Murphy, John Cullen

▪ 2005

      American illustrator (b. May 3, 1919, New York, N.Y.—d. July 2, 2004, Greenwich, Conn.), drew the finely detailed comic strip Prince Valiant from 1970 until March 2004. He began studying art at the age of nine and in his teens came under the tutelage of Norman Rockwell, who was a neighbour. Murphy sold his first illustration when he was 17 and his first magazine cover before he was 20. After service during World War II, he worked as an illustrator for magazines, including Collier's and Esquire. In 1949 Murphy began drawing the comic strip Big Ben Bolt, about a young boxer, which lasted for 25 years. Hal Foster, who created Prince Valiant, hired Murphy to do the drawing on the strip in 1970 and turned the strip over to him in 1979.

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