Gaia Speaks

Gaia Speaks
David Horsey
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Don Martin Shrine

The Don Martin Shrine
Donald "Don" Martin (May 18, 1931 - January 6, 2000) was a popular American cartoon artist whose best-known work appeared in MAD magazine from 1956 to 1988.

Martin often was billed as "MAD's Maddest Artist." Whereas other features in MAD, recurring or otherwise, typically were headed with pun-filled "department" titles, Martin's work always was headed with only his name - "Don Martin Dept." - further fanfare presumably being unnecessary.

At his peak, each issue of MAD typically carried three Martin strips of one or two pages each.

Martin's immediately recognizable drawing style (which featured bulbous noses, and the famous "hinged foot") was loose, rounded, and filled with broad slapstick. His inspirations, plots and themes were often bizarre and at times bordered on the berserk.


I loved Don Martin's artwork, humor and sound effects - as a kid he had a great impact on my impressionable mind.

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