I Love Lollipops Martha

Illustration of a girl with red hair wearing a blue dress and holding a flower on a yellow background with black text

Marty Links (real name Martha Arguello) was a cartoonist whose professional work included syndicated newspaper comics, along with making ceramics and greeting cards later in her career. Her most famous creation was Emmy Lou, a teenage character for comic strips created in 1944 that ran in newspapers until 1979.  Links transitioned to creating her own cards in the 1970s and then began working for the Hallmark company. The Lollipops art series for Hallmark included greeting cards, Christmas ornaments, figurines, and other keepsakes with a variety of cherubic faced child characters involved in various activities. In an interview Links shared that she was recommended to Hallmark by friend and fellow cartoonist “Sparky” Charles Schulz, creator of the famous Peanuts comic strips.