Controversy, comics and the Van Der Weyden Factor

The MJA bids a fond farewell to its Editor of 16 years

When Martin B Van Der Weyden, 11th Editor of the Medical Journal of Australia, retired a few weeks ago, it was the end of a remarkable chapter in the Journal’s history. Sixteen years earlier, in his first message as Editor to the Journal’s readership,1 Martin had promised to oversee the MJA’s return to relevance for the medical profession and the abolition of its sometime reputation as the “Blue Comic”. He achieved this, and more, taking the Journal to a new level, not just for readers but among its international peers.