Examples of Don Martin's eccentric onomatopoeia.
Don Martin was an American cartoonist and one of the most prominent and productive artists of Mad Magazine. He was born in 1931 in Paterson, New Jersey, and attended the Newark Art School and the Philadelphia Academy of Arts. Martin was strongly inspired by comic artists Gene Ahern (he particularly liked his topper comic 'The Nut Brothers'), Percy Crosby, Albert Dorne, Bud Fisher, Will Eisner, Fontaine Fox, Milt Gross, George Herriman, Bill Holman, Clifford McBride, George McManus, Vip (Virgil Partch), E.C. Segar and Cliff Sterrett. Later in his career, he also expressed admiration for Robert Crumb. Martin also loved Looney Tunes cartoons, particularly Chuck Jones' 'Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner' and Friz Freleng's 'Tweety & Sylvester', calling Sylvester "the funniest cartoon character." His favorite cartoonists were John Gallagher, Tom Henderson, Al Hirschfeld, James Thurber, but above all Saul Steinberg. Interviewed by Jud Hurd for Cartoonists Profiles issue #88 (December 1990), Martin said that with many of his favorite comic artists, he admired and remembered the artwork much more than the actual stories. Martin also liked the painters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
Martin settled in New York and began his career doing illustrations for jazz records, postcards and the science fiction magazines Fantasy and Galaxy. He joined Mad Magazine in 1956 and his work was published there until 1988. Unlike other artists, Martin had his own self-named section in Mad, called the 'Don Martin Dept.'.
'Mad Magazine'.
Martin became one of the most important satirical comic makers of the United States, with characters like Fester Bestertester and Captain Klutz. He became legendary for his zany sound effects. American superheroes were a topic Martin especially liked to pick on. He left Mad in late 1987 after an argument with publisher William M. Gaines. He then worked with Cracked for six years, before launching his own short-lived title, Don Martin Magazine. He had a daily strip called 'The Nutheads' between 1989 and 1993, initially through Universal Press Syndicate, but later through self-syndication. One of the assistants on this series was Jack Bender.
'More Fairy Tale Scenes We'd Like To See' ('The Frog Prince'). From Mad Special #44 (Fall 1983).
Failing eyesight forced him to reduce his production, but Martin remained active well into the 1990s. Martin, who had lived in Miami for most of his life, died of cancer in Coconut Grove, Florida, in the year 2000.
Don Martin had an immeasurable impact on numerous humorous comic artists, all over the world. In the United States, he influenced Peter Browngardt (his animated show 'Uncle Grandpa' was a direct tribute), John Callahan, Bob Camp, Jim Davis, Duck Edwing, Gary Larson, Everett Peck, Bill Plympton, Rich Powell, Gilbert Shelton and J.R. Williams. Jeff Smith based the character Fone Bone in his comic 'Bone' on Fonebone from Martin's comics. In Canada, he was an inspiration to Chester Brown, John Kricfalusi and Graeme MacKay. In Europe, Martin found followers in Belgium (Kamagurka, Pirana), France (Jean-Marc Reiser, Georges Wolinski), The Netherlands (Gerrit de Jager, Schwantz, Peter de Smet), Norway (Lise Myhre) and the United Kingdom (Phill Jupitus, Lee James Turnock).
Original Don Martin watercolor dedicated to Lambiek.