Martz Schmidt or Schmidt is the pseudonym of the Spanish comic author Gustavo Martínez Gómez ( Cartagena,

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

, 3 July 1922 -

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 5 January 1998). He is part of the second generation the Bruguera school alongside

Figueras Figueres (; ) is the capital city of Alt Empordà county, in the Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Dalí Theatre and Museum, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which att ...

Gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

, Ibáñez, Nadal,

Segura Segura may refer to: Geography * Segura (river), a tributary of the Mediterranean Sea in southeastern Spain * Sierra de Segura, a mountain range in southeastern Spain * Segura, Gipuzkoa, a town in the Basque Country, northern Spain * Segura de lo ...

, Raf or Vázquez.

Biography

His professional career in comics began in the late 1940s, publishing humorous comics in magazines such as ''Nicolás'', ''Florita'' o ''Paseo Infantil''. Around the same time he worked as an illustrator. In 1949 he moved to Barcelona, where he made comic strips for the publisher Editorial Clíper, where he created characters ''Toribio'' or ''Doctor Cascarrabias'' and was almost the sole artist for the magazine ''Pinocho''. In 1951 he was hired by publisher Bruguera where he created ''Don Danubio, personaje influyente'' (1951), ''El doctor Cataplasma'' (1953) about a small doctor and his black maid Panchita, ''Troglodito'' (1957) about a stereotypical

caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin B ...

and his family and ''El profesor Tragacanto y su clase que es de espanto'' (1959) about a short, grumpy teacher and his mischievous students. He alternated his work as a cartoonist during this decade with other activities, such as scenography, wall painting, or his integration into the ''La Buhardilla'' cultural group, alongside Lorenzo Gomis,

Joan Perucho Joan Perucho Gutiérrez (Barcelona, 7 November 1920 – Barcelona, 28 October 2003) was a Spanish novelist, poet and art critic, an activity that alternated with his profession as a judge. His work, written in Catalan and Spanish mix with other t ...

and Armando Matías Guiu. In the early 1960s, he founded the Martz Schmidt Studio, a design and advertising company. He also created for Bruguera the series: ''La pandilla Cu-Cux Plaf'' (1962) about a group of wannabe detective children against a masked murderer, ''El Sheriff Chiquito, que es todo un gallito'' (1962) a

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

parody or ''Don Trilita'' (1964) about a brawny muscular man. He also wrote comics for the character '' Doña Urraca'', after the death of his creator,

Jorge Jorge is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name George. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese . It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios ...

. Doña Urraca is the protagonist of one of the most celebrated strips by Martz Schmidt, the

gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...

parody ''Doña Urraca en el castillo de Nosferatu'' (1972). This strip had problems with censorship due to the appearance of attractive vampires, the Daughters of the Night, so its publication had to be discontinued on page 24. Martz Schmidt continued working for Bruguera during the 1970s and 1980s, sometimes with scripts of other authors such as

José Luis Ballestín José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

Jaume Ribera Jaume () is a Catalan male given name. It is the equivalent of James. Notable people Notable people with this given name include: * Jaume Aragall (born 1939), Spanish tenor * Jaume Balagueró (born 1968), Spanish filmmaker * Jaume Balmes (birth na ...

. In 1985, however, due to the publisher's financial problems, he moved his series ''Cleopatra, reina de Egipto'' from '' Mortadelo'' magazine to '' Guai!'', a new and ephemeral comic magazine of publisher Editorial Grijalbo. For the publisher

Ediciones B Ediciones B is a Spanish publisher, which currently operates as a division of Penguin Random House. Ediciones B is headquartered in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; with branches throughout Latin America. It was established in 1986, but has its orig ...

he created in 1979 ''Deliranta Rococó'' about a fat, rich and capricious woman and her short buttler. He died in 1998 of lung cancer.

References

External links

Martz Schmidt
in Lambiek Comiclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Martz 1922 births 1998 deaths Spanish comics artists Spanish comics writers Spanish humorists People from Murcia 20th-century Spanish artists