Captain Klutz


Captain Klutz is a comic strip character created in 1967 by Don Martin. He is a parody of superhero characters. The character originally saw print in a series of original paperback books done for the Mad magazine paperback line, not the magazine itself.

Backstory

The protagonist, Ringo Fonebone, is a hopelessly inept man utterly absorbed in reading comic books to the point that he was kicked out of his parents' house, a vocational school he tried to attend and a flophouse. While attempting suicide by hanging himself, the towel he used as a rope broke, inadvertently acquiring a mask, and finally crash-landed in the middle of a robbery, in long-johns, his "mask" and towel "cape", distracting the robber long enough for the police to capture him. The robber's angry exclamation, "Why, you klutz!," was taken by the dazed Ringo as his name, and he responded to the officers' questions regarding his identity with: "I'm...a klutz, captain." The police thought he had said he was "Captain Klutz".

Adventures

Captain Klutz did not lead a luxurious life, being reduced to homelessness at various times. He was also utterly inept at crime-fighting, being poor at deduction, easily misled, and naive. He usually succeeded in capturing the bad guy in spite of himself.
His main ally was Police Chief O'Freenbean, and he fought a variety of enemies, including:
  • Sissyman
  • Comrade Stupidska
  • Mervin the Mad Bomber
  • Gorgonzola
  • The Cackling Cockroach

    Creators

Don Martin illustrated all the Captain Klutz stories. Numerous writers were credited for the stories. A listing of the stories, as well as the credited writers, follows.
The MAD Adventures of Captain Klutz
Stories below uncredited; credited writers Dick DeBartolo, Phil Hahn, Jack Hanrahan, Don Martin
  • Prologue/Origin
  • "Sissyman"
  • "The Message"
  • "Chicken Soup"
  • "On The Elevator"
  • "Gorgonzola"
  • "Mervin the Mad Bomber"
MAD's Don Martin Carries On
MAD's Don Martin Steps Further Out
MAD's Don Martin Forges Ahead
MAD's Don Martin Digs Deeper
  • "The Gravest Show on Earth" written by Dick DeBartolo
MAD's Don Martin Grinds Ahead
  • "The Cackling Cockroach" written by Don Martin
MAD's Don Martin Presents Captain Klutz II
  • "To Brusha with Love" written by Don Edwing
  • "The Klutz File", uncredited
  • "Hollywood Whodunnit", written by Dick DeBartolo
  • "The Sounds of Captain Klutz" and "The Klutz File", uncredited
  • "Theme Song from Captain Klutz – The Book" written by Don Martin and Nick Meglin, music by Norm Blagman
  • "The Klutz File", "Captain Klutz's Agendum for Secret Messages" and "Crimefighter's Corner" uncredited
  • "The Major Catastrophe" written by Don Edwing
Additional writers: John Gibbons, Norma Martin, and Dick DeBartolo
MAD's Don Martin Sails Ahead
  • "Klutzenstein" written by Don Edwing

    Appearances

Captain Klutz's adventures were featured in the following volumes:
  • The MAD Adventures of Captain Klutz
  • MAD's Don Martin Presents Captain Klutz II
Captain Klutz stories also appeared in the following Don Martin anthologies:
  • MAD's Don Martin Carries On
  • MAD's Don Martin Steps Further Out
  • MAD's Don Martin Forges Ahead
  • MAD's Don Martin Digs Deeper
  • MAD's Don Martin Grinds Ahead
  • ''MAD's Don Martin Sails Ahead''