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Captain Klutz is acomic strip character created in 1967 byDon Martin.^[1] He is aparody ofsuperhero characters. The character originally saw print in a series of original paperback books done for theMad magazine paperback line, not the magazine itself.

The protagonist, Ringo Fonebone, is a hopelessly inept man utterly absorbed in readingcomic books to the point that he was kicked out of his parents' house, a vocational school he tried to attend and aflophouse (the last expulsion left him in nothing but a set of redlong johns and dottedboxer shorts). Attempting to commitsuicide byhanging himself, the towel he used as a rope broke, inadvertently acquiring a mask (originally a woman's hat being thrown out by her irate husband), and finally crash-landed in the middle of arobbery, 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, youklutz!," was taken by the dazed (and temporarily amnesiac) 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".

Captain Klutz did not lead a luxurious life, being reduced tohomelessness at various times. (In one adventure, "my new airy apartment" was a park bench; in another, he hoped an invention would give him super-speed, so he could get a pizza delivery job.) He was also utterly inept at crime-fighting (apparentclumsiness), being poor atdeduction, easily misled, and naive. (An alleged "kung fu master" easily conned Klutz for phony "training" inmartial arts.) 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 (a villainousmama's boy whose secret headquarters was in his mother's house; his weapons included an ice-cream gun)^[2]
• Comrade Stupidska^[3]
• Mervin the Mad Bomber (Captain Klutz tries to lure Mervin out of hiding by calling on a bevy of his loved ones, including family, friends, and the entireNorman Luboff Choir)
• Gorgonzola (a giant mechanical spider; Klutz defeats him by grabbing a leg and sticking it into an electrical socket)
• The Cackling Cockroach

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 (1967)Stories below uncredited; credited writersDick DeBartolo, Phil Hahn, Jack Hanrahan, Don Martin

• Prologue/Origin

The genesis of Captain Klutz.

• "Sissyman"

No master of disguise, Klutz wears a rabbit costume while undercover as a high school football player.

• "The Message"

Klutz writes to Chief O'Freenbean ininvisible ink.

• "Chicken Soup"

A scheming matron builds an army ofzombies, by drugging the food at hersoup kitchen.

• "On The Elevator"
• "Gorgonzola"

A story of man versus spider.

• "Mervin the Mad Bomber"

Klutz learns to think twice, before calling out thebomb squad.

MAD's Don Martin Carries On (1973)

• "The Man of 1,000 Faces (Give or Take 900)" written byDick DeBartolo

MAD's Don Martin Steps Further Out (1975)

• "Kung Fu To You, Too!" written by Dick DeBartolo

MAD's Don Martin Forges Ahead (1977)

• "The Barfing Affair" written byDon Edwing

MAD's Don Martin Digs Deeper (1979)

• "The Gravest Show on Earth" written by Dick DeBartolo

MAD's Don Martin Grinds Ahead (1981)

• "The Cackling Cockroach" written by Don Martin

MAD's Don Martin Presents Captain Klutz II (1983)

• "To Brusha with Love" written byDon Edwing
• "The Klutz File", uncredited
• "Hollywood Whodunnit", written byDick DeBartolo
• "The Sounds of Captain Klutz" and "The Klutz File", uncredited
• "Theme Song from Captain Klutz – The Book" written by Don Martin andNick 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 (1986)

• "Klutzenstein" written by Don Edwing

Captain Klutz's adventures were featured in the following volumes:

• The MAD Adventures of Captain Klutz (Signet, 1967)
• MAD's Don Martin Presents Captain Klutz II (Warner Books, 1983)

Captain Klutz stories also appeared in the following Don Martin anthologies:

• MAD's Don Martin Carries On (Warner Books, 1973)
• MAD's Don Martin Steps Further Out (Warner Books, 1975)
• MAD's Don Martin Forges Ahead (Warner Books, 1977)
• MAD's Don Martin Digs Deeper (Warner Books, 1979)
• MAD's Don Martin Grinds Ahead (Warner Books, 1981)
• MAD's Don Martin Sails Ahead (Warner Books, 1986)

• Captain Klutz atDon Markstein's Toonopedia.Archived from the original on April 9, 2012.

• Mad (magazine)
• Parody superheroes
• 1967 comics debuts
• Comics characters introduced in 1967
• 1986 comics endings
• American comics characters
• Male characters in comics
• American superheroes
• Humor comics
• Parody comics
• Slapstick comedy

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