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professorfate's review
5.0
The MAD issues in this collection still hold up after 60+ years. Even though the style and targets in these issues is a lot different than those that appear in today's MAD, you can see the genesis of the modern MAD.
uosdwisrdewoh's review
3.0
Years before Alfred E. Neuman reared his head, Mad (not yet a "Magazine") made its debut in 1952 as the first humorous title in the EC line. The brainchild of editor Harvey Kurtzman, Mad quickly found its voice and became a sensation, surviving the persecution of the comic industry in the mid-50s to become EC's sole publication.
This must have been over-the-top, groundbreaking work in the 50s, a breath of relief from the slow, steady, subtle humor of the New Yorker or the staid comic strips of the day. But, unlike Kurtzman's serious work, it's tough to enjoy today outside of an admiration at the craft involved. It's not just a matter of old targets of parody; the spoofs include cultural mainstays like Superman and Tarzan. And it can still manage to evoke a chuckle at its sharper moments, like when "The Lone Stranger" miraculously disarms an attacking gang by precisely grazing their shoulders and trigger fingers. Overall, though, this hasn't aged particularly well.
The book takes a few issues to find its footing, the first two issues containing stories not far off from the usual EC twist stories, only with goofier looking characters. But by the third issue, the incredibly skilled artists begin cramming in as many gags as they could manage. Any possible pun or background detail was fair game. Nevertheless, like so much of the book, the effort is easier to admire than enjoy.
Time and again, the age of the material pulls you out of the story. EC was relatively progressive in their more serious books, but here they go for the cheap laugh whenever possible, and that includes the use of some lazy ethnic stereotypes. Flat-out racism isn't the basis for stories, but when African-savage and Eskimo stereotypes pop up on facing pages in a Dragnet spoof, it poisons your reading experience a bit. To his credit, in some cases Kurtzman is mocking others' horrible stereotyping, as in the character of Chop Chop Chop in the Blackhawk parody. But I had to know about the long-forgotten Blackhawk comic to get the joke. It's extremely difficult to properly mock others' usage of stereotyping without doing it yourself (most recently seen in 30 Rock's careful, but still somewhat flat, sendup of blackface), and Kurtzman doesn't quite pull it off.
That said, the anything-goes attitude can be exhilarating, and the pages crackle with a manic energy. The running gags of men ogling over women, the calls of "Hoo-Hah", and the name Melvin wear pretty thin, but the pervading spirit is contagious. Mad would go on in the following few years to break a lot of ground, with innovative and eye-catching covers unlike anything else on the stands, but in the beginning, it was a real mixed bag.
This must have been over-the-top, groundbreaking work in the 50s, a breath of relief from the slow, steady, subtle humor of the New Yorker or the staid comic strips of the day. But, unlike Kurtzman's serious work, it's tough to enjoy today outside of an admiration at the craft involved. It's not just a matter of old targets of parody; the spoofs include cultural mainstays like Superman and Tarzan. And it can still manage to evoke a chuckle at its sharper moments, like when "The Lone Stranger" miraculously disarms an attacking gang by precisely grazing their shoulders and trigger fingers. Overall, though, this hasn't aged particularly well.
The book takes a few issues to find its footing, the first two issues containing stories not far off from the usual EC twist stories, only with goofier looking characters. But by the third issue, the incredibly skilled artists begin cramming in as many gags as they could manage. Any possible pun or background detail was fair game. Nevertheless, like so much of the book, the effort is easier to admire than enjoy.
Time and again, the age of the material pulls you out of the story. EC was relatively progressive in their more serious books, but here they go for the cheap laugh whenever possible, and that includes the use of some lazy ethnic stereotypes. Flat-out racism isn't the basis for stories, but when African-savage and Eskimo stereotypes pop up on facing pages in a Dragnet spoof, it poisons your reading experience a bit. To his credit, in some cases Kurtzman is mocking others' horrible stereotyping, as in the character of Chop Chop Chop in the Blackhawk parody. But I had to know about the long-forgotten Blackhawk comic to get the joke. It's extremely difficult to properly mock others' usage of stereotyping without doing it yourself (most recently seen in 30 Rock's careful, but still somewhat flat, sendup of blackface), and Kurtzman doesn't quite pull it off.
That said, the anything-goes attitude can be exhilarating, and the pages crackle with a manic energy. The running gags of men ogling over women, the calls of "Hoo-Hah", and the name Melvin wear pretty thin, but the pervading spirit is contagious. Mad would go on in the following few years to break a lot of ground, with innovative and eye-catching covers unlike anything else on the stands, but in the beginning, it was a real mixed bag.
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