''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 actions ...
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".
** Adage ...
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 other ...
s were made.
Notable fans were
George Ade
George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a column that ...
,
Will Rogers
William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
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.
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
''Hambone's Meditations'' was a comic strip produced from 1916 to 1968, and syndicated initially by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate and later by the Bell Syndicate. Produced by two generations of the Alley family, the one-panel cartoon originated ...
''
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
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