The original comic strip done by Hal Foster up until the end of the
70's was pretty true to the legend and considered one of the best comic/
graphic fantasy retellings of the legends. Foster had Val get involved with many of the traditional elements
and storylines. Valiant witnesses King Mark's murder of Tristram, Nimue's
ensnarement of Merlin, the Quest of the Holy Grail, Mordred's
attempts to expose Lancelot and Guinevere's love affair, and participates
in the Battle of Badon.
The John Collen Murphy
period is somewhat less Arthurian in tone, making use of a few of the
names but with the legend almost beyond recognition. Camelot is captured by
a Saxon king and the court flees to Tintagel while Arthur, disguised as a
peasant, does his best to convince the Saxon king to become civilized.
Mordred is portrayed as Arthur's half-brother and burdened with a wooden
leg. Prince Valiant's granddaughter, rather than Constantine of Cornwall,
is Arthur's heir. The only traditional knight of the Round Table left in
the strip is Gawain.
