Spy Vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook [Paperback]

Antonio Prohias (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

In the grand tradition of Krazy Kat & Ignatz Mouse and the Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote, the Spies (one dressed in black, the other in white) are an endless variation on a Cold War theme—forever one-upping the other, til death do they part. This diabolical duo of double-cross and deceit are, as Art Spiegelman described them in The New York Times Magazine, “the comic strip equivalent of the yin-and-yang symbol, good and evil, interdependent and interchangeable,...forever chasing each other’s tails.”

2001 marks the 40th anniversary of Spy vs. Spy, which made its first appearance in MAD #60, January 1961. The feature has run in virtually every issue since with nearly 1000 installments. Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook chronicles the creation and history of the Spies and features all 247 of the strips written and illustrated by its illustrious creator, Antonio Prohias.

Delighted fans will discover a virtual treasure trove of fun-loving Spy vs. Spy material. Here for the first time are unpublished and never-before-seen preliminary sketches and artist roughs, photographs from his family scrapbooks, and rare political cartoons. Also included are eight biographical and historical essays, each detailing a different aspect and perspective on the Spies and their creator. A special color section reproduces dozens of Spy collectibles from over the years, including paperbacks, Super Specials, computer games, trading cards, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An artist and his legendary comic strip are honored by MAD magazine in Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook. Antonio Prohias's wordless, Cold War-inspired spoof of the agents of international intrigue portrays the twin enemies outdoing each other in elaborately stupid plots to achieve the other's demise. Assembled after Prohias's death, the volume commemorates the cartoon's 40th birthday as well as Prohias's compelling personal story (in 1960 he fled Castro's new regime in Cuba after being unofficially blacklisted for his political cartoons). Comic book fans, especially of the MAD variety, will love this intelligent tribute to an artist. 70 color and 300 b&w illus.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

James Bond isn't the only cold war-era secret agent whose career continued to flourish after the fall of Communism. For 40 years and counting, the white spy and the black spy have waged never-ending battle on the pages of Mad. Their creator, the late Antonio Prohias, a political cartoonist who fled Castro's Cuba in 1960, was a font of variations on the theme of having one spy meet violent death at the hands of the other. In the next issue, of course, the deceased had been resurrected to resume hostilities. This collection reprints all 247 of Prohias' strips and selections of those by his successors, who include noted illustrator Peter Kuper. The strips were to be read at monthly intervals, however; consumed in bulk, they can become tedious. For baby boomers who grew up with Mad, this dossier may evoke nostalgia as well as chuckles, and younger readers may greet the spies' "joke-and-dagger" shenanigans with out-and-out guffaws. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823050211
• ISBN-13: 978-0823050215
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.8 x 10.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extra material puts this book over the top., April 10, 2003

By 

D. Leonard "dnecolt" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spy Vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook (Paperback)

I'd give this book 5 stars regardless, because I've always loved Spy v Spy -- and this book delivers the goods: Every Spy v Spy Prohias worked on in his life.

But, what REALLY sets this book apart is the the wealth of OTHER material: His other MAD features, cover ideas, and a lot of biographical information covering his life in Cuba and the comics he did there. How many of MAD's contributors can say they were chased out of Cuba by an angry mob (with Fidel himself leading the pack)?

But, the bottom line is the material: If you like Spy v Spy, you'll love this book. The extra material is just icing (albeit extremely intersting and diverting icing) on the cake.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, October 27, 2005

By 

C. Girard "CJG" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spy Vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook (Paperback)

If you're a fan of Spy vs. Spy you'll love this book. A compilation of Spy vs. Spy cartoons plus a history of Spy vs. Spy, how & why it got started, etc. When I used to buy MAD magazine Spy vs. Spy was the cartoon I looked for & anticipated the most. I bought this for my kids & they love it also, even though many of these cartoons are older than they are. This is timeless reading.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cold War is over, but someone didn't get the memo., November 19, 2001

By 

M. Metcalf (Stamford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spy Vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook (Paperback)

As a reader of Mad for over 36 years, I am so glad to see an anthology of "Spy vs Spy". Antonio Prohias' dialogue-less, joyfully savage satire of the Cold War (and war in general), was always a favorite of mine. One spy gruesomely doing in the other, only to have him resurrected the next month (or a few pages later) to gleefully subject his counterpart to a savage Rube Goldbergesque death of his own (the precursor to Kenny in "South Park"?) And aren't they really just the same guy in different suit?
Included in this book are all the Spy vs Spy's ever printed in Mad, along with all the "Spy vs Spy vs Spy" strips, in which the gray lady spy always gets the best of her male counterparts, Prohias' work in Cuba (that got him a "request" to leave from Castro) as well as Prohias' other work for the magazine. While "Spy vs Spy" goes on in Mad, it's just not the same. The new strips are OK, but they lack the Prohias touches such as the extended fingers (like Dr. Suess on acid). With Prohias, Don Martin and Dave Berg gone, we are losing the giants. Fortunately we can turn to volumes like this and which keep these artists like Al Jaffee, Mort Drucker and Jack Davis in the here and now.