On Hal Foster's initial preparation for drawing Prince Valiant

In 1935, press baron (and comics fan) William Randolph Hearst took a liking to Foster's work, and King Features, Hearst's newspaper syndicate, offered to create a strip for him. But Foster had been thinking up a story of his own. He chose King Arthur's day, nominally the 5th century. He wrote up six months' worth of plot, and sat down to draw. Again, his craftsmanship intervened. Foster stalled King Features for 18 months while he did research--into the costumes of the period, the weapons, the architecture, the customs, the horses' bridles, even the kitchen utensils. Then, finally, he drew.