MAD Magazine

Fandom
Name:	MAD Magazine
Abbreviation(s):	MAD, Mad Magazine
Creator:	Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines
Date(s):	1952-ongoing
Medium:	Print
Country of Origin:	US
External Links:	Official website; Wikipedia
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

MAD Magazine, a satirical humour magazine, is the last surviving title from the EC Comics. Founded in 1956 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines as a comic book, it publishes satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures with its mascot, Alfred E. Neuman appearing on every front cover. The magazine reached its peak popularity in the 1970s, with more than two million subscribers during its 1973–1974. It was eventually acquired by DC Comics, who continues to publish it.

Regular Features

Some of the better-known recurring features in MAD are:

• "Spy vs. Spy" - ongoing comic strip featuring a black clothed and a white clothed spy trying to kill each other, created by Sergio Aragones, often appearing in the margins of other features.
• The "Mad Fold-In" - produced by Al Jaffee until 2020, the back cover featured an illustration and captain which could be folded to create a new illustration and caption.
• "The Lighter Side of ..." - an ongoing comic strip written and created by Dave Berg, satirising everyday topics such as medicine, office life, parties, marriage, psychiatry, shopping, and school.
• Television and movie parodies - five-page spoofs of movies or television shows popular at the time of release. Wikipedia has a list of the films parodied from 1953 to the 2020s and another list of the television shows for the same period.

Influence on Popular Culture

MAD has been named as an influence on comedy and satire over several generations, and either directly employed or inspired many well-known creators, including Art Spiegelman (creator of MAUS), Robert Crumb (leading face of Underground Comics), Dave Gibbons (comics artist especially known for Watchmen), Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), Weird Al Yankovic, Frank Conniff (writer and actor in Mystery Science Theatre 3000), Jerry Seinfeld (comedian and actor in Seinfeld), Bill Oakley (producer of The Simpsons).

For a list of artists and writers see Wikipedia's section on MAD's contributors.

Fanworks

Cosplay

• 

  Steampunk "Spy vs Spy" (2022)

Zines

• Casefiles Issue #3 - included a MAD Magazine parody (1986)