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Hal Foster: Prince of Illustrators, Father of the Adventure Strip
A comprehensive biography of Hal Foster, in which author Brian M. Kane examines the 70-year career of one of the greatest illustrators of the 20th century. "Superman" was modelled after Foster's drawings of Tarzan, Flash Gordon's Alex Raymond borrowed compositions from "Prince Valiant," and many artists, including the famous contemporary Western painter James Bama, count Foster among their greatest influences.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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May 10, 2013I am very proud of this book which I edited and art directed. It was nominated for Book of the Year at the Eisner Awards and won a Silver Medal with the Independent Press (IPPY) Awards. Any information you find on Foster elsewhere, was taken from this book.
July 25, 2021
This was a library find. A book I stumbled upon while browsing. I am glad this happy accident occurred.
I have not read much Prince Valiant. I remember trying as a child and finding it too laconic. Many artists I enjoy state how wonderful Hal Foster’s art is on Prince Valiant. Frank Frazetta, John Buscema, Barry Windsor Smith, Gil Kane and Neal Adam’s are just a few artists I enjoy that were influenced by Foster’s art.
This book is a big, beautiful book. It is chuck full of Foster art. There are pages from Tarzan, Prince Valiant, to his color paintings for magazines. There are many things within this book printed here for the first time such as sketches made by Foster in letters and his annual Christmas cards.
The narrative is straight forward. It traces Foster’s life from birth to his death; along the way, visiting Foster’s days as a fishing guide, his life as an artist in advertising (product illustrations for product ordering catalogs), his big break with the Tarzan comic strip, his leaving of the strip for a 35 year career with his own creation, Prince Valiant. Included are articles, testimonials about Foster and letters from Foster to various people. Many photographs adorn the book as well.
After reading this, I now want to explore Hal Foster’s body of work.
I have not read much Prince Valiant. I remember trying as a child and finding it too laconic. Many artists I enjoy state how wonderful Hal Foster’s art is on Prince Valiant. Frank Frazetta, John Buscema, Barry Windsor Smith, Gil Kane and Neal Adam’s are just a few artists I enjoy that were influenced by Foster’s art.
This book is a big, beautiful book. It is chuck full of Foster art. There are pages from Tarzan, Prince Valiant, to his color paintings for magazines. There are many things within this book printed here for the first time such as sketches made by Foster in letters and his annual Christmas cards.
The narrative is straight forward. It traces Foster’s life from birth to his death; along the way, visiting Foster’s days as a fishing guide, his life as an artist in advertising (product illustrations for product ordering catalogs), his big break with the Tarzan comic strip, his leaving of the strip for a 35 year career with his own creation, Prince Valiant. Included are articles, testimonials about Foster and letters from Foster to various people. Many photographs adorn the book as well.
After reading this, I now want to explore Hal Foster’s body of work.
August 26, 2013
An amazing book on an amazing artist! Containing examples from all stages of his development, this book gives a comprehensive look at the work of Hal Foster. Being a huge fan of his Prince Valiant work, I was delighted to see extensive coverage on this series. Even more interesting, were the commercial paintings he did for advertisements, as this was something that I wasn't as familiar with. Nice anecdotes by top name artists are distributed throughout the book, with a special section in the back discussing Foster's influence on themselves and the medium. Highly recommended!
April 6, 2020
A solid overview of Foster's life and work. Kane makes a compelling case that Foster was the bridge from the great tradition of book illustrators to the era of comic strip (and comic book) action adventure artists. Personally, I would have liked to see a little more analysis of Foster's artwork (and examples of his best work from the Tarzan and Valiant strips), but that is probably just my bias.
March 26, 2022
Any fan of Prince Valiant should read this book. Not a proper biography, but the illustrations alone are worth the price of the book.
January 14, 2009
An engaging blend of a scholarly review, combined with an abundance of rarely seen material from one of the greatest masters of comic strip and / or illustrative art.
I am one picky S.O.B. when it comes to art, and about all I can say with regards to Foster is that his figures were sometimes a bit stiff. That's it. If you gave me a checklist of "Ten Thousand Things That Make A Great Artist" then I'd mark Foster as a master in the other 9999 skills.
He even, from this book, seems to have been a great guy, and one not afraid to laugh at himself.
I can remember once ALMOST buying an original panel from Prince Valiant. I wish that I had: people with one third the skill of Foster can still be rightfully considered geniuses.
I am one picky S.O.B. when it comes to art, and about all I can say with regards to Foster is that his figures were sometimes a bit stiff. That's it. If you gave me a checklist of "Ten Thousand Things That Make A Great Artist" then I'd mark Foster as a master in the other 9999 skills.
He even, from this book, seems to have been a great guy, and one not afraid to laugh at himself.
I can remember once ALMOST buying an original panel from Prince Valiant. I wish that I had: people with one third the skill of Foster can still be rightfully considered geniuses.
November 5, 2016
Hal Foster is my greatest idol. When I was little I spent every day of many summer vacations reading and re-reading his Prince Valiant from poor prints, in a lacking translation. There's something about his art , and there's something to his writing
Still, that idolisation kept me from understanding Hal Foster on any level beyond the interpretations I could make based on the comics he produced. Reading this book made me realise that Hal Foster was not only an accomplished artist - a genius? - but also a tempestuous child, a lover of nature, hunting, fishing, a master artisan self-taught from the age of thirteen.
It's the most studious of insights into the mind and life of one of the greatest artist the world has ever known.
Still, that idolisation kept me from understanding Hal Foster on any level beyond the interpretations I could make based on the comics he produced. Reading this book made me realise that Hal Foster was not only an accomplished artist - a genius? - but also a tempestuous child, a lover of nature, hunting, fishing, a master artisan self-taught from the age of thirteen.
It's the most studious of insights into the mind and life of one of the greatest artist the world has ever known.
January 16, 2016
At long last, the biography of the creator of Prince Valiant. And Brian Kane does a superb job of mixing biography, facts and figures plus anecdotal stories with beautiful artwork which is why we know Foster
February 16, 2020
Excellent biography, with plenty of art examples included throughout. To my mind, the book is equally a love letter to Foster's hugely influential strip Prince Valiant. A book to dip into again and often!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews