighting to defend it. We sold one of the most well-known Prince Valiant Sunday strips from 28 May 1939 for $70,461. The artwork from this strip has been featured in several publications as well as the cover of Fantagraphics’ “Prince Valiant Vol. 2: 1939-1940”.

Prince Valiant sees Andelkrag is about to be attacked by the Huns and destroys their fire-raft.
Click image to enlarge.

Hal Foster Prince Valiant Comic Strip Art From 1937

We realized $44,291 for the fourth strip of the Prince Valiant comic strip series dated 6 March 1937. This strip features the coming-of-age transition in which Prince Valiant grows from a young boy into a brave young man who learns to hunt using a fish spear, forked arrows and a weighted net from a native boy. Throughout the comic series we see Prince Valiant mature from crusades and personal challenges.

A young Prince Valiant learns to hunt from a native boy as he grows in to a young man.
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Hal Foster Prince Valiant Comic Strip From 1941

Belsatan is the dark wizard antagonist in the Prince Valiant series who often uses his sorcery for vicious causes that often challenge Prince Valiant as protector the kingdom. We sold a strip from 5 October 1941, a second part of a story, for $27,981. The strip features Belsatan using his dark magic to bring his wife, Acidia, back. The first part of this story, published on a different day, depicted Belsatan creating a scheme that involved Prince Valiant getting rid of Acidia.

Belsatan uses a powerful spell to bring his wife back following a scheme he crafted to send her away.
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Hal Foster Prince Valiant Comic Strip From 1947

Prince Valiant greatly stood out from other comic strips when it debuted as it lacked speech bubbles and relied on captions for narration, giving the strip a storybook feel. The series had a big influence on visual storytelling and future comic artists. We realized $21,175 for a strip dated 5 January 1947 featuring Prince Valiant, Aleta, Queen of the Misty Isles, and Earl Jon enjoying an Arthurian feast. Strip comes from the Ray Bradbury estate is signed by Hal Foster and inscribed to Bradbury.

Prince Valiant, Aleta, Earl John and many others sit among an Arthurian feast.
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Original Hal Foster Prince Valiant Sunday Comic Strip From 1966

We sold a Prince Valiant strip illustrated by Hal Foster and dated 13 February 1966 for $7,500. The strip’s storyline revolves around Hatha, one of Val’s allies and the son of Tillicum and Boltar. Hatha travels to his mother’s birthplace and spends time with a Native American girl named Starlight.

Hatha visits his mother's birthplace and spends time with a Native American girl.
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This concludes our top Prince Valiant comic strip sales! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like to sell your original Prince Valiant comic strip art.

FAQ

How do I consign or sell my original Prince Valiant comic strip art?
It’s never been easier to sell your oringal Prince Valiant comic strip art at Nate D. Sanders Auctions. Email a description and photos of your strip to [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can with a free appraisal.

This sounds great and I want to move forward. What’s the consignment process like at Nate D. Sanders Auctions?
We’ll send you more information about our auctions along with an agreement for your review. Your item will appear in our next auction. Unlike many auction houses, we hold monthly auctions and pay you within an industry-leading 45 days following the auction.

What factors determine the value of an original Prince Valiant comic strip?
The value of your comic strip can vary based on condition, year published and content or subject matter of the strip.