Sean Martin (cartoonist)
Encyclopedia
Sean Martin is a Canadian
cartoonist
, set designer, and graphic designer
, best known for the Doc and Raider
comic strip series which appeared in LGBT
publications in the 1980s and 1990s.
Martin lived in New York and San Francisco before moving to Canada in 1986. He took Canadian citizenship in 1989, living in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. He published the first Doc and Raider strips in a Vancouver
gay publication in 1987. Although the issue featuring Doc and Raider turned out to be the final issue of the publication, the strip was quickly picked up by other LGBT publications, including the Xtra!
newspapers in Canada. The arrangement was a unique one in that Martin's fee for providing the panel was instead turned over to local charities and organizations, not necessarily LGBT ones; in its time, Doc and Raider underwrote everything from AIDS hospices in New Zealand to an arts festival in Scotland, resulting in total donations of close to a quarter million dollars (US). The characters have also been used to promote safer-sex practices and AIDS education, as well as rodeos, country dance conventions, and film festivals around the world.
Martin published two books of the comic: Doc and Raider: Caught on Tape in 1994 and Doc and Raider: Incredibly Lifelike in 1996. A third, to be presented as an eBook, is currently in the works.
Martin retired the regular strip in 1997, although he drew two special five-page stories for the Little Sister's Defence Fund
anthologies What's Right and What's Wrong in 2002. He has continued to work as an artist and graphic designer, and has more recently explored projects to revive Doc and Raider in new formats, particularly with a more political satire slant, as well as short form animations. Currently, in addition to the CG reprise of Doc and Raider, which can be viewed at its website, http://docandraider.com, Martin has also turned to illustrating such projects as Candide
, Gilgamesh
, and Aesop's Fables
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, set designer, and graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
, best known for the Doc and Raider
Doc and Raider
Doc and Raider is a Canadian comic strip, created by Sean Martin. Published in newspapers and magazines for LGBT audiences beginning in 1987, the strip's main characters were Doc and Raider, two gay men who began the series as roommates but eventually became a couple...
comic strip series which appeared in LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
publications in the 1980s and 1990s.
Martin lived in New York and San Francisco before moving to Canada in 1986. He took Canadian citizenship in 1989, living in Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary. He published the first Doc and Raider strips in a Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
gay publication in 1987. Although the issue featuring Doc and Raider turned out to be the final issue of the publication, the strip was quickly picked up by other LGBT publications, including the Xtra!
Xtra!
Xtra! is a gay magazine, on newsprint in tabloid format, published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History and content :...
newspapers in Canada. The arrangement was a unique one in that Martin's fee for providing the panel was instead turned over to local charities and organizations, not necessarily LGBT ones; in its time, Doc and Raider underwrote everything from AIDS hospices in New Zealand to an arts festival in Scotland, resulting in total donations of close to a quarter million dollars (US). The characters have also been used to promote safer-sex practices and AIDS education, as well as rodeos, country dance conventions, and film festivals around the world.
Martin published two books of the comic: Doc and Raider: Caught on Tape in 1994 and Doc and Raider: Incredibly Lifelike in 1996. A third, to be presented as an eBook, is currently in the works.
Martin retired the regular strip in 1997, although he drew two special five-page stories for the Little Sister's Defence Fund
Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium
Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's," is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village / West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a predominantly gay community...
anthologies What's Right and What's Wrong in 2002. He has continued to work as an artist and graphic designer, and has more recently explored projects to revive Doc and Raider in new formats, particularly with a more political satire slant, as well as short form animations. Currently, in addition to the CG reprise of Doc and Raider, which can be viewed at its website, http://docandraider.com, Martin has also turned to illustrating such projects as Candide
Candide
Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best ; Candide: or, The Optimist ; and Candide: or, Optimism...
, Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
, and Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
.