Do you remember Mad Magazine? I sure do. Stumbling upon it as a kid was a whole revelation to me, showing that it was possible to make fun of the commercials, TV shows, and foibles of my time. It was a subversive epiphany that it was possible to criticize the culture around me. I’m sure it helped make me the culture critic I am today. After awhile, I stopped reading it because it stopped being as funny–or maybe because I grew out of its juvenile humor–but I’m glad to see it it’s in the news for its cover story on the first 100 minutes of the Obama administration. The story, though, strikes a sad note, adding that Mad will no longer be published every month, that economic conditions are forcing it to become a quarterly.
So do any of you remember any classic Mad Magazine moments?
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Snappy answers to stupid questions!
Snappy answers to stupid questions!
Great followup cover page to this one last year.
As for classic MAD moments, one has to include anything by Frank Kelly Freas or Don Martin.
I remember buying issues for “25 cents cheap”.
Spy vs. Spy! I love those cartoons.
Haven’t read the magazine in years. I’m informed that after William F. Gaines’ death, it passed into the hands of preachy liberals.
My favorite memories from the golden years are of their “Bonnie and Clyde” parody, which ended with “Balmy” reading a poem to “Clod:”
“Clod and Balmy, Clod and Balmy,
They’re gentle as rain, but strong as salami…”
At which point the lawman machineguns them and explains:
“I couldn’t take it any longer!”
“What? Their life of crime?”
“No. That awful poem!”
Then there was the parody of “Fiddler On the Roof,” which they updated to a modern, upscale Jewish family which had an “Antenna On the Roof” (of the doghouse). Zero Mostel played the new Tevya, and he sang “If I Were a Poor Man.”
I’d have my wife, that nagging bag of a spendthrift
Charging her clothes in great amounts
In dress stores in that big fancy shopping mall.
And when the stores found out that she was a deadbeat,
Soon she would have no charge accounts.
And that would be the sweetest thing of all!
That piece actually ended with a lecture (by the ghosts of the movie characters) admonishing them to thank God for the wonderful lives they enjoyed in America.
Don Martin Department!
Especially the series on Rapunzel.
I remember Frank Kelly Freas from Analog SF Magazine; great covers there!
Also, when I was a young Christian I found a book called MAD Looks At The Ten Commandments, which was quite interesting.
There were the fold-ins on the back cover.
I also remember a parody of Star Trek called “Star Blech” where Spock takes some soil from the planet their on, puts a bit on his tongue and says, “Hmm. It’s not as good as Whip ‘N’ Chill, but it does have a very nice flavor.” Remember Whip ‘N’ Chill?
I’m with Eric M. I loved Spy vs Spy.
Like Ed, when I discovered Mad Magazine as a kid, a new world opened, one at which my parents could only shake their heads. They did wonderful parodies of movies and tv shows. One in particular was about “deepest darkest Africa”, “thousands of miles from civilization and a good ten miles from the nearest Howard Johnson’s”. I can’t tell you how many times I used that joke. It went on to recapture the “natives” dancing and singing around a campfire, ancient songs of their forebears. What were they singing? “Did you ever see a Lassie go this way, go that way…?” Ah, good corny humor.
The other thing about their work was how many little embedded visual jokes they used, so that you could go back to the same stories over and over again and see something new. An example: doing a comical cover of a popular FBI television serial which only used Ford cars in its program, MAD had the Ford label on anything that moved, including a helicopter.
I remember when the price went up to 30 cents, and the word “cheap” under it was crossed out. I was probably the only kid in my class who read MAD, so I would use those “snappy answers to stupid questions” and the like, whereupon my friends thought I was SO devastatingly funny!
My mom has a great collection of the Mad books, I’ll have to start reading them again.
In terms of artists, I know Don Martin is popular, but (as someone who aspired to be an artist) I was always deeply impressed by Mort Drucker’s caricature art. He captured the characters spot on, and his work had realistic depth–not to mention funny details. A real genius.
I got a kick out of Don Martin — not just his art, but the way he SPELLED different sounds.
I remember the age I was when I couldn’t get enough of the juvenile humor that is MAD magazine. And if I remember correctly, I especially craved their caricatures of women for some reason – of maybe I’m confused, for Veith’s other post today has just got me thinking of sex and art a little too much
I remember my teenage days, my brother and I would read this mag. regularly.
I especially remember the cover with Alfred E. Neuman. Maybe they should put out one of those covers with a story on the liberals in govt., et al and include their famous caption: “What, Me Worry?”!!!