MAD Magazine

Mad is an American humor magazine founded by publisher William Gaines and editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. Offering satires on all aspects of American pop culture, the monthly publication deflates stuffed shirts and pokes fun at common foibles. It is the last surviving title from the notorious and critically acclaimed EC Comics line. Publisher Gaines had suffered greatly from censorship, which had literally driven his prior line of EC horror comics from the stands.

Recurring Features

In a parody of Playboy's "foldout" cheesecake pictures, each issue of Mad from 1964 on featured a "fold-in" on its inside back cover, designed by artist Al Jaffee. A question would be asked, which apparently was illustrated by a picture taking up the bulk of the page. When the page was folded inwards, the inner and outer fourths of the picture combined to give a surprising answer in both picture and words. With over 350 Fold-Ins to date, Jaffee has appeared in more issues of Mad than any other artist.

Related Topics:
Parody - Playboy - Cheesecake - 1964 - Al Jaffee

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Dave Berg produced "The Lighter Side of..." which often satirized the suburban lifestyle, capitalism and the generation gap. Although this feature eventually became notorious for its corny gags and garishly outdated fashion choices, the Mad editors, over decades, claimed it was the magazine's most popular feature. It was quite sharp in its early years, providing the sort of Americana-based humor that standups like Shelley Berman and Alan King performed successfully onstage. "The Lighter Side" feature was retired with Berg's death.

Related Topics:
Dave Berg - Capitalism - Generation gap - Shelley Berman - Alan King

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Antonio Prohias' wordless "Spy vs. Spy," the never-ending battle between the iconic Black Spy and White Spy, has lasted longer than the Cold War which inspired it. The strip was a silent parable about the futility of mutually-assured destruction, with various elaborate deathtraps designed in Prohias' thick line. Almost always, these traps would boomerang back on whichever Spy had originally concocted it; there was no pattern or order to which spy would be killed in which episode. A female "Gray Spy" occasionally appeared, the difference being that she never lost. Although Prohias eventually retired from doing the strip, "Spy vs. Spy" continues in newer hands.

Related Topics:
Antonio Prohias - Spy vs. Spy - Cold War

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Don Martin, billed as "Mad's Maddest Artist," drew regular one-page cartoons featuring lumpen characters with apparently hinged feet. The grotesque sight gags were frequently punctuated by an array of bizarre sound effects such as GLORK, PATWANG-FWEEE, or GAZOWNT-GAZIKKA, coined by Martin himself. When Martin first joined Mad, he employed a scratchy style, but this developed into a rounder, more cartoony look. Martin's wild physical comedy would eventually make him the signature artist of the magazine, but his long 31-year association with Mad ended in some rancor over the ownership of his work. Not long after leaving Mad, Martin ended up working at Mads competitor Cracked, who, unlike Mad, allowed creators to keep the copyright on their work. After a few years, Martin also left Cracked, and published a handful of issues of his own humorous magazine.

Related Topics:
Don Martin - Cracked

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Sergio Aragones, has written and drawn his "A MAD Look At..." feature for over 40 years. He is known for his remarkable speed and cartooning facility. Aragones also provides the "Mad Marginals": tiny gag images that appear throughout the magazine in the corners, margins or spaces between panels. Aragones debuted in Mad #76 (January 1963), and has appeared in every issue of the magazine but one since. Aragones' Mad cartooning is notable for its silence. He uses virtually no words; speech balloons, when they occur at all, will merely feature a drawing of whatever is being discussed. Aragones will occasionally bend this rule for a store window sign, or a stray "Gesundheit," or some other item necessary to the punchline.

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"Monroe" is an ongoing storyline about a prototypical, angst-filled, teenaged loser. It depicts his travails in school, his dysfunctional home and his unending troubles elsewhere. It is written by Anthony Barbieri and illustrated by Bill Wray, and passed its 100th episode in 2005.

Related Topics:
Anthony Barbieri - Bill Wray - 2005

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A typical issue will include at least one full parody of a popular movie or television show. The titles are changed to create a play on words; for instance, "The Addams Family" became "The Adnauseum Family." The character names are generally switched in the same fashion. These articles typically run 5 pages or more, and are presented as a sequential storyline with caricatures and word balloons. The opening page or two-page splash usually consists of the cast of the show introducing themselves directly to the reader; in some parodies, the writers sometimes attempt to circumvent this convention by presenting the characters without such direct exposition. Many parodies end with the abrupt deus ex machina appearance of outside characters or pop culture figures who are similar in nature to the movie or TV series being parodied, or who comment satirically on the theme. For example, Dr. Phil arrives to counsel the "Desperate Housewives," or the cast of "Sex and the City" show up as the new hookers on "Deadwood." Several show business stars have been quoted to the effect that the moment when they knew they'd finally "made it" was when they saw themselves thus depicted in the pages of Mad.

Related Topics:
The Addams Family - Deus ex machina - Dr. Phil - Desperate Housewives - Sex and the City - Deadwood

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Several Mad premises have been successful enough to warrant additional installments, though not with the regularity of the above. Other recurring features which have appeared in Mad include:

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• Advertising parodies-- too numerous to mention, though many have been written by Dick DeBartolo; these have ranged from TV ad spoofs to national campaigns to home marketing and have long provided one of the most durable sources of Mads humor. A separate paperback of original material titled Madvertising was published;
• Alfred's Poor Almanac-- this text-heavy page featured quick text gags, faux anniversaries, and other arcana, supposedly matched to each day of that month;
• Badly-Needed Warning Labels for Rock Albums-- written by Desmond Devlin, this series of articles mocks both the ongoing Parental Advisory labelling controversy and the musicians involved with specifically-written warning labels for particular recordings;
• Behind the Scenes at ____ -- written and illustrated by various, these frequently take an "eye in the sky" approach as various vignettes and conversations are played out simultaneously, showing the reader how the participants "really" think and behave;
• Believe It Or Nuts!-- written and illustrated by various (though most often drawn by Wally Wood or Bob Clarke), this parody of the print version of Ripley's Believe It Or Not would depict alleged marvels and mundanities of the world;
• Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds-- written by Mike Snider, this long-running feature lists and "ranks" possible methods of future death for one well-known person at a time;
• Celebrity Wallets-- written by Arnie Kogen, this was a series of peeks at the notes, photographs and other memorabilia being carried around in the pockets of the famous;
• Cents-less Coupons-- written by Scott Maiko, these imitate the giveaway coupon packets found in Sunday newspapers but promote ludicrous products such as "Inbred Valley Imitation Squirrel Meat";
• Chilling Thoughts-- written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Rick Tulka, these featured observations or predictions about both the culture and everyday life that had supposedly dire implications;
• Mad Deconstructs Talk Shows-- written by Desmond Devlin, these take on one show at a time and purport to reveal the minute-by-minute format breakdown of America's not too spontaneous chat programs;
• Disposable Camera Photos That Didn't Make the Album-- written by Butch D'Ambrosio and illustrated by Drew Friedman, these show "candid" photographs from events like proms, bar mitzvahs or weddings, with descriptive commentary;
• Do-It-Yourself Newspaper Story-- written by Frank Jacobs, these are short text news items containing a number of blank spaces. Each space has a corresponding list of numbered fill-in-the-blank options, which grow increasingly absurd. The premise is that with appropriate mixing and matching, the article can be read in a gigantic number of permutations;
• Duke Bissell's Tales of Undisputed Interest-- written and illustrated by P.C. Vey, these absurdist one-pagers present a series of non sequiturs and bizarre references in the guise of a linear storyline;
• Ecchbay Item of the Month-- laid out to mimic a computer screen linked to eBay, these purport to sell weird and often topical collectables;
• 15 Minutes of Fame-- written by Frank Jacobs, it consists of short poems about lesser celebrities and news figures;
• The 50 Worst Things About ____-- written and illustrated by various, this is an annual article format which has thus far dealt with large catch-all topics such as "TV," "comedy," or "sports";
• The Mad Hate File-- written and illustrated by Al Jaffee, these contained a series of observational one-liners about common irritations;
• Hawks & Doves-- written and illustrated by Al Jaffee, this was a shortlived series of cartoons in which a major is exasperated by a rebellious private who keeps finding ways to create the peace symbol on his military base;
• Horrifying Cliches-- illustrated by Paul Coker Jr. and often written by Phil Hahn, these articles visually depict florid turns of phraseology such as "tripping the light fantastic" or "racking one's thoughts"; the verbs are taken literally, and all the nouns are characterized as bizarre horned, scaled or otherwise unusual creatures; Mad also published a separate paperback of these;
• How Many Mistakes Can You Find In This Picture?-- these articles would show a widespread area such as a rock concert or a fast food outlet, and then reveal 20 visual "mistakes," which would typically be people behaving in moral or competent ways;
• Mads ____ of the Year-- written and illustrated by various, these 4-to-6-page articles would enact an interview with a fictional representative of a particular practice or element of society (i.e. "MAD's Summer Camp Owner of the Year"; "MAD's Movie Producer of the Year");
• The Mad Nasty File-- typically written by Tom Koch and illustrated by Harry North or Gerry Gersten, this series of insult articles would caricature a variety of public figures and proceed to abuse them verbally;
• Melvin and Jenkins' Guide to _____-- written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Kevin Pope, these "guides" present the behavioral or attitudinal "do's and don'ts" on a variety of topics, as demonstrated by the titular pair. This is meant to be a parody of Goofus & Gallant.
• Movie Outtakes-- these are screen captures of upcoming films (generally taken from the movie trailer, given new word balloons; MAD typically times these pieces to coincide with the movie's general release, either in advance of the full parody or in lieu of it;
• Obituaries for ____ Characters-- generally written by Frank Jacobs, these alleged newspaper clippings detail the appropriate demises for fictional characters from a genre such as comic strips, advertising, or television;
• People Watcher's Guide to ____-- often written by Mike Snider and illustrated by Tom Bunk, these articles use a scenario such as "the mall" or "a cemetery" to mock specific observed behaviors;
• Pop-Off Videos-- written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated with actual music video screen captures, these one-page articles mimicked the VH1 series "Pop-Up Video," which enhanced music videos with small bits of information; MAD also published a separate standalone special issue of these;
• The Mad _____ Primer-- written and illustrated by various, Mad Primers aped the singsong writing style of Dick and Jane and dealt with a wide variety of subjects from bigotry to hockey to religion; Mad also published a "Cradle to Grave Primer" as a separate paperback, showing the complete misery-filled life of one man;
• Scenes We'd Like to See-- written and illustrated by various, these were generally one page vignettes which inverted the common conventions of moviemaking, advertising, or the culture at large, ending with a cliched character in a cliched setting, acting cowardly or saying something atypically honest;
• Six Degrees of Separation Between Anyone and Anything-- written by Mike Snider and illustrated by Rick Tulka, this feature exploits the Kevin Bacon-based game of links to humorously connect various items or people in thematic or painstakingly phrased ways rather than proximity;
• Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions-- written and illustrated by Al Jaffee, this long-running series reproduces the inane, unnecessary questions we hear every day (i.e. "Hot enough for you?" "Did that hurt?") and supplies three obnoxious responses for each; Mad has also published several separate, standalone paperbacks of these;
• When ____ Go Bad-- written and illustrated by John Caldwell, each article depicts the outrageous behavior allegedly found within the worst element of a certain culture or profession (i.e. "When Nuns Go Bad"; "When Clowns Go Bad"; "When Veterinarians Go Bad");
• William Shakespeare, Commentator-- written by Frank Jacobs, these articles take Shakespeare quotations out of context and apply them to such areas as movies or sports;
• The Year in Film-- written by Desmond Devlin, these ironically juxtapose movie titles of the past calendar year with news or celebrity photographs;
• You Know You're Really ___ When...-- written and illustrated by various, these would take a common condition ("You're Really Overweight When..." "You're Really a Parent When...") and present several one-liners on the theme;

Besides the above, Mad has returned to certain themes and areas again and again, such as fullblown imaginary magazines, greeting cards, nursery rhymes, Christmas carols, song parodies and other poetry (updating "Casey at the Bat" being a perennial favorite), comic strip takeoffs, and others.

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