Number 486
We come from the land of the ice and snow
In 1955, after implementation of the Comics Code, DC Comics created The Brave and the Bold, an anthology comic with three different heroes. The original lineup was Viking Prince by Joe Kubert, Shining Knight by Irv Novick, and Golden Gladiator by Russ Heath. Gladiator was soon replaced by Robin Hood.
The Brave and the Bold was a hit with me because of the Viking Prince. At the time I didn't see it as DC Comics' take on Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, all I knew was I really loved the artwork and the stories about Vikings.
As the series opens, Jon, the main character, is an amnesiac, who is rightful ruler of a kingdom usurped by the "evil Thorvald." Thorvald wants him permanently out of the way. This story, "The Ice Dragon," is from Brave and the Bold #5. The stories for B and B were by Robert Kanigher, who also edited. The three artists for B and B also worked for him on the war comics.
"The Ice Dragon" is scanned from DC Special #12, May-June 1971.
Strange middle period for Kubert, but nice.
ReplyDelete"w-we beat 'em guys... we're not losers anymore."
Viking Prince! Good, good stuff here, Pappy.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's some beautiful work there! I can see why it would be compared to Prince Valiant, but really, there are enough differences between the art styles and the subject matters that I'm not sure the comparisons are all that valid.
ReplyDeleteSea of Green, I should have said "inspired by Prince Valiant," which is probably more precise.The captioned Sunday strip and the comic book with speech balloons are completely different entities, both in subject matter and style, but Prince Valiant was a very influential feature.
ReplyDeletegotta love joe kubert...a true master.
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