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Happy Birthday Hal Foster!!! (and my 5000th post)

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I thought I would use my 5000th post to pay tribute to Hal Foster (1892-1982) one of the all time greatest comic strip artists.

 

In January 1929 Foster introduced the world to the concept of the serious adventure strip when the Tarzan of the Apes daily strip appeared in newspapers.

 

 

 

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That early strip, adapting the novel Tarzan of the Apes was collected in book form by Grossett & Dunlap later that year in what could very well be the first true graphic novel.

 

 

 

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In 1931, Foster took over the color Sunday Tarzan strip and set the bar for everyone that would follow him.

 

 

 

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Foster's work first appeared in comic book form in 1936, when his Tarzan strips were reprinted in Tip Top Comics.

 

 

 

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In 1937, Foster began a new stripm, Prince Valiant, in which he was the full owner. For decades Prince Valiant was one of the best written and most beautifully drawn comic strips ever created.

 

 

 

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In 1941, Hal Foster did his only original work for a comic book when he drew the cover for Feature Book 26, which reprinted the first 64 Prince Valiant Sundays.

 

 

 

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Probably the greatest tribute to Foster is the respect given to him by professionals after him. He was revered, studied, mimicked, and swiped by an entire generation of artists, including Frazetta, Williamson, Moldoff, Kirby, Krenkel, Wood, and many others.

 

 

Happy Birthday Hal! :golfclap:

 

 

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