''Abe Martin'' was an American newspaper

gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip is the style of writing comic cartoons such that every installment of a strip delivers a complete joke or some other kind of artistic statement. It is opposed to story or continuity strips, which rely on the development of ...

comic strip, drawn by

Kin Hubbard Frank McKinney Hubbard (September 1, 1868 – December 26, 1930), better known as Kin Hubbard, was an American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist. His most famous work was for " Abe Martin". Introduced in ''The Indianapolis News'' in December 1 ...

and published from 1904 until 1937 in ''

The Indianapolis News The ''Indianapolis News'' was an evening newspaper published for 130 years, beginning December 7, 1869, and ending on October 1, 1999. The "Great Hoosier Daily," as it was known, at one time held the largest circulation in the state of Indiana. ...

'' and other newspapers.

Character

Abe Martin was an

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

character, making wisecracker jokes and uttering

saying A saying is any concisely written or spoken expression that is especially memorable because of its meaning or style. Sayings are categorized as follows: * Aphorism: a general, observational truth; "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth". ** Adag ...

s which became popular over the country. He made his first appearance on December 17, 1904.Weaver, Bill
"Abe Martin Lives,"
Our Brown County. Accessed Nov. 18, 2018. Originally the character's locality wasn't specified, but in a strip from February 3, 1905, he announced: "I'm goin' ter move ter Brown County Tewmorrow", which he did. At the time the character's popularity was such that by 1910 over 200 newspapers carried the strip and special

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

s were made. Notable fans were George Ade, Will Rogers and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

Early version

The ''Indianapolis News'' published a cartoon by Hubbard on September 15, 1904, featuring another character named Abe Martin. Early_version_of_Abe_Martin_by_Kin_Hubbard

Other one-panel cartoons of the era

* ''

Ching Chow ''Ching Chow'' is an American one-panel cartoon that was created by Sidney Smith and Stanley Link.Link entry

'' * '' Hambone's Meditations''

External links

Sources

American comic strips Martin, Abe Martin, Abe Martin, Abe Martin, Abe Martin, Abe Martin, Abe 1904 comics debuts 1937 comics endings Brown County, Indiana Gag-a-day comics Public domain comics Defunct American comics {{comic-strip-stub