Customer Reviews

The MAD Reader (Bk. 1)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never thought I would see reprints of the original MAD paperback collections, but now, thanks to ibooks, I'm a happy man. This particular book reprints the first paperback, which itself was reprinted material from the early issues of the MAD comic book (yep, it used to be a comic, and much more comic-oriented). It includes classic work by Kurtzman, Davis, Elder, Wood, et al., that holds up surprisingly well today and is much funnier than MAD will ever be again. Enjoy the parodies of Dragnet, Archie, The Lone Ranger, and Superman vs. Captain Marvel, as well as goofs on the Comics Code, the HUAC hearings, and much more. Sure, some of the humor may be dated... sure, some of it may be over people's heads... but that's part of the appeal of classic MAD: the historical and cultural aspects of the humor. The average joe won't pick this book up and instantly understand everything within, but with a little studying, plus reading the excellent introductions to this edition, you'll get a good idea of the prevailing attitudes of the time, as well as the changing face of humor in the media. It looks like ibooks intends to reprint a significant number of the MAD paperbacks, which can only be a good thing in today's humor market.

This book comprises the earliest issues of MAD, which were fantastic, and featured the work of comics legend, Wallace Wood among others. But be warned: The book is trade paperback sized, and THE ORIGINAL PAGES ARE ROTATED AND PRINTED ACROSS THE SPINE. The book should just be reprinted with a page per page layout, then I wouldn't have gotten the headache reading it that I did.

I had this paperback as a kid and loved it and still do. It makes me miss the days when Mad would advertise 100s of paperbacks by the letter pages.

The stuff looks best in black and white. The humor still rings true today even though the subject parodied may not be.

Part of the fun is that you can look for days at the art and still find new things hidden within.

I dunno, maybe I should say "ruined my life". But it was worth it. I read this paperback, consisting of reprints of the earliest (mid-1950's) Mad Magazine articles, during my formative years. It is responsible for putting a lot of subversive, politically incorrect ideas into my head about the way the world worked -- you know, like how men pursue women with curves, and women pursue men with money; basically all that good stuff that mature people pretend isn't true. And, by the way, I'm not suggesting that we can't or shouldn't struggle to rise above our lowest animal inclinations; I'm merely insisting that we can't rise above those inclinations until we admit they exist. The world is such a serious place that only the clown is allowed to speak freely. And these clowns set my head spinning. I'm not alone in saying this: A surprising number of people will tell you that early Mad was a seminal influence. Oh, and one special detail, aside from everything else: The artwork of Bill Elder is simply brilliant. I can stare at a Bill Elder panel for hours, always finding yet another gag within a gag within a gag.

Buy this book! Give it to your kids!

One of the all-time GREAT collections of pop culture satire, The Mad Reader is of course the first in the long series of Mad paperbacks, one of this reviewer's Favourite Things growing up.

Hard to believe the original stories were the product of one man's lunatic imagination, the extraordinary Harvey Kurtzman, embellished of course by such hugely talented artists as Jack Davis, Will Elder, Wally Wood and John Severin. After all these years, Kurtzman's parodies remain rich in humor, a fascinating combination of seeming spontaneity in his writing combined with sly satire.

"Superduperman", seen here, is said to be the story that really put Mad on the satirical map. Indeed its central issue ("Why should a superhero punch his way through a mountain - with his head - if not for cash?") would seem to be the catalyst for more serious superhero introspection in everything from Spider-Man to The Watchmen!

Of course, you have to be a Baby Boomer to "get" the running gags in "Dragged Net" and "Gasoline Valley", but most of it is just plain timeless and laugh-out-loud funny, succeeding as much in its design as its writing, such as "Newspapers" ("Bums! I bet you won't print this.") and what I consider the masterpiece, "Starchie", a skewering of the cheery world of Archie Comics that is, quite simply, unforgettable, deriving its punch as much from Will Elder's uncanny duplication of other artists' drawing styles (Elder was the Rich Little of cartoonists) as Kurtzman's verbal wit.
It's become almost cliché in examining the Kurtzman-era Mad to finish by saying "Oh but how Kurtzman declined after leaving Mad." I really despise that patronizing nonsense. If I could write one book as good as The Mad Reader that'd be enough. Let's call this what it is: A Highly-Recommended Humor Classic.