John Cullen Murphy (May 3, 1919 in New York City - July 2, 2004 in Greenwich, Connecticut) was the artist of the Prince Valiant comic strip. He replaced the strip's creator, Hal Foster, full-time in 1982 after Foster's death (Foster invited Murphy to collaborate with him in 1970). He continued to draw Valiant (with his son writing the script, and his daughter doing the lettering/coloring) until he retired in March 2004, turning the strip over to his hand-picked successor, illustrator Gary Gianni.
He attended the Art Institute of Chicago, where his family lived for a time. He aspired to be a baseball player, and was playing baseball when a neighbor, Norman Rockwell, asked the 15 year old if he would like to model for him. Rockwell's "Starstruck", in which a forlorn Murphy sits on the floor, gazing at pictures of movie starlets, was the September 22, 1934 cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell became one of Murphy's mentors.
JohnCullenMurphy (May 3, 1919 in New York City - July 2, 2004 in Greenwich, Connecticut) was a comics artist probably best known for his work on the Prince Valiant comic strip.
Rockwell's "Starstruck", in which a forlorn Murphy sits on the floor, gazing at pictures of movie starlets, was the September 22, 1934 cover of the Saturday Evening Post.
In 1953, the Murphys moved to Cos Cob, Connecticut, which was his home until his death.
In JohnCullenMurphy's own words, "I never had an ambition to be a comic strip artist." This from a man who's been awarded the silver plaque for Best Story Strip by the National Cartoonists Society a record six times.
JohnCullenMurphy: In 1940 I was in the National Guard, the 7th Infantry Regiment in New York City.
JohnCullenMurphy: He wasn't sure if he wanted it to continue on after he died or retired, and he was going to have one big Armageddon where everyone would come in and get killed, but then he took pity on me and kept it going for my sake.
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