The Mad World of William M. Gaines [Hardcover]

Frank Jacobs (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Lyle Stuart Hardcover; First edition. edition (November 1972)
• ISBN-10: 0818400544
• ISBN-13: 978-0818400544
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, December 4, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mad World of William M. Gaines (Hardcover)

This is the interesting story on how Mad Magazine was created and the interesting life of it's creator, William M. Gaines. Very funny and also very serious. A lot of interesting stories surround Gaines and his empire. I highly recommend it to any Mad fan.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hilarious and Inspiring Biography, December 8, 2004

By 

Steven Finch "Attorney At Law" (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mad World of William M. Gaines (Hardcover)

As a fan of MAD Magazine and EC Horror, I was introduced to William M. Gaines when MAD reprinted this biography throughout a few issues of MAD XL. Until then, I had only known that he was the founder and former publisher (until his death in the early 1990s) and that Dave Berg always drew his portrait with the beard poking through the picture frame. As I read through the serialized version of the book, however, I discovered so much more -- but more importantly, I was entertained beyond belief.

As it was written by MAD writer Frank Jacobs, The MAD World of William M. Gaines is not the typical, dry biography of a millionaire publisher -- and whether you're a MAD fan or not, Gaines lead an eccentric lifestyle that's simultaneously interesting, inspiring, touching, and often laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Many comic book fans may not know just what an impact Gaines had on the comic book industry and even broader issues such as censorship. But you don't have to be a MAD fan, or even a casual comic book fan, to enjoy this book -- it's just plain fun.

I strongly recommend anyone with an interest in MAD Magazine (or any of the EC Comics) or any interest in comic book history whatsoever pick this up.