|
Home
>
Worthopedia – Price Guide
>
Books, Paper & Magazines >
MAD #1-2 *CGC* SIGNED BY ORIG ARTIST KURTZMAN (EC 1952)
|
Terms and Conditions for using our site |
MAD #1-2 *CGC* SIGNED BY ORIG ARTIST KURTZMAN (EC 1952)
Sold For:
 or Sign In to see what it's worth.
MAD # 1-2 (EC Comics 1952-53)
An American Pop-Culture Icon-- MAD is a humor magazine that originally debuted in comic book format, founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. It is the last surviving title from the notorious and critically acclaimed EC Comics line. To this very day, the monthly publication deflates stuffed shirts and pokes fun at all matters of the sociopolitical spectrum, offering up satire on all aspects of American life and pop culture . From its maverick first issue (October-November, 1952), MAD was a comic book , and part of the line of EC Comics published from the Lower East Side in New York City . MAD 's subtitle, "Tales Calculated To Drive You" above the title MAD , referenced era radio's Suspense program which each week used the opening, "Tales well calculated to keep you in... Suspense!" The vertical subtitle, "Humor in a Jugular Vein," indicated the possibility of a sinister edge to the satire (as well as being a play on words for "jocular").** _________________________ Written almost entirely by Harvey Kurtzman , the landmark FIRST issue showcases the cartoon talents of Kurtzman, Wally Wood , Will Elder , Jack Davis and John Severin . The first two issues of MAD spoofed only comic book genres of romance, horror, sports and science fiction without overly specific references. However, with the third issue, Kurtzman turned to direct parodies, targeting the well-known radio programs (" Dragged Net! "), and the Lone Stranger! ." This approach proved fruitful, and in short order Kurtzman was gleefully hammering away at such targets as newspaper comic strips (" Little Orphan Melvin! "), comic books (" Superduperman! "), movies (" Ping Pong !") and television (" Howdy Dooit! ").** In 1955, with issue 24, the comic book was converted into a magazine . The popular myth is that this was done to escape the strictures of the Comics Code Authority , which was imposed in 1955 following United States Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency . Actually, Kurtzman received a lucrative offer from the publisher of Pageant and only stayed when Gaines agreed to convert MAD to a similarly "slick" magazine. The immediate practical result was that MAD acquired a broader range in both subject matter and presentation, since magazines had wider distribution than comic books, and a more adult readership. However, the advent of the Comics Code Authority had proven fatal to Gaines' EC Comics line. Publisher Gaines had suffered both financially and creatively from targeted industry censorship , and the enmity of his fellow publishers. EC's national distributor, Leader News , was the nation's weakest and did not have the clout to withstand an undeclared industry boycott of EC's publications. In fact, the distributor's comics were frequently returned still in their original, unopened bundles. These factors combined to drive all EC comics from the stands, except for MAD , which was too profitable to ignore. ** _________________________ MAD is widely recognized as having filled a vital gap in political satire from the 1950s to 1970s , when Cold War paranoia and a general culture of censorship prevailed in the United States , especially in literature for teens. Fast forward, and the rise of such factors as cable television and the Internet have minimized the influence and impact of MAD , although it remains a widely distributed magazine . Indeed, in the end MAD 's power seems to have been undone (in keeping with its own ironic and "satirical" tradition) by its own success, inasmuch as what was subversive in the 1950s & 1960s is by today's standards commonplace. However, MAD' s impact on three generations of humorists is incalculable, as can be seen most recently, by example, in the frequent references to MAD on the long-running animated series The Simpsons -- by virtue of the show's very format centered on thinly veiled sociopolitical parodies.** ** Courtesy of . _______________________ *** Please Visit Our eBay Store QuickSilver Collecti...
Items in the Worthopedia are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.
View Similar ItemsMore Items from eBay
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joining is free and gives you access to our Community & Forums.
If you are interested in our pricing data or other paid memberships, try our Full 7-day Free Trial Here.
By creating an account you agree to our Terms & Conditions
