The influence of Mad magazine

Perhaps no other single magazine has had

so much influence on cartoonists (as well as

comedy writers, stand-up comics, animators,

gag writers, and the criminally insane) as Mad

magazine. Mad first appeared on newsstands

in October 1952. The first issue spoofed comics

by genre: It featured mock stories about crime

and horror. The stories poked fun at the stan-

dards of traditional comics. The artwork, by a

variety of early Mad regulars, established the

wild, satirical comic style that would dominate

Mad; visual sight gags and wacky reinterpreta-

tions of conventional mainstream values played

out on every page.

The magazine originally went by the title of

Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad. It wasn’t

until after issue # 17 that those first five words

would be dropped and the magazine would

from there on out be known only as Mad. The

first several issues didn’t sell particularly well.

However, issue #4 in the spring of 1953 featured

Mad’s first parody of a specific character,

“Superduperman!” Teenagers loved the witty

parody, and magazine sales started to pick up

as Mad gained a loyal audience.

This issue also marked the first time Mad ran

into legal problems over its parodies and off-

the-wall humor. After Mad poked fun at DC

Comics premiere superhero Superman, DC

Comics threatened to sue. Mad argued that

parody was protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The case never came to court because DC

never bothered to push the matter. As a result,

Mad subsequently made its reputation by

zeroing in on other iconic cartoon characters,

celebrities, advertisers, name brands, and the

movie business.

What made Mad a hit and a symbol of its time?

All the following, plus more:

 ✓ Mad connected with teenagers, in particu-

lar. The postwar culture of the 1950s tended

to take itself very seriously, and Mad began

skewering this father-knows-best world, in

which citizens had become consumers and

advertising dictated the public’s taste.

 ✓ Mad hired incredibly talented people. The

creative and inventive team of writers and

cartoonists turned out high quality, innova-

tive work.

Over the years Mad’s layout and look have been

updated. Over time the once-subversive maga-

zine became an institution and, in a less hege-

monic and more Internet-obsessed culture, it

seemed less culturally significant. Most of the

“original gang of idiots” (as the original legend-

ary staff called themselves) are no longer with

the magazine. In their place are a new, younger

batch of cartoonists. Most people agree that

the original lineup would be hard to duplicate.

Citing a challenging economy and falling sales,

Mad’s parent company announced in the begin-

ning of 2009 that Mad would cease its monthly

publication schedule and now only appear

quarterly. Nevertheless, Mad has played a cru-

cial role in influencing an entire generation of

young cartoonists working today. Without its

contributions it’s safe to say that many of the

great comic features we see today may never

have been.