Prince Valiant's Flash

Looks like artist Gary Gianni and writer Mark Schultz have been having a bit of fun with Prince Valiant. A few months go, a mysterious stranger appeared in a blinding flash of light, apparently dumped from the sky. He had no memory, but Aleta recognized him.

When she had been held in a magic-induced coma by the sorceress Maldubh,  Aleta had floated through an ethereal nightmare world, and had been saved by the stranger there. The stranger says that he had been torn from the grasp of his love, but beyond that, he remembers nothing.

The stranger (dubbed St. George by a somewhat jealous Prince Valiant) proves to be a strong fighter. He accompanies Prince Valiant, Aleta, and Sir Gawain on a quest to hunt down and destroy a golem (they don't call this an adventure strip for nothing).

Unfortunately I don't have access to the earlier strips in this sequence, but look closely at the stranger's clothes in the panels below. They give the savvy comics reader a good clue to his identity. One blond-haired hero of a Sunday-only strip is usually depicted wearing a red shirt with a sunburst and trousers tucked into boots. (click on images to enlarge)

Still not sure? There's a telling clue in his final appearance... "But then a bolt of lightning strikes, and the bold warrior disappears -- in a flash."

The unknown hero was, of course, Flash Gordon. Around the time he appeared in Prince Valiant, this was happening in his own comic strip...

I guess time moves differently in an inter-dimensional space portal.

Sadly, Flash Gordon has been in reruns since 2003 so there was clearly no collaboration between the two creative teams. 

But it's still a nice tribute from one legendary strip to another.

Everything must go!

Nothing like a brush with death to change one’s perspective. After having survived a bout with lymphoma, I find that my priorities have shifted somewhat –- especially when it comes to collecting.

I’ve written before about the joys of collecting, and specifically the importance of discriminating collecting as opposed to simply accumulating a lot of one type of object (which can be just one step above hoarding).

Recently I’ve embarked on a project to trim down my own possessions, taking a hard look at the things I collect and refining the groupings even further. It’s actually been refreshing, as I’m playing an active role in trying to get things into the hands of others who would enjoy and appreciate them (as opposed to just having a massive yard sale after I'm gone).

I’ve taken a hard look at my collection of science fiction magazines, and decided to just concentrate on one publication – Analog. So my run of Galaxy, Amazing, Isaac Asimov’s, Omni, and a few and sundry issues of other magazines ranging from the 1950’s through the early 1980’s are leaving my attic.

And I’ve received an education in the new collecting economy. I never thought that any of these magazines are particularly valuable. In mint condition, I assumed they might be worth $2.00 - $5.00. A quick check on eBay confirmed I was in the ballpark. But when it came to selling….

Well, OK, I did do just the minimal listing (paying 60 cents to list something I was selling for 99 cents didn’t make a lot of sense – or cents, either). And there were no takers. They came, they were posted, the listings expired.

I’m still reluctant to just drop them all off at the Friends of the Library, though, so I’ll try an experiment. I’ll list them on eBay, relist them once, and them list them on Amazon. And if there are other sites folks can recommend that bibliophiles frequent, let me know and I’ll put them there, too. And I'll share my experience, which might help others hoping to get their stuff into the hands of folks who might appreciate it.

The first issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine; the original serialization of “Lucifer’s Hammer” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle; mint condition covers by Wendi Pini and Steve Fabian. Seldom anthologized tales by Fred Saberhagen, Poul Anderson, John Varley, and more – surely these are worth something to someone. These magazines gave me hours of reading pleasure. I hope they can do the same for others.

We'll see!