In the commercial arts there’s always been a fine line between tribute and theft, even when it’s called homage. These days, that’s a word that gets lawyers excited. But we are free to imitate the underlying concept or genre. When Harvey Kurtzman produced Mad #1, he didn’t invent humor, nor did he invent satire or…
For those who missed it (including us, to be honest), on Labor Day, a funny thing happened; at 8:30 PM, Cartoon Network aired a ‘MAD‘ cartoon. And guess what? It wasn’t a one-time fluke! Our friends over at HeroComplex snagged the new animated sketch show’s producers Mark Marek (of Crank Yankers fame) and ‘Emmy winner’…
The Hollywood Reporter has the skinny on the Cartoon Network upfronts, and there are many familiar faces for comics fans this year. Young Justice: Being a teenager means proving yourself over and over—to peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself. But what if you’re not just a normal teenager? What if you’re a teenage…
Stop worrying about Super Bowl and let’s deal with more pressing issues like why is LOST looking backwards? Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) and Michael Emerson (Ben) give us their perspective. MAD Magazine is slowing down (and Mike Gold isn’t happy) – but on the bright side, TORCHWOOD hits NYCon and today we get music from WATCHMEN…
A quick wrapup of the mix of comics and politics: Obama meets Spidey. Yeah, yeah, everybody’s covered it by now. But most people haven’t seen Mad Magazine asking what Barack Obama will do during his first 100 minutes in office. Indecision 2008 has the sneak peek. Hint: lots and lots of cigarettes in the Rose…
Norman Mingo’s iconic image of Alfred E. Neuman was first used by Mad Magazine back in 1956 as comment upon the Eisenhower / Stevenson election or, more to the point, in parody of the typical Time magazine cover of its time. Mingo’s Alf is still in use to this day; as is the struggle between…
Mad Artist Tom Richmond wrote on his blog about a new Mad book, due out tomorrow. He wrote, “Back in 1998 Mad published MAD About the Movies, a collection of movie spoofs from over the years. It was in part to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Warner Bros. (WB owns DC Comics which in turn…
It’s been a good week for cartoonist / columnist / bon vivant Ted Rall. The Mad Magazine regular and incendiary editorial cartoonist was named president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists. GIven how some newspapers are dropping their local editorial cartoonists in an organized effort to trim down their page count while chasing away their…
After the August issue of DC Comics’ MAD Magazine featured a spoof on consumer electronics retailer Circuit City titled "Sucker City," the retailer’s corporate office had the publication banned from stores, according to a recent report from Associated Press. The ban was lifted a short time later, however, and the store issued an apology to…
William "Willie" Elder, one of the illustrators instrumental in launching MAD Magazine, passed away today at age 86, according to various reports. Elder was one of several creators hired by MAD founder Harvey Kurtzman when the popular parody magazine first launched in 1952. No details have been released regarding Elder’s cause of death. His funeral…
Readers of MAD Magazine who pick up the March issue (hitting shelves Feb. 19), might want to take special note of a certain two-page spread they’ll find inside. The special feature will showcase the work of 10 Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists. Ths spread, titled "Why George W. Bush is in Favor of Global Warming," will…
President George W. Bush comes in No. 2 on Mad Magazine’s annual list of the 20 Dumbest People, Events and Things of the Year. Mad‘s January issue cites Bush for breaking the presidential record for most vacation time. The president is no stranger to this dubious honor: It’s the eighth year in a row he’s…
