The current issue of Film Comment magazine features an extensive look at the history of MAD's movie parodies. As part of their research, they interviewed MAD Editor John Ficarra about the process of building each spoof and how the feature has evolved over the years.
Click through to read John's thoughts on how Mort Drucker, "horrible puns" and Louis Farrakhan have helped the parodies become an iconic part of MAD.
MAD has a long history of running a wide variety of material on our back covers: fake ads, magazine parodies, comics, and more. To wrap up 2012, each member of the MAD staff selected a favorite back cover and explained why this one stands out above hundreds of others. To read them all, click here!
MAD #230, April 1982
Selected by Editor John Ficarra
John says: "I first saw this back cover when I was still a newbie at MAD. I remember laughing out loud from it. It was the first time that I had ever been exposed to John (The Hammerhead) Caldwell’s art and I just loved his style. Looking at it today, 30 years later, I still love John’s style, but I also have a greater appreciation of his pacing and his element of surprise. You never see the joke coming. The fact that the joke is a cheap toilet gag — a staple of MAD — is a bonus, and something I think we can all embrace."
Writer and Artist: John Caldwell
Remember last week when we told you Jenna Wolfe and “Weekend TODAY" had stopped by to do a segment about MAD’s 60th Anniversary? Well, we weren’t just whistling Dixie, friends! That segment is airing this very Sunday! Is there any better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve-Eve than watching this amazing program? No...no, there is not! Check local listing for airtimes!
"Weekend Today"'s Jenna Wolfe poses with
MAD Editor John Ficarra and Art Director Sam Viviano
To celebrate MAD MAGAZINE’s 60th anniversary, Time Home Entertainment Inc. foolishly teamed up with MAD MAGAZINE on TOTALLY MAD: 60 YEARS OF HUMOR, SATIRE, STUPIDITY AND STUPIDITY, a new collection of the legendary humor magazine’s high-quality idiocy.
This afternoon, THE NEW YORK TIMES posted their weekly Best Seller lists and for some unexplainable reason, TOTALLY MAD debuted at #1 on their Hardcover Graphic Book list.
Speaking from MAD offices in New York, MAD Editor John Ficarra said, “If I knew the book was going to be this successful, I would have put a lot more effort into it. Oh well, too late now.”
Organized by decade, this oversized 256-page book features some of the world’s best comedy writers, cartoonists and humorous illustrators – “The Usual Gang of Idiots” – as they have long called themselves. In addition, the book includes numbered pages for maximum reader convenience.
TOTALLY MAD features a special foreword by long-time MAD fans Stephen Colbert and Eric Drysdale, plus five exclusive essays about MAD’s cultural impact, the origin of Alfred E. Neuman and the magazine’s history, including its landmark Supreme Court win against Irving Berlin, establishing the right to publish satirical lyrics.
As a bonus, the book features a removable set of 12 classic front covers, dubbed “The Soul of MAD” by MAD Founder and Publisher William M. Gaines. Each print was selected for its uniqueness, artistic achievement and classic timelessness, and is suitable for framing or wrapping fish. Click here to purchase TOTALLY MAD. No exceptions will be tolerated!
And check out THE NEW YORK TIMES’ full Hardcover Graphic Book Best Seller List, which also includes GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS, VOL. 1, and the Paperback Graphic Book Best Seller List, which features NIGHTWING, VOL. 1: TRAPS AND TRAPEZES. Congratulations to all!
If you didn't spend this past weekend relentlessly scouring the internet for MAD coverage, good for you — it sounds like you got some fresh air and lived a healthy and productive life! But you also missed out on lots of great stories about MAD's 60th Anniversary and our brand new book, Totally MAD!
• CBS Sunday Morning aired Mo Rocca's segment taking a look inside the MAD offices, featuring interviews with MAD Editor John Ficarra, Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter, and "Weird Al" Yankovic! You can watch the entire piece online here.
• Parade ran a slideshow of MAD covers from over the years. Check them out here and be sure to vote for your favorite at the end!
• The New York Times ran an article about the history of MAD advertising parodies.
• The Pittsburgh Tribune Review showcased a gallery of MAD covers and interior art and interviewed The Onion founder Scott Dikkers about MAD's influence on him.
• NJ.com reviewed Totally MAD and shared an excerpt from Stephen Colbert and Eric Drysdale's introduction.
Enjoy, and don't forget to order you copy of Totally MAD today!
New York Comic Con starts tonight and MAD will there! Here are the MAD-centric "highlights":
• Stop by the DC Entertainment booth to see the MADropolitan Museum of Art, a mini-gallery chock full of classic MAD super-hero parodies!
• While at the DC booth, you can have your photo taken to appear on a MAD Magazine cover with Alfred E. Neuman! And if you're looking for a cheap Halloween costume, we'll be giving away Alfred masks! (Hurry, there's a limited number of masks.)
• This weekend is your chance to show us you have what it takes to draw for MAD, as we'll be part of the DC Talent Search! In order for us to see your work, you MUST attend a Talent Search panel on either Friday or Saturday morning. To find out more, click here for Friday and here for Saturday.
• Of course, the big event is the "Mad About MAD" panel on Saturday at 12:15pm, where you'll hear MAD artists Drew Friedman, Al Jaffee and Peter Kuper talk about the ins and outs of making our dumb magazine with MAD Editor John Ficarra and Art Director Sam Viviano. One lucky panel attendee will be taking home our brand new 60th anniversary book Totally MAD! (On sale October 30.) Other prizes will be awarded for the best questions, including copies of our new issue featuring Twilight, which won't be on sale until after the Con! For more info on the panel, click here.
• Last but certainly not least: Drew, Peter, John and Sam will be signing autographs BEFORE the panel, from 11am to 12pm on Saturday, at the DC Entertainment booth!
We'll see you in New York City! Try the bagels!
New York Comic Con is next weekend and MAD will be in attendance! Join us on Saturday, October 13 for the "Mad About MAD" panel at 12:15 pm, where you'll hear MAD artists Drew Friedman, Al Jaffee and Peter Kuper talk about the ins and outs of making our dumb magazine with MAD Editor John Ficarra and Art Director Sam Viviano! One lucky panel attendee will taking home our brand new 60th anniversary book Totally MAD, and other prizes will be awarded for the best questions. (For more info on the panel, click here.)
Be sure to get to the Con early, because Drew, Peter, John and Sam will be signing at the DC Entertainment booth on Saturday morning from 11am to 12pm!
If you're not the fortunate soul who'll be lugging around their shiny new copy of Totally MAD after the panel, don't despair: it'll be available to buy on October 30th, and you can preorder it NOW by clicking here!
If you're going to San Diego Comic-Con next week, there will be plenty of MAD events to partake in once you get squeezed out of the Firefly reunion panel! Here's what you can do to get the most of your MAD experience this year:
• Stop by the DC Entertainment booth to see the MADropolitan Museum of Art! We'll be displaying framed prints of classic MAD superhero illustrations from over the years, featuring art by Mark Fredrickson, Mort Drucker, Dave Gibbons, Frank Miller and more! Many of these are being shown without logos and text for the first time!
• Come to the "Mad about MAD" panel on Saturday from 2:00-3:00pm in Room 9! Find out everything we've got planned for MAD's 60th Anniversary and for the next 60 years to come, with editor John Ficarra, art director Sam Viviano, assistant art director Ryan Flanders and artists Angelo Torres, Sergio Aragonés, Tom Richmond, and Peter Kuper! Be sure to have good questions ready — prizes will be awarded!
• Aspiring MAD illustrators and cartoonists: we'll be doing portfolio reviews, so keep your eyes and ears open for more details!
Earlier today, DC Entertainment announced the launch of a new MAD Magazine iPad app. The app will be available for download beginning this Sunday, which also happens to be April Fool’s Day … as well as the birthday of MAD’s infamous mascot, Alfred E. Neuman.
“A lot of people have said over the years they wouldn't be caught dead with a copy of MAD," MAD Editor John Ficarra told NEWSARAMA. "So we figure this is a way that they can have a copy of MAD, without having to hold copy in their hands."
To read more about the new MAD app, check out CNET and NEWSARAMA’s coverage. And this Sunday, don’t be the last fool who hasn’t downloaded the new MAD app.
