Hal Foster

Hal Foster was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip Prince Valiant. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship and attention to detail. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Foster moved to the United States in 1921, and began his illustration career in Chicago, eventually becoming an American citizen. In 1928, he began one of the earliest adventure comic strips, an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan. In 1937, he created his signature strip, the weekly Prince Valiant, a fantasy adventure set in medieval times. The strip featured Foster's dexterous, detailed artwork; Foster eschewed word balloons, preferring to have narration and dialogue in captions. Before becoming an artist, Foster had been an office worker, a boxer, and a gold prospector. He studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design. He was influenced by the illustrator J. C. Leyendecker. He worked for various advertising studios and magazines, such as Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post. He also presented weekly broadcasts on CBC Radio on renovation, house design and community planning. He received many awards and honours for his work, such as the Inkpot Award, the Reuben Award, the Elzie Segar Award, and the National Cartoonists Society Award. He was also a fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and an honorary member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He died of heart failure in 1982. ¹