History ComicStrip / PrinceValiant

** Prince Valiant also appeared in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth''.

* AnimalMotifs: The Thule royal family crest is the red stallion Arvak who pulls the sun chariot in NorseMythology.

There have been two live action film versions, ''Film/PrinceValiant1954'', starring Robert Wagner, and ''Film/PrinceValiant1997'', starring Stephen Moyer and Katherine Heigl. An AnimatedAdaptation, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfPrinceValiant'', with [[WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}} Robbie Benson]] voicing the title role, aired in 1991 on what was then [[Creator/ABCFamily The Family Channel]]. It also inspired a well-received TabletopRPG more oriented towards storytelling than HackAndSlash ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-style roleplay. He's also been a part of the King/Dynamite comic book SharedUniverse, alongside fellow King Features action heroes ''ComicStrip/FlashGordon'', ''ComicStrip/MandrakeTheMagician'', ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'', and ''ComicStrip/JungleJim''.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Beneath thee bright and colorful surface and Camelot's chivalrous ideals, this is still DarkAgeEurope and it shows. Violence and bloodshed is near constant, civilization is hanging by a thread, continental Europe is crawling with barbarians and brigands and battle fields swarm with ghoulish peasants driven to desperation looting corpses and picking off survivors. It's ultimately a kill or be killed world where any attempts at a peaceful existence are doomed to failure. It sure looks pretty though.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Beneath thee bright and colorful surface and Camelot's chivalrous ideals, this is still DarkAgeEurope and it shows. Violence and bloodshed is near constant, civilization is hanging by a thread, continental Europe is crawling with barbarians and brigands and battle fields swarm with ghoulish peasants driven to desperation looting corpses and picking off survivors. It's ultimately a kill or be killed world and any attempts at a peaceful existence are doomed to failure. It sure looks pretty though.

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[ItWasHisSled The death of Tristan]] is shockingly abrupt considering his importance in early strips and it has little impact on future events.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Beneath thee bright and colorful surface and Camelot's chivalrous ideals, this is still DarkAgeEurope and it shows. Violence and bloodshed is near constant, civilization is hanging by a thread, continental Europe is crawling with barbarians and brigands and battle fields swarm with ghoulish peasants driven to desperation looting corpses and picking off survivors. It sure looks pretty though.

* MightyWhitey: Val and Aleta's interactions with the Native Americans inevitably has shades of this, even if it is FairForItsDay.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Beneath thee bright and colorful surface and Camelot's chivalrous ideals, this is still DarkAgeEurope and it shows. Violence and bloodshed is near constant, civilization is hanging by a thread, continental europe is crawling with barbarians and brigands and battle fields swarm with ghoulish peasants driven to desperation looting corpses and picking off survivors. It sure looks pretty though.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Beneath thee bright and colorful surface and Camelot's chivalrous ideals, this is still DarkAgeEurope and it shows. Violence and bloodshed is near constant, civilization is hanging by a thread, everywhere outside of Camelot and Thule is crawling with barbarians and brigands and battle fields swarm with ghoulish peasants driven to desperation looting corpses and picking off survivors. It sure looks pretty though.

* GoryDiscretionShot: Used to great and [[NothingIsScarier disturbing]] effect when [[spoiler: Edwin's crucified body is discovered.]]

* RapePillageAndBurn: Heavily implied in Val's assault on the city of Saramand. One of the most chilling examples of DeliberateValuesDissonance in the strip.

* CorporalPunishment: Common and accepted due to the ValuesDissonance of the setting and the era of publication. Aleta in particular does not hesitate to spank her children.
** ComedicSpanking: in one arc, Arn is staying with another royal family and is constantly being terrorized by the young princess. Eventually she plants an elaborate trap in his room but ends up accidentally traps her mother who takes her to her room and spanks her with a hair brush, much to Arn's satisfaction.

''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'' is a [[NewspaperComics comic strip]] created by Hal Foster, run by Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate [[LongRunner from 1937 to the present]] (Foster's last strip was drawn in 1971), that recounted the adventures of the eponymous Norse prince and his family and friends. The comic came out only in the Sunday paper and featured narration juxtaposed with illustrations rather than the usual thought and speech balloons. During most of Hal Foster's lifetime it occupied one whole page of the Sunday funnies. In the 90s it spun off into a Creator/MarvelComics limited series not set in Marvel continuity.

* CoolHorse: Val's horse Arvak the red stallion, named after his family symbol.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Hal Foster clearly did a lot of historical research but he wasn't afraid to change things to suit the story. Contemporary historical figures make appearances, archaic place names (like Gaul for France for example) are used, the Western Roman Empire is still hanging on, paganism is still widely practiced in throughout Europe and the clothing worn throughout the series is more-or-less grounded in the Dark Ages/late antiquity. However, popular anachronistic trappings common to Arthurian literature (such as stone castles, chivalry, jousting and the title of knight) are heavily featured. Justifiable, as these elements have become so ubiquitous to Arthurian mythology that their absence would invoke a sense of RealityIsUnrealistic.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: One of the more jarring anachronisms in early strips was the presence of Muslims in the fifth century. This was retconned in a vleter strip that referred to Mohammed in the future tense, but the Arabs' place of worship is still called a mosque.

* LastBastion: Abdelkrag, the last stronghold holding out against the Huns who have ravaged Europe.