'Albert Modley - Fun Star!'
Arthur Martin was a British comic artist, who worked a lot for the publications of the Amalgamated Press. He attended Shoreditch Central School and later St. Martin's School of Art. He got a job at Amalgamated Press at the age of 17 and became art assistant on Illustrated Chips. Among his early comic strips were 'Monkey Trix' for Butterfly (1928), 'Felix the Fat' (1928, originally created by Charlie Pease) for Comic Cuts and 'Sir Toby Tinribs' (1928) in Monster (1928).
Inspired by the style of his friends Bertie Brown and Charlie Pease, Martin was present in many 1930s magazines, including Joker ('Stan Back the Doorman'), Chips ('Nipper and his Zipper'), Sparkler ('Rags and Tatters') and Comic Cuts ('Castaways of Crusoe Island'). He took over several serials from other artists, such as 'Homeless Hector' and ''Casey Court' in Illustrated Cips.
'Albert Modley'.
He made 'The Twiff Family' for Womans' Pictorial' before serving in the Army during World War II. After the War, he returned to the AP titles, but he also contributed to smaller publishers ( 'Little Chief Doneabunk' in Flash).
He drew the comic 'Arthur Askey', about real-life actor and comedian Arthur Askey, for magazine TV Fun around 1953. The same strip, drawn by another artist, had also appeared in Radio Fun. In that magazine, Martin drew 'Charlie Drake' and 'Jimmy Edwards'. Arthur Martin remained active throughout the 1960s until his retirement in 1978. During this period, his work appeared in School Friend ('Stone Age Kitty'), June ('Bessie Bunter'), Shiver & Shake ('The Duke's Spook') and Buster ('Chalky'). He published his final contributions in Whoopee! and Whizzer & Chips.
'Arthur Askey'.