Sunday, April 5, 2009

Page 1788

Hal Foster's art meant a lot of things to a lot of people. Each panel of his seventeen hundred and eighty eight Prince Valiant pages was a work of art. Somewhere along the way here I'm going to start posting some of his individual panels, in full resolution, for close-up examination of his greatness. In the meantime, here is his first and his last of  his Prince Valiant saga.

First Hal Foster Prince Valiant panel, 1937

Last Prince Valiant panels to be written and illustrated by Hal Foster, 1971

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I very much look forward to your analysis! Unfortunately, I didn't become aware of Foster until shortly after he'd retired from Prince Valiant.

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

I find that it really makes a difference when I look at a Foster panel close up, seeing lines that go unnoticed otherwise. Even the color ben-day dots take on a certain dimension that helps to create atmosphere.

I'm going to try to get in really close for these posts in particular.

Unknown said...

I have been reading and enjoying the artistry of Hal's work for nearly 55 years. Even I was startled to see the subtle images in his last page published and wonder if he was just having fun or had a message. The ape like face in the boulder of panel 2. The boulder tortise and the "buried head" bowing figure on the left; the woman's torso and eagle head on the right. Fascinating. A brilliant illustrator.

Unknown said...

I have a full page limited edition of the last Prince Valiant drawn by Hal Foster framed any idea what it might be worth?

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

From my understanding, as a print, it might be worth what you paid for it, but otherwise probably not much more than that.