It's a MAD world

The History of MAD "magazine" as it came to be,  was a very surprising part of the readings this week for me. I grew up reading MAD thanks to the influence of my older brother who eagerly awaited each release when we were children (and thanks to our mother who gave in to our every whim during our visits every two weeks). I had no idea that 1) it had been around so long and 2) it was such an influential and controversial publication. It must have taken some real "gusto" to take on McCarthy in such a satirical manner, given the craze that the Wisconsin Senator gave rise to, in the form of a communist witch hunt. Arie Kaplan credits MAD for such future works as The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live and The Onion, all definite favorites of mine.  I find it even more surprising that as they faced these "morality committees" that these men chose to SAVE the publication by changing it from a comic book to a magazine so that it didn't have to follow the new rules being laid out. This was a truly creative solution. THANK GOODNESS for us that these men were smart enough to see what a good thing they had.   Considering that the group was more focused on the thriller/fright comic genre, it seems a bit miraculous in fact. This same group of men were responsible for creating another favorite of mine, Tales from the Crypt, which, in its TV format has kept my attention for years, and yet, I never knew of its comic book origins. I am ever amazed to learn each semester, how very little I know about the world I live in, even when it comes to things that I am genuinely interested in. (Side thought- can a person simply stay in college forever?)

I haven't picked up an issue of MAD magazine in years, in fact, the last issue I read was gifted to me in order to "lift my spirits" during a hospital stay over 6 years ago. However, in light of the things that I've read this week I feel compelled to seek out old copies of this magazine, and to re-visit my love of the funny stories and ads with a new adult perspective on the world, not to mention trying to pick out the writers' subtle (or not) tributes to their Jewish culture. As a child, I certainly could not have understood what the writers were attempting to portray about the world we lived in, it was simply a humor packed magazine with funny drawings that caught my attention. I find it even more surprising that I never really thought of MAD magazine as a comic book publication. I guess this goes back to the whole debate about what is a comic book, and what is a graphic novel? Apparently it is still unclear to me. With its lack of Super Heroes and dramatic themes, I simply didn't categorize this publication with the rest, and yet, as I look at the images in "Krakow to Krypton" it is clear to me that this is a comic book. I wonder what I would get out of reading these magazines today? I can't wait to find out, and I can't wait to plead my case to my husband that a subscription to MAD magazine will be beneficial to my learning experience in college this fall.