MAD MAGAZINE's Death Throes

[Monsters For Sale]

I'm posting this here instead of General Discussion because Mad catered to the monsterkid audience with lots of horror-related content over the years, even publishing collections of horror/sci-fi articles.


                                      (Only this time, it isn't a joke)

One-time boyhood adolescent mainstay, Mad Magazine, is limiting its distribution and phasing out new content.

          https://tinyurl.com/y2hre4k5

What a sad, piece-meal end to the former publishing giant.

A couple favorite covers.

One from my boyhood:


    Mad Magazine - December, 1960 - Headless Horseman

One from the UK:


               Mad Magazine - November, 1991 - Universal Monsters - UK

Have any favorite covers you'd like to share?

[Monsters For Sale]

                             Mad Magazine - No. 89 - September, 1964

[Mike Scott]

I like the UMs cover, but who's the interloper? 

[Haunted hearse]

Since Mad was the final of the EC comics, it has had many connections with horror media. EC Artst Jack Davis gave us the designs for "Mad Monster Party", and the writers of the screenplay included Harvey Kurtzman, who created Mad Magazine.

[marsattacks666]

Let's not forget William Gaines(R.I.P.)

[Haunted hearse]

Even though Gaines later sold Mad magazine, he continued creative control of the magazine until he passed on, and I think that adversely affected the magazine. The magazine recently just wasn't that much as it was when I was growing up.

[Rex fury]

I just read another article about Mad's fate this morning. The author referenced the issue of Mad featuring Easy Rider and the issue congratulating Kennedy's presidential win on one side and Nixon on the other. It was that type of satire that made the magazine a staple for my generation. It seems the ability to poke fun at both sides of the political spectrum, or the county itself has been lost today. I'd love to see humor without hate return to social media. Betty Ross's flag? Battles for airports during the Revolutionary War? Unfortunately I need Mad more than ever.
RF

[Mord]

I read about this yesterday. It's really the end of an era. First Playboy gets rid of nudes (I guess they actually believed people bought it for the articles), then this. What's wrong with people today? They've all become sexless, humorless drones.

[Monolith]

It is very sad. I grew up with MAD and it was a huge influence on me. The good news is we have 67 years worth of back issues to read. Here's a portrait I've had for a long time...

Alfred E. Neuman Portrait (1960's) by donald deveau, on Flickr

[Monsters For Sale]

I remember buying that portrait of Alfred E. Newman.  I sent them my 25¢ and waited anxiously for it to arrive in the mail that the Post Office delivered twice a day, once on Saturday.  (Even the Post Office took off on Sunday.)

As I remember, that portrait was the very first thing sold through ads in the magazine.  (Maybe subscriptions first.)  Then, they added bisque busts of Alfred E. and their special paperback collections of articles.  But that was pretty much all. 

Later, they would have plastic models and large, hardbound collections.  It was never a lot.  The ads never took more than one page, and there were never any outside advertisers.  MAD kept pure by refusing all advertisers, so they felt free to lampoon anyone.  Everyone was fair game.

Even as a kid, I appreciated that level of integrity.

[Haunted hearse]

Even their readers were targets of humor. They would regularly refer to their readers as idiots.

[Monsters For Sale]

Even their readers were targets of humor. They would regularly refer to their readers as idiots.

They had me pegged.

[Mord]

"What, me worry?"... Yep, starting to.

[Hepcat]

Very sad to be sure. The problem is that kids today are too TV and computer screen oriented to read.



This is the Mad issue I want the most since I very clearly remember buying it in the Buffalo Greyhound station during my bus trip from St. Thomas, Ontario to Kennebunkport, Maine in September of 1965:



It's just made a quantum leap on my Want List.

Here's another Mad Special that I clearly remember buying in the late spring of 1966 at my corner variety store:



The record was made of cardboard but could nonetheless be played on a standard phonograph. It consisted of an instrumental track periodically interrupted by Alfred E. Neuman's belches.



Incidentally, can anyone identify all the singers on the cover? I can only ID about half of them.

[Hepcat]

I read about this yesterday. It's really the end of an era. First Playboy gets rid of nudes (I guess they actually believed people bought it for the articles), then this. What's wrong with people today? They've all become sexless, humorless drones.

Don't forget "senseless". Sexless, humorless and senseless.