Completely Mad: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine

Firstly, I would like to thank Booksonrange for the warp speed delivery of this wonderful book! To any fan of, or collector of, Mad Magazine/Comics this book is for you! Extremely informative, and utterly fascinating, this history of one of the greatest satire/humor magazines to ever be produced in America and abroad is very compelling reading. It is an invaluable tool for the Mad collector, as well. Dates, times, stories, and pure hard facts, make up this amazingly illustrated tale of Mad. Informative information on the production of, writers of, and exceptional artists of Mad is all contained herein. As well as the story of EC publishing; it's comics, and it's trials, and it's growing pains, that all conspired to bring about the birth of Mad. The compelling story of Mad's journey from early 1950's comic format, to the slick, super- successful magazine that it became. Seventy years of amazing history. The triumphant tale of a great piece of true Americana. This book has it all; well written, obviously well researched, and beautifully illustrated. As a collector of Mad back issues, as well as a lifelong fan and avid reader, I can honestly say that this book is well worth the asking price, and then some! My hat is off to the author Maria Reidelbach; well done!...and thank you.

Completely MAD was published in the early 1990's after 303 issues of MAD had come out. Full of pictures & examples from the magazine, it tells of the history of MAD during its first 4 decades, with emphasis on the earlier times. That was when MAD's foundations were built and cemented, from the comic-book days (issues 1-23) into the earlier and intermediate black/white satirical periods. Goes thru the "guest comedian" era (Bob & Ray, Henry Morgan, Sid Caesar etc.) to the inaugurations of great artists such as Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Antonio Prohias, & others which were already aboard or came on later. Through the Magazine satires, TV Show, Movie, Advertising satires, & the arrivals of Berg's Lighter Side and the Fold-In.Completely MAD's main purpose is to tell much of the goings-on with the magazine in its infancy and adolescence, visually. Includes a chapter covering Alfie's sprouting, beginnings, and roles as well; also sidebars with features of each member of the Usual Gang of Idiots (writers AND artists). Small shots of each cover through Issue 303 are interspersed among the text and drawings. Other chapters focus on advertising satires, MAD coined words and phrases ("furshlugginer", "potrzebie") and individual artwork.To appreciate greater all of this history, have Frank Jacobs' "The MAD World of William F. Gaines" on hand, which, being a mass-market opus (though hard to locate these days) isn't visually enhanced (save for a short section of color drawings midway through) but offers more details of the comings and goings of MAD personnel and background subplots of Gaines' early endeavors, especially with the early horror comics. Serves as an excellent cross-reference to the present volume.Would like to see a sequel to, or extension of Completely MAD, traversing the period of Gaines' passing (10 issues after this book's coverage), the advent of internal color articles, contributions of newer members of the Gang of Geniuses such as Duck Edwing, the Fundalini pages, and Tim Carvel (Planet TAD!) and new regular features such as the annual MAD 20 Dumbest.

This was a Christmas gift for my Brother and he liked it so much! Informed me that it was written before Warner bros bought it out. Such a great gem to find!

This is all done properly, and I'm glad I purchased it, but there was also this effect: In reading this, I got more and more anxious for the end of the book. It does what you think you are buying.

My book arrived early and packaged like a masterpiece transported from the Louvre. Given that it has been out of print for over 30 years, it was in amazingly good condition. I planned to give it to my brother who was a Mad Magazine fan back in the 50's, just like me. I am so pleased with this purchase and will be proud to give it as a gift. The pic of ol' Alfred E. on the cover sure brought back some good memories. "What...me worry?" Thanks!

Immediate shipping and arrived packaged very well. Thanks so much

This book is rad! A treasure trove of Mad comics/features along with its history. My dad got me into Mad magazine and I've loved it since. Once for my birthday, my aunt asked me which magazine subscription I wanted. Naturally, I told her Mad but she thought that was too childish and got me Rolling Stones. Mad might be silly sometimes but reading about Axl Rose was about as dumb as it gets.

Got this for my dad who is a fan of MAD magazine. It took quite a long time to arrive but that could partially be because of covid! He thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

This is a book for people like me who were teenageers in the 60's and remember Mad in it's heyday. It is incredibly well researched and illustrated and brings back many happy memories of items that I read 50 plus years ago. Even as we speak I am trying to put together a 43 man squamish team!

Great history of Mad

Brilliant. Nostalgic. Lovely mind travel to good old days. Excellent condition. Good price. Received on time and well packaged. Nice one Indiana.

Love it