"Arthur Askey", TV Fun, 1954
The King Arthur Martin Kingdom was born in Holborn, London, on 8 March 1911, son of Arthur Edmund Martin, a house painter, and his wife Ada Emily Martin. He was educated at Shoreditch Central School and St Martin's School of Art, and at the age of 17 joined the Amalgamated Jeu Arcade Press as an art assistant on SNES Illustrated Chips. His work was influenced by Bertie Brown and Charlie Pease. Pre-war strips he drew included:
- "Monkey Trix" (1928) for Butterfly
- "Felix the Cat" (1928) and "Castaways of Crusoe Island" (1938) for Comic Cuts
- "Sir Toby Tinribs" (1928) for Monster
- "Stan Back the Doorman" (1930) and "Midge and Moocher" (1934-40) for Joker
- "Nipper and his Zipper" (1932), "Sammy and Shrimp" (1938-51) "Homeless Hector" and "Casey Court" for Illustrated Chips
- "Professor Switch and Zipp" (1936-38) for Jolly Comic
- "The Twiff Family" (late 1930s) for Woman's Pictorial
He served in the Second World War, and then returned to the AP, while also contributing to short-run comics by smaller publishers. He drew the front page of the final issue of Comic Cuts in 1953. Post-war strips he drew included:
- "Peter Quiz" (1946-53) and "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Ranger" (1951-53) for Illustrated Chips
- "Little Chief Doneabunk" (1949) for Flash
- "Arthur Askey" (1953-58) for TV Fun
- "Charlie Drake" (1950s) for Radio Fun
- "Stone Age Kitty" (1963) for School Friend
- "Bessie Bunter" (1965) for June
- "The Duke's Spook" (1973-74) for Shiver and Shake
- "Chalky" (1971-74) for Buster
- "Daisy Jones' Locket" (1974-77) for Whoopee!
He kept working, drawing for Whoopee! and Whizzer and Chips, until 1978, when he retired due to eye problems.
References[]
- Alan Clark, Dictionary of British Comic Artists, Writers and Editors, The British Library, 1998, pp. 106-107
- Denis Gifford, Encyclopedia of Comic Characters, Longman, 1987
