Introducing Mad Magazine
Created | Updated Dec 3, 2003
What is this 'Mad magazine'?, it's a humor periocical that parodies everything from politics to the entertainment world and fashion trends. Gracing nearly every cover with his gap-toothed facade is the mascot of the magazine, Alfred E. Neuman, also known as the 'what me worry?' kid. Alfred has been depicted as Darth Vader, several presidents, a baby, as well as numerous celebrities. Inside of the magazine you'll find 'The Letters and Tomatoes' Department, where readers berate and compliment the magazine, and the editor mocks and thanks the readers in turn. Further into 'Mad' you'll come across a Spy VS Spy cartoon, as well as several other satirical articles by different artists and writers. Inside the back cover is a special section that asks a serious question and answers it when the comic is folded in half. The magazine has all this, and no advertisements - well, except for the satirical ones, anyway.
Mad Magazine has been enjoyed by kids, college students, and hated by some adults for over 50 years, although the 'usual gang of idiots' who produce this 'rag' say it's best used to wrap fish or line the bottum of bird cages. Mad has had it's share of imitators over the years including Playboy Magazine's own Hugh Hefner, who published a short-lived magazine called Trump. Others to cash in on the humor business are magazines like Crazy, Cracked, and Mad's own Panic.
The first issue of Mad hit the news stands in the summer of 1952 as a comic book published by Entertaining Comics. E.C. was publishing, under the direction of owner William M. Gaines, many other titles before Mad Magazine ever came to be. Such titles as Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenceStories, and Shock SuspenceStories, to name a few, were the bread and butter of EC in it's infancy.
The End of Comics?
By 1954, at the peak of McCarthyism, horror comics were in deep trouble, author and psychiatrist fredric Wertham had published 7 years of study on the effects of comics on children in the book Seduction of the Innocent. The book targeted popular horror and crime comics and most pointedly the comics of William M. Gaines and EC. EC's horror and crime comics were believed to be the worst offenders, Communities and church groups were sponsoring comic book burnings as a result.On April 21,1954 Senate Judiciary Hearings were under way to decide what to do about comic books in general. William M. Gaines defended the kind of comics he published, Walt Kelly, creator of Pogo, was present as well as Milton Caniff, creator of Steve Canyon. Gaines was questioned thoroughly about his comics and what was thought to be in good taste. Gaines became the star of the inquiry and was frowned upon by newspaper and television. Things got worse for Gaines, he rented a hall and invited all the major comic book publishers to a meeting. The other publishers agreed that serious action was needed and it was suggested that they form a self-censoring board and ban the words crime, horror, terror, and weird. This pretty much put Gaines out of business. In September Gaines announced the suspension of his horror and crime comics, two days later the Comics Code Authority (CCA)was officially established. Distributors agreed to only sell comics bearing this code of authority. Gaines had only one title left, Mad, and His editor, Harvey Kurtzman, was close to leaving EC to work at a 'slick' magazine called Pageant, he didn't see much in the future for EC and wanted a raise in pay also. In an effort to keep Kurtzman in the fold, Gaines offered to let him turn the Mad comic into a magazine. As a magazine Mad would not have to surrender to the Comics Code Authority(CCA) and Gaines didn't think Mad, as a comic, could stand against the CCA.
EC Starts Over
In the summer of 1955 Mad appeared on the stands as a magazine and soon had a mascot, the gap-toothed fool named Alfred E. Neuman. Gaines would have to appear in supreme court to aquire the rights to Alfred's likeness, which had been around since 1910 and there was a question of copyrights.In 1961 Mad was sold to Premier Industries for several million dollars. The ownership of Mad Magazine has changed hands a number of times but Gaines always retained retained full authority on how the magazine was run. In 1965 Mad was made into an off-broadway play called The Mad Show, and it ran for a few years. Mad is even on television as Mad tv. Mad Magazine has changed a little over the years, different editors, new artists, some artists left and some have passed away.
As of 1989 Mad Magazine is owned by AOL Time Warner, the biggest media conglomerate in the United States. Mad's founder, William M. Gaines, passed away in 1992. Mad was, and still is, a great success and has expanded into more Mad Magazine titles like More Trash from Mad, Mad Follies, Mad Super Special, and The Worst of Mad. These titles were reprints of previously published material for the most part, but they came with bonus material like stecils, stickers, posters and music records. Mad also has hundreds of paperback books in print.
The most recent additions to the Mad empire are Mad Color Special and Mad XL, they added color to some of the pages of their flagship magazine and have advertisements now. Mad Magazine is so successful that it is published worldwide and translated into British, Danish, Norwegian, Brazilian, Chinese, Italian, and German, to name a few.
