Behaving Madly: Zany, Loco, Cockeyed, Rip-off, Satire Magazines

The fact that mine is the only British review on here speaks volumes: this work is totally esoteric. Mention MAD Magazine to anyone in the UK born since 1990 – including those working in comic shops – and they’ll stare blankly at you; and nearly all of those who recall the magazine from their schooldays will be unaware that MAD is still running in America; so to consider magazines which ripped off MAD in the late 50s would be two steps beyond.I agree with other reviewers that the write-up is ‘on the money’ and knowledgeable.As flagged elsewhere, there is nothing here from MAD’s longest-serving rivals, Cracked and Sick, nor from its high-quality derivatives, Trump, Help and Humbug; thus, the arcane nature of the work is intensified. [I have placed general comments in square brackets, as these do not cover items specific to the book].This book’s USP is also its weakness: it is totally based on material that wasn’t good enough to get into MAD magazine, although quality art (as opposed to the scripts) by Carl Hubbell, Lee Elias, John Forte, Art Gates, A. C. Hollingsworth and others would not have looked out of place in the magazine version of Harvey Kurtzman’s MAD, nor in Al Feldstein’s when he first took over.The writers in these ‘inferior’ magazines seem to aspire to the Kurtzman style, although without necessarily having been planned well. Much of the magazines' writing appears to suffer from having been written ‘on the hoof’, rambling unnecessarily before being rounded off quickly.I found the plethora of inclusions of Elvis and Marilyn (a point acknowledged in the book) tiresome: I hadn’t even noticed that the image on the front cover, lifted from Loco #1, was meant to be Monroe. The authors also point to a tendency to bleed into the horror genre, possibly assuming (and possibly with justification) that monsters and comics appeal to similar groups [Cracked has also fallen victim to this tendency, although MAD itself has not been totally immune either].Another tendency is to laud contributions by popular artists like Kirby and Ditko, based on their reputations [in the same way as Frank Frazetta’s three contributions to MAD receive broad adulation, even though these are no more remarkable than those of other MAD artists]: Bill Everett, Lee Elias and particularly Howard Nostrand make a fair fist of Mad-like art. Joe Kubert’s work is well up to the mark, although his 1956 boxing audience is but is not really a ‘Jack Davis imitation’ [if we glance at Davis’s raucous Boxing and Wrestling pieces for MAD].Note that there is some ‘politically incorrect’ material, redolent of the times, that almost certainly would not be included in today’s publications, including ‘beat [your daughter] up’ in Thimk (late 50s); ditto your wife, from writer Paul Laikin on page 68; while John Severin’s transgender versions of 1950s stars carry spoof names (whoever wrote them) which are not even clever.A 1959 parody of MAD, attributed to writer Gary Belkin but not up to his later excellent MAD standard, contains drawings by Tony Couch, most of which are straight tracings from MAD itself. [MAD was quick to bang the drum if it felt that other publications were aping its own; conversely, the secondary magazines have liked to ‘dine out’ on any plagiarism it felt was coming the other way]. A few of the ideas and images in the book are reminiscent of specific MAD items, but there are also a couple of oddities. A distinctly Woodbridgian face on page 11, drawn by Fred Ottenheimer, is dated 1955, before George Woodbridge ever drew for MAD. Mike Sekowsky’s otherwise-too-risqué 1956 illustration on page 19 has a look of Jack Rickard, which pre-dates Jack’s 1960s debut in MAD.I would recommend this book, but only if you’re totally focused on early MAD Magazine, and would therefore be interested in its clones: in Britain, I assume that means three or four potential readers...

As Jimmy Durante used to say, "Everybody wants to get in on the act!" That was rarely truer than in the case of MAD, The most influential (and highest selling) parody magazine in America. When MAD was a comic book, other comics tried to copy it. When MAD became a magazine selling millions of copies a month, other publishers wanted a piece of that pie as well. Author and compiler, Ger Apeldoorn has collected the best of these ersatz MADS in an appealing and beautifully bound book.First up is a brief synopsis of the quality and the publishing history of the rivals of EC. The only magazines NOT covered in this section are Sick and Cracked, as both of those magazines have been profiled elsewhere. This section is probably the least interesting part of the book, it is valuable information, that serves as an appetizer for what is to come. Some very famous comic artists, even some members of the "gang of idiots" worked for these usually short lived magazines. Some of them were very talented indeed.Just like MAD and some of its better rivals, the book is arranged by "Departments," Movie, Television, Comics, Book & Magazine, Big Name Artists, Advertising, and finally, Not Mad Department. There is A LOT of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, there is also some nice originality and beautiful send-ups. Among the highlights for me was a Peanuts satire (here "Goobers") which imagines Charles Schultz's creation as drawn by famous writers like Mickey Spillane, Herman Wouk, and J.D Salinger. I also loved the Mickey Spillane satire "Mike Monster - Private Eye" and a really beautifully illustrated assault on "True Confessions" type magazines. How does "Glamorize Your Armpits" sound to you? If your mind conceived a beautifully rendered yet revolting illustration, this book is for you!Some of the references are dated, Mickey Spillane and Zorro are no longer the hot propeties they once were but an Ernest Hemingway satire such as "The Old Man and the She" remains timeless. If like me, you grew up reading MAD magazine you will find a great deal to admire and chuckle over in this book which is clearly a labor of love.My ONLY complaint is that some of the articles are truncated. I suppose due to editorial dictates that something had to be cut, still, it is too bad that not every article is reprinted in full. This criticism is only a minor quibble, however. I signed up to purchase this book quite some time ago, it was definitely worth the wait!

In 1954,following a series of events of pointless government bureaucracy that resulted from the publication of "Seduction Of The Innocent" by Dr. Frederick Wertham,publisher William Gaines was forced to dump his no-longer-profitable line of EC comics. In order to remain in business,he transformed one such title...MAD...into a humor magazine.From the beginning,it was a success...and since it's practically a given that anything successful in any entertainment medium inevitably spawns imitators...well,I think you can see where this is heading!The latter half of the fifties saw dozens of publications try to generate their own "humor in a jugular vein"...all without much in the way of victory. Still,much of these featured contributions by such artists as John Severin,Jack Davis,Bill Elder and Basil Wolverton among others,some of whom would eventually establish their own niches on the printed page,are visual treasures...and this book's got 'em! Following an overview of the genre,you'll find dozens of rarely-seen examples of humor,taking potshots at Elvis,Marilyn Monroe,movie monsters,that brand-new thing called television,all the day-to-day frivolities that made the American 1950s such a unique decade.For those of you wondering about this review's rather odd title ("what does he mean,'Part Two?' ")...there is another book..."The Sincerest Form Of Parody:The Best 1950s Mad Inspired Satirical Comics" by John Benson...similar to this book,it covers publications that imitated MAD while it was still a comic book. It too is an enjoyable read,and as of this posting,can be purchased through Amazon.

I pre-ordered this the day it was announced. The wait proved worthwhile. The book is extremely well done with tons of amazing photos and lots of information that I had never seen, or heard, before...

This is an expertly written, exhaustively researched book. A must read for any fan of humor magazines especially MAD magazine. It's jampacked with so much insight and material that you will find something new every time you pick it up.