Dan Martin (cartoonist)
Dan Martin is a 20th and 21st century American cartoonist.
Martin, a St. Louis native, was graduated from Lindbergh High School. At age 16, He worked at Six Flags Over Mid-America as caricaturist. He joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1980 out of the University of Kansas.[1][2]
Martin draws the Weatherbird for the Post-Dispatch. He is the sixth cartoonist to draw the Weatherbird, which debuted in 1901 and appears every day on the paper's front page. He is the second-longest serving Weatherbird artist (after Amadee Wohlschlaeger), having taken over the strip in 1986.[3] "Albert Schweitzer, who was drawing the Bird at the time, told me he was planning to retire" Martin said. "After I had practiced for about a year, we took 10 Weatherbird drawings of mine mixed in with 10 of Albert’s and showed them to editor Bill Woo, who couldn’t tell the difference... So I got the job."[2]
In 1987,[4] Martin eliminated the cigar which had been emblematic of the character since its inception, He also restored the bird's beak to some degree (previous Weatherbird cartoonists had atrophied the beak to the point of a flat-faced Weatherbird).[5] It usually takes Martin about 45 minutes to create a Weatherbird cartoon.[6]
Martin also drew the weekly cartoon "Postcard From Mound City" for the Post-Dispatch editorial page[1] ("Mound City" is a nickname for St. Louis, based on the nearby Cahokia Mounds).
Martin went into semi-retirement in 2023. He still draws the Weatherbird, but gave up additional cartooning duties.[7]
Works
- Martin, Dan (2001). The Story of the First 100 Years of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird: The Oldest Continuously Running Daily Cartoon in American Journalism. Virginia Publishing. ISBN 978-1891442155.
- Martin, Dan (2008). See You in the Funny Papers: The Rich Tradition of St. Louis Cartooning. Reedy Press. ISBN 978-1933370279.
References
- ^ a b Gilbert Bailon (March 24, 2014). "From the editor: Celebrating the Weatherbird". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ a b Suzy Rust (August 3, 2012). "BOOZE DOODLES: St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird Illustrator Dan Martin's "Warm Bird Keeper"". Feast. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "St. Louis Public Library UPDATE: A Tribute to Amadee". St. Louis Public Library, City of St. Louis. September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ Dan Martin, Huy Mach. Dan Martin draws the Weatherbird (Digital video) (Digital video). St. Louis: St. Louis Post-Disptach. Event occurs at 1:46. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ Jim Allen. "Dan Martin and the St. Louis Cartoon Connection". The Glyph (Great Lakes NCS Newsletter). Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ Hemphill, Evie (April 13, 2021). "Under Dan Martin's Steady Hand, 120-Year-Old Weatherbird Still Lands In Post-Dispatch Daily". STLPR. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ Simon, Benjamin. "RFT Asks: What's It Like Drawing the Post-Dispatch Weatherbird?". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
External links
- Lambiek Comiclopedia biography.
- Dan Martin draws the Weatherbird on YouTube
- 2012 interview with Feast Magazine