First 'Tich' strip of 21 November 1931.
Dart was the pen name of a mid-20th century British cartoonist called "Martin", whose sole credit is being the first artist of the short-lived pantomime comic strip 'Tich' in the Daily Mirror.
Life and career
Nothing is known about the cartoonist Martin, except that he was a friend of advertising artist Stephen P. Dowling. With Dowling's brother Frank as gag writer, Martin launched the pantomime comic strip 'Tich', about a mischievous boy, in The Daily Mirror. Starting on 21 November 1931, Dart's tenure on the strip was short, however. Shortly after the strip's debut, Martin and Steve Dowling were involved in a car crash in which Martin was killed and Steve Dowling was thrown through the roof. After the death of his friend, Steve Dowling took over the 'Tich' strip, still signing with Martin's pen name "Dart". The final strip appeared on 25 November 1933.
Despite the tragic circumstances, the quick replacement as 'Tich' artist launched the cartooning career of Steve Dowling, who subsequently switched from commercial art to comics and remained one of the Daily Mirror's most productive artists for the next couple of decades, drawing features like 'Belinda Blue Eyes', 'Ruggles' and 'Garth'.