MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD's Greatest Artists Series)

MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD's Greatest Artists Series)
by Don Martin

MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD's Greatest Artists Series)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Don Martin
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Box set
Published: 2007-10-23
ISBN: 0762430508
Number of pages: 1200
Publisher: Running Press

Book Reviews of MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD's Greatest Artists Series)

Book Review: THE GREATEST AND MADDEST OF ALL!
Summary: 5 Stars

The memory is an amazing thing. Most days I can't remember where I left my car keys and yet I can vividly remember events from decades ago like they were yesterday. One of those memories, I was probably around 12 or 13 at the time, found me at my local bookstore checking out the new comics. I had some extra money from Christmas and it was burning a hole in my pocket. Then I saw a book featuring Don Martin strips from Mad Magazine. This wasn't one of those little paperbacks but rather a magazine-sized book that I think cost around four or five bucks. Considering these were the days when comics were around 30 or 35 cents that was a LOT of money to me. I spent the night by my friend's house that night, cracking up all night reading Martin's wild strips.

The stable of cartoonists that Mad Magazine boasted throughout the 50's through the 80's was simply amazing: Jack Davis, Dave Berg, Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragones, Antonio Prohias, and, of course, Don Martin, the man known as Mad's Maddest Artist! These men were all geniuses in their own right and all had very lengthy tenures with Mad. Martin worked for the magazine for an incredible 32 years from 1956 through 1988. Martin's strips were the most off-kilter and insanely silly things I had ever seen and I've been a fan ever since I first saw his work. His characters are instantly recognizable by their droopy eyes, round bulbous noses, and the trademark hinged feet.

Now there have been many artist collections, summary sampling's of greatest work and things like that, but here we have something most unique. This isn't a sampling or a best of type of work...this is EVERYTHING...the whole nine yards, the whole shebang...the whole...well, you get the idea. Contained in this massive, two-volume set is every piece of art that Don Martin did for Mad Magazine in 32 years: every strip, every cover, every poster, and everything else...all slammed between the pages of two, 500 page hardcover books, presented in chronological order. The volumes come in a sturdy slipcase, with each side bearing Martin's take on a famous work of art.

It's interesting to see Martin's earliest strips. It would be a couple of years before he really refined the "Don Martin look" and find his niche in the Magazine. Probably the first strip which had that look was 1957's `The Unfortunate Part of Feeding Pigeons Homemade Popcorn". Here, three men are sitting on a park bench feeding the pigeons. They notice that the pigeons only seem to like the popcorn being tossed out by the man in the middle...soon the pigeons are swarming as well as the people. This is the best popcorn they have ever had! They wonder what his secret is and he explains, casually, it's made with arsenic because he hates pigeons....The man strolls away leaving bodies of people and pigeons everywhere. This is the kind of wacky, often macabre strip that Martin became famous for.

Early on, Martin did recurring strips such as Future TV Ads and Strange Tales. It was in the mid-60's when Martin began to name most of his strips with simple titles like "One Day in the Jungle", "One Night in a Restaurant", "One Day in the Park", and then advanced onto more specifically titled "One Late Afternoon in South Dakota" and One Rainy Afternoon in the Black Forest". Bottom line is that no matter where or what time, Martin had a strip for it, seemingly.

Martin's cartooning style wasn't his only trademark. Just as important was his impossible sound effects. No one made sound effects like Martin...a steamroller rolling over an eyeball makes a "Sklork!"; "Thwa-Dap!" and "Spla-Map" are the sounds made when a black belt ant slams the guy who tried to step on him, on the pavement; and only Martin could envision the "Geeen" which is the sound of Plasticman giving the finger to a guy on the 32nd floor of a building. That's Gold! For the sound effect enthusiast the inside front and back covers are loaded with all of Don's unique noises.

Some of my favorite Martin strips were the parodies he did of popular movie and TV shows. These lengthier strips gave Martin a chance to really showcase his plotting ability. There was "Conehead the Barbiturate" from 1982, Outtakes from Superman III and Return of the Jedi, and Star Trek III the Search for Spock. For 32 years, Martin always managed to keep his work fresh and funny.

The books are high quality, glossy stock paper and bound in heavy covers. At $150 it's a hefty price tag although online sellers like Amazon discount it for under a hundred bucks so it is a very good deal. Imagine...owning everything Don Martin did for Mad Magazine, now that is priceless!

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

Summary of MAD's Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD's Greatest Artists Series)

Just about everyone who came of age during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s was influenced by MAD MAGAZINE, and no one at MAD was more influential than "MAD's MADdest Artist," Don Martin. His immediately recognizable style--featuring bulbous noses, wild sound effects, and the legendary "hinged feet"--was filled with broad and daring slapstick and routinely broke new ground. A surprisingly quiet man, Martin's work spoke volumes as he left an indelible mark on several generations, influencing the style of many illustrators while shaping the sense of humor of countless misguided youths. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004. Says Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side: "Don Martin was the one who really stood out."Now, it is with great pride that Running Press, in collaboration with MAD, launches the MAD?s Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin (MAD?s Greatest Artists Series). For the first time ever, here is the complete collection of every piece of art Don Martin published in MAD throughout his extraordinary thirty-year tenure (1957-1987). With all of Martin's strips, covers, posters, and stickers--presented in chronological order--it is nothing less than a masterpiece of comic genius. Complementing Martin's opus of published works are letters, sketches, and rare photos providing an in-depth look at the artist at work. Plus, scattered throughout are notes and original illustrations--commissioned for this volume--paying tribute to the artist and penned by MAD's most-notable personalities, including Al Jaffee, Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Sergio Aragonés, and more. There are also notes by the likes of Jim Davis (Garfield) and a foreword by Gary Larson. A collector's item and object d'art in its own right, this deluxe two-volume slipcased edition will be the season's must-have gift book for the millions whose childhoods--and subsequent adulthoods--would not have been the same without MAD MAGAZINE and Don Martin.

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