Mad 20 Dumbest of 2015 Read Online

Mad is known for many regular and semi-regular recurring features in its pages.

Fold-ins [edit]

Every issue but two of Mad from 1964 to the present has featured a Fold-in, designed by artist Al Jaffee. They usually appear on the inside dorsum cover, though one effect featured a Fold-in front comprehend and the year-end "Mad 20" problems move the feature to an interior page. In each Fold-in a question is asked, oft of a topical nature. The subject is illustrated by a moving picture taking up the bulk of the page, with a block of text underneath. When the page is folded inward, the inner and outer fourths of the picture combine to reveal an alternate answer in both picture and words. Jaffee's precise layouts sometimes include false visual cues designed to trick the reader'south middle towards an incorrect solution.

"The Lighter Side of..." [edit]

From 1961 to 2002, Dave Berg produced "The Lighter Side of...", which ofttimes satirized the suburban lifestyle, capitalism and the generation gap. Subjects commonly lampooned include medicine, role life, parties, marriage, psychiatry, shopping, schoolhouse and other everyday activities. Although this feature somewhen became notorious for its corny gags and garishly outdated way choices, the Mad editors reported that information technology was the mag's near popular characteristic. "The Lighter Side" was more than pointed in its early years, providing the sort of Americana-based humor that standups such as Shelley Berman and Alan King performed successfully onstage. The feature was retired with Berg'south death.

Four months after the last Berg artwork was published, his final set of gags, which Berg had written just not penciled, appeared every bit a tribute. These concluding "Lighter Side" strips were divided amidst 18 of the magazine'south regular artists, including Jack Davis' concluding original work for Mad. In 2007, an occasional feature called "The Darker Side of the Lighter Side" debuted. These consist of reprinted Berg strips, with rewritten give-and-take balloons that change the gags to references about disease, sex offenders, corpse disposal and other unsavory, united nations-Berg-like topics.

"Spy vs. Spy" [edit]

Antonio Prohías'south wordless "Spy vs. Spy," the never-ending boxing betwixt the iconic Black Spy and White Spy, concluded up outlasting the Cold War that inspired it. Except for the corresponding black/white color of their habiliment, the 2 spies were identical in advent and intent. The strip was a silent parable well-nigh the futility of mutually-assured destruction, with various elaborate deathtraps designed in Prohías' thick line. Typically, the trap would boomerang dorsum on whichever spy had concocted information technology. There was no pattern or gild dictating which spy would be killed in a item episode. A female "Grey Spy" occasionally appeared; unlike her two adversaries, she ever prevailed. Although Prohías retired from doing the strip in the late 1980s, "Spy vs. Spy" continued in a series of unlike easily until 1997, when Peter Kuper took over as the full-fourth dimension writer-artist. However, the original Morse Code byline "by Prohias" remains in each strip's title.

Don Martin gags [edit]

Don Martin, billed as "Mad'south Maddest Artist",^[1] drew gag cartoons, generally i folio but sometimes longer, featuring lumpen characters with apparently hinged feet. Martin'southward absurd sight gags were frequently punctuated past an array of onomatopoeic sound furnishings such every bit "GLORK" or "PATWANG-FWEEE", coined by Martin himself (or by frequent ghost writer Don Edwing).^[1] Martin'due south wild concrete comedy would eventually make him the signature artist of the magazine.

When Martin kickoff joined Mad, he employed a nervous, scratchy art style, but this developed into a rounder, more than cartoony look. Many of his cartoons used similar titles (e.1000., "One Exceedingly Fine Day at the Beach"), and these titles became increasingly elaborate (e.g., "I Nighttime in the Acme Ritz Central Arms Waldorf Plaza Statler Hilton Thousand Hotel", "1 Hot Sunny Afternoon in the Eye of the Ocean", or "One Fine Day at the Corner of Due south Finster Boulevard and Fonebone Street").

Martin's 31-year association with Mad ended in some rancor over the ownership of his original artwork. Not long afterwards leaving Mad, Martin ended up working at Mad's competitor Cracked, which, dissimilar Mad, allowed creators to proceed their pages. In 1994, Martin left Cracked and published a handful of issues of his ain cocky-titled publication.^[2]

"A Mad Await at..." and "Drawn-Out Dramas" [edit]

Sergio Aragonés has written and drawn his "A Mad Look At..." feature for 49 years. Each is a series of gag strips with a mutual theme. Aragonés' Mad cartooning is notable for about never using word balloons; when they occur at all, they volition about often feature a drawing of whatever is existence discussed. Aragonés volition periodically bend this rule for a store window sign, a stray "Gesundheit", or another dialogue vital to the punchline.

Aragonés also provides the "Mad Marginals" or "Drawn-out Dramas", which are small gag images that appear throughout the magazine in its corners, margins or the narrow spaces between panels. Aragonés debuted the characteristic in Mad #76 (January 1963), and it has appeared in every consequence of the mag since, except for Mad #111. According to Aragonés, his work for that issue was lost in the mail.^[3]

Moving picture and Television set show parodies [edit]

A typical issue will include at to the lowest degree 1 total parody of a pop movie or television receiver testify. The titles are changed to create a play on words; for instance, The Addams Family became The Adnauseum Family unit. The character names are generally switched in the aforementioned fashion.

These articles run for several pages, and are presented as a sequential storyline with caricatures and give-and-take balloons. The opening page or 2-folio splash unremarkably consists of the cast of the show introducing themselves straight to the reader. In some parodies, the writers sometimes attempt to circumvent this convention past presenting the characters without such directly exposition. Many parodies end with the abrupt deus ex machina appearance of outside characters or popular civilization figures who are thematically tied into the nature to the picture or TV series beingness parodied, or who comment satirically on the theme. For example, Dr. Phil arrives to counsel the psychologically damaged Desperate Housewives; in another spoof, the former bandage of Sex and the City are hired every bit the new hookers for some other HBO series, Deadwood.

The parodies oft brand comedic use of the 4th wall, breaking character, and meta-references. Within an ostensibly self-independent storyline, the characters may refer to the technical aspects of filmmaking, the publicity, hype or box role surrounding their project, their own past roles or real-life circumstances, and critical analysis of clichés. In the final panel of "The $ound of Money", the magazine's 1966 parody of The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sings a parody of the song "Climb Ev'ry Mountain". The rewritten lyrics reference both the producers' decision to create scarcity and maximize box office profits past running the motion-picture show in just ane theater per metropolis at inflated ticket prices ("Charge high admissions; / Let people wait; / That will brand them think they're / Seeing something great!"), likewise as Warner Brothers' decision to supercede Andrews with Audrey Hepburn in its flick adaptation of My Fair Lady. Andrews had been a great success every bit Eliza Doolittle in the original Broadway product, but she was passed over for the movie function. Despite the high-profile snub, Andrews fabricated an Oscar-winning debut in Mary Poppins – released four months before My Fair Lady – and solidifying her big screen success with The Sound of Music. Concluding the Mad parody, Andrews gleefully sings:

"With all these profits,

Things will be fine!

When we top "Fair Lady",

Ven-geance... will... exist... mine!"

Several testify concern stars have been quoted to the effect that the moment when they knew they had finally "made it" was when they saw themselves thus depicted in the pages of Mad. Many celebrities parodied by the mag have posed for photographs which were printed in Mad's messages column, generally holding the re-create of the mag they appeared in, and frequently, reacting in some comical way. After the magazine depicted the principal bandage of Fifty.A. Police on a 1987 embrace, the actors responded with a photo in which the actors mimicked their caricatured poses and placement, with series creator Steven Bochco blacking out a tooth and taking the place of Alfred E. Neuman.^[4]

Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash told Mojo, "The magazine cover that has meant the most to me was probably when I appeared in Mad Mag, every bit a caricature of Alfred Due east. Neuman (#330, 1994). That was when I felt that I'd arrived."^[5] Movie critic Roger Ebert said that being parodied by Mad was "the ultimate honour."^[6] In an appearance on The This evening Show, Michael J. Play a joke on told Johnny Carson that he knew he had made it in show business "when Mort Drucker drew my head."^[6] Howard Stern has often talked well-nigh what the magazine meant to him, as in January 2009 when he said, "My greatest career highlight was being on the cover of Mad Mag."^[vii] He revisited the topic in October 2013, saying, "It actually was the pinnacle of success for me, that I could be on the cover of MAD Mag, with Alfred Due east. Neuman plunging my head into a toilet basin. I was merely so thrilled and happy... I couldn't believe it."^[viii]

Monroe [edit]

Monroe was an ongoing storyline about an malaise-filled teenaged loser. It depicted the title character'southward travails in school, his dysfunctional home and his relentless troubles elsewhere. Written by Anthony Barbieri, information technology was illustrated past Bill Wray from 1997 to 2006. The previously blackness-and-white feature was colorized in 2005, and went on hiatus for much of 2006. When it returned, it was fatigued past Tom Fowler with Barbieri remaining the writer. It last appeared in January 2010.

Irregular recurring features [edit]

Several Mad premises have been successful enough to warrant additional installments, though not with the regularity of the to a higher place. These include:

The Mad Academy Awards for ____ – typically written by Stan Hart, these would mimic the Oscar telecast by showing nominated "functioning clips" in not-film areas of life (such equally parenting or small business concern buying).
Advertising parodies – too numerous to catalog, though many accept been written past Dick DeBartolo; these have ranged from TV ad spoofs to national print campaigns to home marketing and have long provided one of the most durable sources of the mag's sense of humor. A divide paperback of original material titled Madvertising was published in 1972, and an extensive reprint collection appeared with the same title in 2005.
Alfred's Poor Almanac – written by Frank Jacobs, this text-heavy page featured quick one-liners, puns, simulated anniversaries and other arcana, supposedly matched to each twenty-four hour period of that month.
Desperately-Needed Alert Labels for Stone Albums – written by Desmond Devlin, this series of articles mocked both the ongoing Parental Informational labelling controversy, as well as the musicians of the day, with specifically written warning labels for particular recordings.
Behind the Scenes at ____ – written and illustrated by various, these frequently accept a bird's eye view of a scene, such as a telly studio or office. Diverse vignettes and conversations play out simultaneously, showing the reader how the participants "really" recollect and behave.
Believe It Or Basics! – written and illustrated past diverse (though most often drawn by Wally Wood or Bob Clarke), this parody of the impress version of Ripley's Believe Information technology Or Not! depicted alleged marvels and mundanities of the earth. In the tardily 1950s, Mad also published regular installments of "Kovacs' Strangely Believe It!", another Ripley'south parody written by Ernie Kovacs.
Celebrity Cause-of-Decease Betting Odds – written by Mike Snider, this long-running feature listed and "ranked" possible methods of time to come expiry for one well-known person at a time. It usually contained a tombstone with a caricature of the celebrity (normally drawn by Hermann Mejia). A shorter version later ran in the "Fundalini" department, illustrated by Rick Tulka.
Glory Wallets – usually written by Arnie Kogen, this was a serial of peeks at the notes, photographs and other memorabilia being carried around in the pockets of the famous.
Cents-less Coupons – written by Scott Maiko, these imitate the giveaway coupon packets institute in Lord's day newspapers but promote ludicrous products such every bit "Inbred Valley Imitation Squirrel Meat".
Chilling Thoughts – written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Rick Tulka or Evan Dorkin, these feature observations or predictions virtually both the culture and everyday life that accept supposedly dire implications.
A Day in the Life of... – written past Scott Maiko, these articles depict the purported hour-by-hour activities of a particular celebrity, such every bit George Lucas, Dick Cheney, Adam Sandler, or Dane Cook.
Mad Deconstructs Talk Shows – written past Desmond Devlin, these take on one show at a time and purport to reveal the minute-by-infinitesimal format breakup of America'due south not besides spontaneous conversation programs.
Practice-It-Yourself Newspaper Story – written past Frank Jacobs, these are short text news items containing a number of blank spaces. Each space has a respective list of numbered fill-in-the-blank options, which grow increasingly cool. The premise is that with advisable mixing and matching, the article can be read in a vast number of permutations. The aforementioned format has also been applied by Jacobs to other areas as poesy, press releases, or speechmaking.
Knuckles Bissell'southward Tales of Undisputed Interest – written and illustrated by P.C. Vey, these absurdist one-page strips presented a serial of not sequiturs and bizarre references in the guise of a linear storyline.
15 Minutes of Fame – written by Frank Jacobs, it consists of short poems about lesser celebrities and news figures.
The 50 Worst Things About ____ – written and illustrated by various, this is an annual article format which has thus far dealt with big catch-all topics such as "Boob tube," "comedy," "cartoons", "food" or "sports."
The Mad Guide to Man Boobs – written past Ryan Pagelow and illustrated by Drew Friedman, these ane-page articles depict an assortment of topless men whose breasts are uniquely misshapen or unsightly, with an official descriptive proper noun given to each configuration, such every bit "Stalacteats" or "Belt Sniffers."
The Mad Hate File – written and illustrated past Al Jaffee, these contained a series of observational one-liners about common irritations.
Hawks & Doves – written and illustrated by Al Jaffee during the Vietnam War era, this was a series of cartoons in which the autocratic Major Hawks is exasperated by the rebellious Private Doves, who keeps finding unexpected ways to create the peace symbol on his military base.
Horrifying Clichés – illustrated past Paul Coker Jr. and often written by Phil Hahn, these articles visually depicted florid turns of phraseology such as "tripping the low-cal fantastic", "racking one's thoughts" or "laboring nether a misconception"; the verbs are taken literally, and all the nouns are characterized equally baroque horned, scaled or otherwise unusual creatures; Mad also published a divide paperback of these.
The Mad Library of Extremely Sparse Books – written by Frank Jacobs, these two-folio manufactures were laid out to wait like a bookshelf in which only the spines of the books were visible. The diverse titles would suggest books that could not perchance contain much content, such every bit "Making It On Your Ain" by Nancy Sinatra, "Wonderful Things That a Nickel Will Nonetheless Buy", "Out-Spoken Feminists in the Arab World", or "Prominent Black Yachtsmen".
Mad's ____ of the Twelvemonth – written and illustrated past various, these four-to-six-page articles would enact an interview with a fictional representative of a detail practice or element of society (i.east. "MAD's Summer Camp Owner of the Year"; "MAD's Motion picture Producer of the Year").
Melvin and Jenkins' Guide to _____ – written by Desmond Devlin and illustrated by Kevin Pope, these "guides" present the behavioral or attitudinal "do'south and don'ts" on a diversity of topics, every bit demonstrated by the titular pair (Jenkins doing the proper thing, while Melvin does not). An abbreviated version runs in the "Fundalini" section.
Film Outtakes – these are screen captures of upcoming films (by and large taken from the picture show trailer), given new discussion balloons; MAD typically times these pieces to coincide with the movie'due south general release, either in accelerate of the total parody or in lieu of it.
The Mad Nasty File – typically written by Tom Koch and illustrated by Harry North or Gerry Gersten, these insult articles caricatured a diversity of public figures and proceeded to abuse them verbally.
Obituaries for ____ Characters – by and large written by Frank Jacobs, these declared paper clippings detail the advisable demises for fictional characters from a genre such as comic strips, advertising, or boob tube.
People Watcher'southward Guide to ____ – frequently written past Mike Snider and illustrated by Tom Bunk, these articles used a scenario such as "the mall" or "a cemetery" to mock specific observed behaviors.
Planet Tad!!!!! – written by Tim Carvell and illustrated past Brian Durniak, this purports to be the LiveJournal-like webpage of teenaged loser Tad's blog, which inadvertently reveals his various personal traumas and general idiocy.
Pop-Off Videos – written past Desmond Devlin and illustrated with music video screen captures, these one-folio articles mimicked the VH1 series "Pop-Upwardly Video," which enhanced music videos with pocket-size $.25 of information. Mad also published a carve up standalone special issue of these.
The Mad _____ Primer – written and illustrated past various, Mad Primers mimicked the writing mode of Dick and Jane and dealt with a broad variety of subjects from bigotry to hockey to organized religion; Mad also published a Cradle to Grave Primer as a separate paperback, showing the complete misery-filled life of 1 man.
____ Revisited – "conceived" by Max Brandel according to his credit, these photographic pieces would take a long-established slice of text, such equally the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, or the Ten Commandments, and systematically illustrate the text with ironically-chosen photograph images.
Scenes We'd Like to See – written and illustrated past diverse, these were generally ane-page vignettes which inverted the common conventions of moviemaking, advertising, or the civilisation at large, ending with a clichéd grapheme in a clichéd setting, acting cowardly or saying something atypically honest.
Half-dozen Degrees of Separation Between Anyone and Annihilation – written by Mike Snider and illustrated by Rick Tulka, this characteristic exploited the Kevin Salary-based game of links to humorously connect various items or people in thematic or painstakingly phrased means rather than proximity.
Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions – written and illustrated past Al Jaffee, this long-running series reproduces unnecessary questions (i.eastward., "Is that an octopus?" "Are yous a jogger?") and supplies three sarcastic responses for each, along with a bare box for the reader to supply their ain snappy answer. A mini-version of this feature occasionally appears in the mag's "Fundalini" section, consisting of just one question. Mad has also published several dissever, standalone paperbacks of these.
Seven Periods Closer to Death – written and illustrated by Ted Rall, this one-page strip takes a satirical wait at life in high school.
What Is A ____? – written by Tom Koch, these text-heavy manufactures would describe the characteristics of a personality type, such as an introvert, a "big human being on campus", or a political party-pooper.
When ____ Go Bad – written and illustrated by John Caldwell, each article depicts the outrageous behavior allegedly found within the worst element of a certain culture or profession (i.due east. "When Nuns Go Bad"; "When Clowns Go Bad"; "When The Morbidly Obese Go Bad"; "When Minions Go Really, Really Bad").
The Twelvemonth in Film – written past Desmond Devlin, these ironically juxtaposed movie titles of the past calendar twelvemonth with photographs of topical news events or celebrities.
You Know Yous're Actually ___ When... – written and illustrated by various, these took a common condition ("You're Actually Overweight When...") and presented several one-liners on the theme.

Besides the above, Mad has returned to certain themes and areas again and over again, such as fullblown imaginary magazines, greeting cards, plant nursery rhymes, Christmas carols, song parodies and other poetry (including several versions of "Casey at the Bat"), comic strip takeoffs and others.

Table of Contents [edit]

The first page of each issue lists all the articles to follow, including their "Section" headings, which are plays on words. For example, a parody of a pizza concatenation'due south menu appeared under "The Passion of the Crust Department", while an article entitled "William Shakespeare, Sports Commentator" was part of "The Play-By-Play's the Thing Department". Long-running features had as long-running headers: Spy vs. Spy is filed under the "Joke and Dagger Department", Dave Berg's "Lighter Side of..." e'er ran inside the "Berg'south Eye View Department", and many of Frank Jacobs' articles come nether the "Frank on a Whorl Department". Don Martin'south crazy cartoons were simply labelled "Don Martin Department", with further fanfare presumably being unnecessary. Dick DeBartolo'southward articles occasionally are headed under the "Dick DePartment", while some of Duck Edwing's articles were labeled as the "Tales from The Duck Side" Dept. Most of the magazine's other recurring features take had their ain continuing "Department".

Each Table of Contents cites i article that does not actually exist. Examples of these imaginary listings take included "Santa Claus, Porn Star"; "What if Cap'n Crunch Was Brought Before a Armed forces Tribunal?"; "If Bobby Knight Coached the Special Olympics"; "Merely the Assistant Undersecretary of Transportation Would Possibly Believe..."; "What if Daffy and Donald Duck Went To Prison?"; and "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions During the Bombing of Belgrade". In one instance, the fake title listed, "If Chickens Could Fourth dimension Travel", showed upwardly as a genuine article in the next event.

Each Tabular array of Contents besides includes a quote or adage attributed to Alfred E. Neuman. With a handful of exceptions, this is the only fourth dimension the graphic symbol e'er "speaks".

Letters and Tomatoes Dept. [edit]

An esoteric version of the standard "Letters to the Editors", this section of the magazine includes correspondence from readers, reader drawings or craft projects, celebrity photos, references to Mad in other media, and then forth. In contempo years, all letters are typically answered in a snide and insulting manner, and ever include a pun or twist on the sender's proper noun.

The first "Messages" section (then called "Mad Mumblings") appeared in MAD #3 (January–February 1953). The outset letter printed came from a Marine Corps corporal named Eugene F. Shanlin, who said he "had never heard people laugh out loud at a comic magazine before!" (Shanlin later became an officer with the NYPD and died in 2000.)^[ix]

At that place have been a few recurring sub-departments, including the "Make a Impaired Wish Foundation" which promised to brand readers' stupid requests come true (a parody of the Make a Wish Foundation); "Antiques Freakshow with Hans Brickface", in which photographs of readers' baroque household items were appraised by the slightly psychotic Hans; cool one-sentence observations called "MAD Mumblings", which were typically not sequiturs posted online by the readers; and celebrity "Two-Question Interviews" which were essentially over before they began, thus revealing nothing.

The magazine solicits reader photos of famous people posing with a copy of Mad. In one case a year, Mad publishes "The Groovy Fifty", listing fifty famous people they hope to run into in upcoming "Celebrity Snaps". A reader who successfully gets one of the 50 to pose in a photo gets a free three-year subscription (provided that the glory is touching the issue). Some celebrities send in photos of themselves, typically in response to the magazine having targeted them in a previous issue. The mag was delighted to publish a photo of Dan Quayle unwittingly holding the "PROOFREADER WANTED" comprehend of Mad #355, on which the magazine's logo appeared every bit MAAD. During a photograph op in 1992, the and so-Vice President had incorrectly "corrected" an elementary school student on the mode Quayle thought the discussion "potato" should be spelled.

The Fundalini Pages [edit]

Beginning with its Feb 2004 edition, Mad has led off its issues with this catch-all section of various bits, which are far shorter or smaller than normal Mad articles. They oft appear as many as three to six per folio. Some of these pieces are produced in-house; others are the work of freelancers. All contributors for each month were credited en masse, as "Friends of Fundalini". For this reason, it is not always credible which contributor is responsible for which item, particularly the writers. Beginning with issue number 500 (June 2009), writers and artists (except editorial staff members) have been given credit for individual contributions. Most Fundalini features are one-shot gags that never appear once again, some have appeared multiple times, and a few have get regular features. Amongst the recurring elements in the Fundalini department are:

Created for Fundalini [edit]

Bitterman, a short comic strip by Garth Gerhart well-nigh a hateful slacker;
Classified ads; these frequently deal in absurdity and non sequiturs;
The Comprehend We Didn't Employ, purporting to be the "2d selection" for that consequence's forepart embrace;
The Fast 5, a Superlative 5 list like to David Letterman's Top 10 lists;
Foto News, in which topical photographs are given word balloons (like to fumetti, though without that genre's narrative storyline aspect);
Gag panels by cartoonists such as Tom Cheney ("Pull My Cheney!"), or P.C. Vey ("Vey to Go!", later chosen Oy Vey!).
The Godfrey Report, a small 3x 3 grid showing three classes of objects and their electric current cultural status, which is arbitrarily rated as "In", "Five Minutes Ago", or "Out". (e.g. Stoolies: In, Squealers: V Minutes Agone, Turncoats: Out);
Graphic Novel Review, written by Desmond Devlin, which analyzes fictional comic collections and graphic novels such equally The Anally Complete Peanuts or Tintin in Fallujah;
The Kitchen Sink, a lengthy avalanche of spoof titles for topics such equally "Reality Shows Currently Under Development" or "Proposed Star Wars Sequel Titles";
Monkeys Are Always Funny, by Evan Dorkin, showing famous news photographs with the image of a monkey Photoshopped in (e.one thousand. the raid on Elian Gonzalez's closet, or the Hindenburg explosion);
The NFL'due south Ref Report, written by Kiernan P. Schmitt, which illustrates a topic by using generic drawings of a referee's paw signals;
The Puzzle Nook, a multiple choice fill-in-the-blank phrase;
Saddam Sez, which reused the same photograph of Saddam Hussein speaking at his 2006 trial. A give-and-take balloon was added, making a random reference having nothing to do with Hussein or Iraq. The March 2007 issue of Mad independent a statement that "Due to circumstances beyond our control" the Saddam Sez characteristic would be put on "indefinite hiatus". Fidel Castro later replaced Saddam with "Castro Comments";

A Wikipedia parody has appeared twice, offset called "Wonkypedia", and then "Wakipedia". Both entries featured a convoluted assortment of unrelated facts, in the style of an inaccurate or vandalized Wikipedia page (eastward.k. the "article" on Pearl Harbor discussed Mao Tse-Tung'southward surprise set on and how it led to the bombing of Chernobyl). Wonkypedia is now an actual website.^[10]

Truncated versions of 2 pre-existing features, *Glory Cause of Decease Betting Odds" and *Melvin and Jenkins' Guide to..." have been moved to Fundalini.

The Strip Guild [edit]

An assortment of short gag comic strips drawn past various artists, it has appeared roughly every other calendar month since its debut in the July 2005 consequence. Information technology typically runs three pages, and is a combination of one-shot gags and recurring features. Among the repeated strip characters are an almighty superhero called Fantabulaman; a hero robot named Santon; Rob, the Evil Backstabbing Robot Temp; Father O'Flannity, a priest who conducts glory interviews in a hot tub; Trigger McBride, a horse cop; the unnamed protagonists who apply "The Automobile that Travels Through Fourth dimension"; Jeff, a man whose roommate is oblivious to the fact that he is a serial killer despite obvious evidence; and Patience Man, a superhero who takes likewise long to end crimes.

Become Fetch! [edit]

Blurring the line betwixt advertisement and content was Get Fetch!, a 2005-06 listing of newly released media products such as videogames, DVD releases, music albums and books. Each product listing had The Hype and The Snipe, in which its expert and bad qualities were expounded. Each Go Fetch! too promoted "the Must Take", an idiosyncratic (but real) product which no Mad reader should exist without, such as common cold galvanizing spray, or a pneumatic jackhammer. Go Fetch! was an odd cross between the wise-ass Mad mentality and the sort of production ratings by and large associated with Rolling Stone. It was an overtly commercial feature, with some ane-liners thrown in with the apparent hope of making it more than palatable. As such, Go Fetch! was heavily criticized by many of the magazine's loyal readers as a expose of the magazine's original satiric mission. In its year of being, Go Fetch! appeared in eight of 12 issues, but the characteristic has been defunct since June 2006.

"The Mad 20" [edit]

Since 1998, in every Jan result, Mad has commemorated the "20 Dumbest People, Events and Things" of the year. These emphasize the visual motif in a higher place all else, parodying such things equally picture posters, famous paintings, or magazine covers, though i or two text-heavier takeoffs are ordinarily sprinkled into each yr'southward assortment. The feature is reminiscent of the old Spy Mag's "Spy 100" list, which purported to catalogue "Our Annual Census of the 100 Most Annoying, Alarming, and Appalling People, Places and Things".

Though the "20 Dumbest People, Events and Things" are numbered one-20, the "rankings" appear to be essentially random. The "20th dumbest" slot of 2001 was awarded to Mad itself for its "slide down the slippery slope of greedy commercialism" in finally permitting advertizement in its pages.

Keeping in mind the indiscriminate positioning, these were the "#1" selections for the various years:

1998: "Starr Wars", a picture show poster parody of the partisan Kenneth Starr investigation, depicting Starr as Darth Vader, and Nib Clinton holding a cigar instead of a lite saber;
1999: "Y2K Panic", a chaotic drawing showing a crashing airplane displacing the Times Square New Twelvemonth'southward Ball, sending it careening into a terror-stricken oversupply;
2000: A rewritten Presidential oath of office. The result went to press one week after the disputed 2000 election; the editors had thought they would exist able to plug in the winner, but were obliged to publish 2 versions of the image, 1 with Al Gore being sworn in, the other depicting George W. Bush;
2001: "A.I. Asinine Credo", a movie poster parody of the Steven Spielberg film A.I. highlighting Jerry Falwell's placing blame on the nine/11 attacks on gays, feminists, abortionists and the ACLU;
2002: "Martha Stewart Lying", a mag spoof of Martha Stewart's insider trading scandal;
2003: "Term Eliminator", a motion-picture show poster parody of the tertiary Terminator film mocking Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory in the California retrieve election;
2004: "Donny Rumsfeld and the Prisoners of Abu Ghraib", a book comprehend in the way of the 3rd Harry Potter jacket, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban;
2005: "Where's W?", a book parody in the manner of the Where's Waldo? series. The cover shows a tableau of the crowded, flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with George W. Bush-league completely impossible to observe;
2006: "The Iraqi Quagmire Chess Fix", in the style of a Franklin Mint collectable. Literal chess pieces were sculpted and photographed, depicting such figures as Dick Cheney, Joseph Lieberman, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi and Muqtada al-Sadr;
2007: "Michael & Me", A parody of the book Marley and Me and ostensibly written from the perspective of one of Michael Vick's illegal fighting pit bulls. The book cover depicts Vick strangling a dog;
2008: "Clueless", a parody of the board game Clue featuring losing Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. It included rules of play which mimicked Palin's rhetoric and speaking style. The rooms, weapons, characters were also changed to reflect her persona and associations.
2009: "The Canonization of Michael Jackson", a religious icon which poked fun at media, fans and other hangers-on who spent the weeks following Jackson'southward death ignoring or whitewashing the child molestation accusations, his eccentric habits and his penchant for cocky-glorification. (Jackson's personal doc, who is widely blamed for causing the singer'due south expiry by overdose, was given his own entry at #20: a parody of Jackson's "Thriller" album, renamed "Killer");
2010: "Creators of the Black Lagoon", a poster parody of the 1954 monster moving picture satirizing the malfeasance before and after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
2011: "The Walking Debt", a parody of the AMC series The Walking Dead mocking the partisan battle over the previously perfunctory adjustment to the U.South. debt ceiling. President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell are amidst the politicians shown as shuffling, mindless zombies.
2012: "Paint Misbehavin' ", a parody of the 1960 Norman Rockwell painting "Triple Cocky-Portrait"^[eleven] which was changed to satirize Cecilia Gimenez's botched "restoration" of the religious Ecce Homo fresco in Borja, Zaragoza.
2013: "National Buffoons' Abysmal Firm", a parody of the movie poster for the 1978 comedy flick Animal House, mocking John Boehner and the Republican Political party-led House of Representatives for triggering the authorities shutdown.
2014: "GoodellFellas", a parody of the moving picture poster for the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, mocking NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the league'south lack of punishment confronting Ray Rice for beating his married woman in an lift, and Adrian Peterson'southward abuse of his son with a tree branch.
2015: "The Peachy Gasbag", a parody of the picture poster for the 2013 motion picture The Great Gatsby, mocking Donald Trump's abusive "verbal diarrhea" towards Jeb Bush, Megyn Kelly and others during his bombastic campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination. Mad had previously used the championship "The Keen Gasbag" for its parody of the 1974 Robert Redford-Mia Farrow film adaptation.
2016: "The Toxic Contender", a parody of the movie poster for the 1984 film The Toxic Avenger, mocking Donald Trump'due south "proper name-calling", "fact-free", "soul-crushingly noxious" entrada. Information technology was the first of four Trump entries, the most for any target in whatever "MAD twenty" issue (the other iii were nigh Trump's squad of advisors, his sexist remarks, his paying no taxes, and investigations of the Trump Foundation).
2017: "Russkie Business", a parody of the picture affiche for the 1983 film Risky Business organisation, mocking Donald Trump's association with the ongoing investigation into collusion and Russian involvement in the 2016 Presidential election. It was the start of a total dozen Trump-related entries, though Trump simply had a supporting role in some of them, such every bit Vice President Mike Pence, Kathy Griffin'due south much-criticized photo of a beheaded Trump, the reactions to quarterback Colin Kaepernick'southward civil rights protest, or the racist white supremacist/Nazi rally in Charlottesville.
2018: "Infamous Monsters of Movieland," a parody of the 1960s/70s horror/sci-fi magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, mocking the various celebrities defendant or convicted of sexual misconduct or rape, including Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Les Moonves, Matt Lauer, Roger Ailes, Beak O'Reilly, Charlie Rose and Louis CK. A woman is holding the mag with a look of horror, and her pilus sticking up in fright.

Running gags and recurring images [edit]

The Mad Style Guide (1994), showing several of the magazine'south repeated images.

Mad has made frequent use of esoteric words, including potrzebie, furshlugginer, veeblefetzer, Moxie, ganef, halavah, and axolotl. Many, but not all of these words are of Yiddish or Jewish origin. Favored humorous names included Melvin, Bitsko, Kaputnik, Cowznofski, and Fonebone. Mad used the word "ecch" or its cousins "blecch" and "yecch" equally an all-purpose expression of disgust so often that even The Simpsons after made passing references to the practice, showing Mad covers with the unseen parodies "Beauty and the Blecch" and "NYPD Blecch".

The word "hoohah" was an early running gag, often exclaimed by excited characters in the comic book issues written by Harvey Kurtzman; the kickoff story in the first issue of Mad was titled "Hoohah!".^[12] Its Eastern European feel was a perfect fit for the New York Jewish manner of the publication. The precise origin of "hoohah" is unknown, although it may have sprung from the Hungarian word for "wow", which is hűha.

"It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide" was a non sequitur-ish phrase that found its style into Mad on several occasions in the 1950s; this was dated British slang meaning "It'due south madness to bribe a policeman with counterfeit money." (The phrase originated in Margery Allingham's mid-thirties detective novel, The Way in Shrouds).^[13]

Some of the magazine'due south visual elements are whimsical, oftentimes appearing in the artwork without context or explanation. Amidst these are a potted avocado plant named Arthur (reportedly based on art director John Putnam's personal marijuana plant); a domed trashcan wearing an overcoat; a pointing 6-fingered hand; the Mad Zeppelin (which more than closely resembles an early experimental non-rigid balloon); and an emaciated long-beaked creature who went unidentified for decades before being dubbed "Flip the Bird".

In late 1964, Mad was tricked into purchasing the "rights" to an optical illusion already in the public domain,^{[ citation needed ]} featuring a sort of iii-pronged tuning fork whose advent defies concrete possibility. The mag dubbed it the "Mad poiuyt" subsequently the six rightmost letter of the alphabet keys on a QWERTY keyboard in reverse order, not realizing that the existing prototype was already known to engineers and usually called a blivet.

Mad cartoonists have regularly drawn themselves, fellow contributors and editors, and family members into the articles, almost famously Dave Berg'south self-extravaganza "Roger Kaputnik". Al Jaffee sometimes incorporates a cocky-caricature into his signature, about notably in his fold-ins. The mag'southward photo spreads have typically featured Mad's own staff. Originally, the magazine tried hiring models for its photograph shoots, but found that many were unwilling to make the exaggerated faces the magazine wanted. While trying to prompt the reluctant outsiders with demonstrations, the mag staff shortly decided that they were better suited for foolish posing than the professionals, and more cost-effective.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the magazine has made periodic references to "the monkey juice", generally in the context of over-imbibing with aforementioned. Many alphabetic character cavalcade responses are punctuated with the breezy interjection "Fa fa fa!". The mysterious name "Max Korn" has popped up for years; reader requests to analyze Korn'due south true identity have been greeted with increasingly outlandish explanations.

Regardless of the amount, the irresolute encompass price of Mad has long been followed by the discussion "Cheap!". Variants have occasionally appeared; post-obit an increase from 25 to 30 cents, the successive issues claimed to be "Cheap" (only X'd out), "Cheap?", and "Kinda Cheap". A rise to 40 cents sparked almost a year's worth of variations: "Ouch!", "Outrageous!", "No Laughing Matter", "Relatively Cheap", "Inexpensive (Considering)", and again, "Cheap?". Other cost increases were billed equally "Well-nigh Inexpensive", "Inflated!", and for a cover featuring Bonnie and Clyde, "Highway Robbery".

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b Martin, Don. The Completely Mad Don Martin, Running Press, 2007.
^ Chisholm Trail Bookstore (Duncan, Oklahoma)
^ Evanier, Marking. News from ME, March 17, 2007.
^ http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mega_watermark_ugc1213191.jpg
^ Mojo, June 2008, pg. 58.
^ ^a ^b http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/17320958-418/roger-ebert-dies-at-lxx-after-battle-with-cancer.html^{[ dead link ]}
^ Howard Stern broadcast on Sirius Radio, 1-20-09
^ Howard Stern Show broadcast on Sirius, October 22, 2013
^ "Miscellaneous Citrus County, Florida Obituaries".
^ Wonkypedia
^ "Why Was Rockwell Called "America'south Artist"?".
^ Index of MAD's beginning two years
^ Allingham, Margery. The Fashion in Shrouds, New York: Felony & Mayhem Press, 2008, p. 58. The speaker is Albert Campion's "male person'south gentleman", Magersfontein Lugg, a former burglar with aspirations of bettering himself. He has been increasing his pedagogy by style of reading "a small dictionary of quotations", and tosses the sentence out as a possible entry in his ain piece of work of that sort.

External links [edit]

Madcoversite.com attempts to group the irregularly recurring features

scotttherhang.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurring_features_in_Mad_(magazine)