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Post by brutalis on Nov 10, 2021 14:49:10 GMT -5
Remember When you discovered humor magazines which became part of your comic book budgeting? I was babysitting my younger cousins one night when I was around 11 or 12 years old. He was a police detective working nights and my aunt was a night shift RN at the hospital. When they couldn't get a babysitter they would have me sleep over on their weekend shifts. In uncle's Playboy/Penthouse collection stack there was a bunch of Mad and Cracked magazines.
Of course nubile nude models were a delight for late night perusing (like I was reading much of the articles?) but of a day I chose to read those humor mags. So began my new limited addiction. Combining art and humor in capturing my teen mind, I began to trade with neighboring kids whenever possible. I couldn't afford these on a regular basis so I focused upon these magazines during the long hot days of summer when yard jobs and car washings were aplenty. Also both sides of the family grandparents took notice so they would buy as rewards for helping them out or during weeklong visits to help keep me entertained.
Soon enough I had a nice assortment, mostly Mad interspersed with some Cracked and the occasional Crazy. Even my dad took to these and would raid my collection during Sunday to read once he finished the newspaper. It was usually the special issues focusing on movies or monsters which I would grab up as well as any collected books highlighting a particular artists like Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Angelo Torres or Dave Berg.
These days I can relive those teen years as I have all 3 on digital DVD-ROM collecting if not all, then most of the best. I can say growing up it was always a thrill when I was able to pick up a new or old issue to enjoy some chuckles and smiles. Rather sad the days of those humor magazines has passed into the shadows of past memories...
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Nov 10, 2021 15:08:26 GMT -5
Remember When you discovered humor magazines which became part of your comic book budgeting? I was babysitting my younger cousins one night when I was around 11 or 12 years old. He was a police detective working nights and my aunt was a night shift RN at the hospital. When they couldn't get a babysitter they would have me sleep over on their weekend shifts. In uncle's Playboy/Penthouse collection stack there was a bunch of Mad and Cracked magazines. Of course nubile nude models were a delight for late night perusing (like I was reading much of the articles?) but of a day I chose to read those humor mags. So began my new limited addiction. Combining art and humor in capturing my teen mind, I began to trade with neighboring kids whenever possible. I couldn't afford these on a regular basis so I focused upon these magazines during the long hot days of summer when yard jobs and car washings were aplenty. Also both sides of the family grandparents took notice so they would buy as rewards for helping them out or during weeklong visits to help keep me entertained. Soon enough I had a nice assortment, mostly Mad interspersed with some Cracked and the occasional Crazy. Even my dad took to these and would raid my collection during Sunday to read once he finished the newspaper. It was usually the special issues focusing on movies or monsters which I would grab up as well as any collected books highlighting a particular artists like Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Angelo Torres or Dave Berg. These days I can relive those teen years as I have all 3 on digital DVD-ROM collecting if not all, then most of the best. I can say growing up it was always a thrill when I was able to pick up a new or old issue to enjoy some chuckles and smiles. Rather sad the days of those humor magazines has passed into the shadows of past memories... I had a very large collection of Mad back in the day, but it never became part of my buying regimen. As I've said before, my paternal Grandmother was a nut for garage/yard sales. Back in the 70s and early 80s Mad magazine was in fair abundance at these yard sales and my Grandmother (with whom I actually did not get along well) would buy them for me, along with any comic books that were found. There were also the odd issues of Cracked, though never any Crazy that I remember. By the time all was said and done I had a near complete run of Mad from about early '72 - '80. I really never felt the need to spend my hard-earned shekels on them because I figured I'd eventually get them anyway. I do have the DVD (or maybe CD-Rom) of Mad. I don't think I knew there was one for Cracked. I'll have to look for that. I think that the computer that my boys built for me has a DVD-rom drive still.
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Post by Rob Allen on Nov 10, 2021 16:24:28 GMT -5
I became aware of humor magazines in 1965. My friend & neighbor who introduced me to them told me that Mad was the best, Sick was second and Cracked third. Crazy was eight years in the future at that point. I started buying Mad regularly; never even sampled the other two. I found out decades later that Sick had a really good period in about 1962-64 when Bob Powell was the art director but was generally inferior otherwise.
I stopped buying Mad when I stopped buying comics in June 1969 and never resumed buying it regularly. But in 1972 I discovered National Lampoon, and that was a must-buy for the next six years. When Marvel launched Crazy I bought that too, but I never thought it was as good as Mad had been in 1965-69. I still have some Mad gags memorized from that era.
It's a grand old smog It's a low-lying smog You can tell by the smell and the pall
Though it clouds the skies And burns our eyes It means there's employment for all
For it comes, you see From some great factory Where there's never an idle cog
So don't give up Our way of life And give thanks for that grand old smog!
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 11, 2021 6:21:03 GMT -5
I think I was aware of the humor magazines, and horror and other b&w comics magazines, pretty much as soon as I became aware of the magazine stands that were usually right next to the comics spinner rack in drugstores - so when I was about 6 or so. However, I don't think actually read one until a few years later - it was an issue of Crazy that had a color comic insert of an old Not Brand Echh story. At around that same time, I read an issue or two of Mad loaned to me by a slightly older cousin. I liked them well enough, but I rarely ever bought them as their price point, among other things, made them less attractive to me than regular comics. I recall reading them pretty regularly for a while, though, either by flipping through them in the store or reading copies that friends brought to school during recess after lunch. Mad was obviously the best, but I recall reading Crazy more often than Cracked - in fact, the few humor magazines I actually bought were Crazy. However, I do remember having some of the Mad pocketbooks that reprinted work by the individual artists - I know I had a few of the Don Martin books in particular.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2021 9:03:14 GMT -5
I wish MAD would do a super-special of all the James Bond parodies its done....the last one I saw was the Skyfall parody and it was in full-colour.
I moan about this everytime there's a new Bond movie, like right now.
There, I remembered it.
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Post by jason on Nov 11, 2021 23:43:35 GMT -5
I first discovered Mad on a trip to Disneyworld. We had stopped at a convenience store, and I was looking through the magazines, looking for something to buy. My dad suggested Mad, so I got it (it was the issue with Hulk Hogan on the cover), and even though I didnt understand some of the more political humor (I was only 6), I did like the artwork and the Don Martin/Spy Vs Spy features. Later on that same trip I also acquired the Knockout Mad super special and the following issue of Mad (the Garbage Pail Adults cover). After that I searched yard sales for old issues and the paperbacks, while still buying the regular issues and the super specials, becoming really familiar with the artists/writers and noticing they had different styles. It even got me to check out the occasional issue of Groo due to Sergio Argones being the artist of that comic. Discovered Cracked later, during a good time for the magazine as well (the Peter Bagge/Bill Wray/Art Clowes era), and the process repeated with that magazine as well. Though I stopped buying both regularly by 1993-4, I still would pick up the occasional issue of both through the years.
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Post by MDG on Nov 12, 2021 8:42:59 GMT -5
I was aware of Mad for while before I read it--I know my older cousin had some issues and I got the feeling my mom didn;t approve. Then when I was 8, the two girls accross the street gave me this for xmas ('67): Not long after, I borrowed this from a friend: I bought the next issue... . I also picked up a bunch of the paperbacks and most of the specials. In 5th grade, my Secret Santa got me the paperback Inside Mad, which is when I discovered it had started as a comic book, and it was my gateway to learning about EC and really getting into comics (though not superheroes). I only had one or two copies each of Cracked and Sick, bought either when on vacation and already had the current Mad, or at a flea mkt/garage sale. Always flt they were cheap imitations. I was in Maine when I got the first issue of Marvel's Crazy, and thought the same. A couple years ago, my son gave me an issue of Crazy he found at a garage sale that has the mst 70s cover ever: ... and pretty much every other issue through the middle of '75 or so, when I moved to Nat'l Lampoon and, later, Apple Pie, which leaned heavy into comics and where I first saw Terry Austin's signature.
These days, I'll pick up Mads from the 60s when I see them cheap.
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Post by badwolf on Nov 12, 2021 12:27:46 GMT -5
I never really got into humor comics but I did have one issue of Crazy and a box set of Mad paperbacks containing their parodies (Archie, Howdy Doody, Pogo, etc.) I did love those but never really looked at the magazines.
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Post by tonebone on Nov 16, 2021 15:32:19 GMT -5
Mad, Crazy and Cracked were a huge part of my developing years. They warped me good, giving me a pretty sarcastic sense of humor that did not serve me well in my formative years. Just ask my parents. Actually, my dad and I have recently bonded over Mad, as it, too, was his favorite thing when he was a youngster. We both have such fond memories and truly learned a lot about the world and politics from their pages. I saw the three magazines as pretty much equals, during my youth, but only ONE story ever truly disturbed me. Kaspar the Dead Baby, by Marv Wolfman and Marie Severin from an early issue of Crazy.... The whole story can be found here... link - I purposefully didn't post any really disturbing images from it. I'm telling you, it haunted me, no pun intended....
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Post by badwolf on Nov 16, 2021 16:02:00 GMT -5
That was in the one issue of Crazy that I had! I remember it well too, even though the magazine is long gone.
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Post by berkley on Nov 16, 2021 18:21:34 GMT -5
I didn't have that onebut I had the issue with the letters talking about it, so I was made aware of the controversy that story created with some readers.
My first Mad was the one with Cannon on the cover (title character of a popular cop show back then). That was some time in 1973 and I followed the magazine pretty regularly for the next two years or so, I would say, though I didn't get every single issue. I'll have to go look at the cover gallery to see if it sparks any memories. I think my best friend around that time also bought them occasionally, so I might have read a few that way.
I thought there was a collection of all of MAD's Bond parodies at one time but if so it was probably well before the Craig era.
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 16, 2021 18:35:29 GMT -5
Mad, Crazy and Cracked were a huge part of my developing years. They warped me good, giving me a pretty sarcastic sense of humor that did not serve me well in my formative years. Just ask my parents. Actually, my dad and I have recently bonded over Mad, as it, too, was his favorite thing when he was a youngster. We both have such fond memories and truly learned a lot about the world and politics from their pages. I saw the three magazines as pretty much equals, during my youth, but only ONE story ever truly disturbed me. Kaspar the Dead Baby, by Marv Wolfman and Marie Severin from an early issue of Crazy.... The whole story can be found here... link - I purposefully didn't post any really disturbing images from it. I'm telling you, it haunted me, no pun intended.... I had a few issues of Crazy among my issues of MAD and Cracked, and I definitely remember Kaspar the Dead Baby. It’s the best thing I remember from Crazy. I bought an old trade for History of Moosekind a few months ago.
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Post by tonebone on Nov 17, 2021 10:19:36 GMT -5
Mad, Crazy and Cracked were a huge part of my developing years. They warped me good, giving me a pretty sarcastic sense of humor that did not serve me well in my formative years. Just ask my parents. Actually, my dad and I have recently bonded over Mad, as it, too, was his favorite thing when he was a youngster. We both have such fond memories and truly learned a lot about the world and politics from their pages. I saw the three magazines as pretty much equals, during my youth, but only ONE story ever truly disturbed me. Kaspar the Dead Baby, by Marv Wolfman and Marie Severin from an early issue of Crazy.... The whole story can be found here... link - I purposefully didn't post any really disturbing images from it. I'm telling you, it haunted me, no pun intended.... I had a few issues of Crazy among my issues of MAD and Cracked, and I definitely remember Kaspar the Dead Baby. It’s the best thing I remember from Crazy. I bought an old trade for History of Moosekind a few months ago. History of Moosekind was my favorite thing ever about CRAZY.... I would love to get my hands on a collection!
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 17, 2021 12:34:29 GMT -5
I had a few issues of Crazy among my issues of MAD and Cracked, and I definitely remember Kaspar the Dead Baby. It’s the best thing I remember from Crazy. I bought an old trade for History of Moosekind a few months ago. History of Moosekind was my favorite thing ever about CRAZY.... I would love to get my hands on a collection! I got The History of Moosekind off eBay for less than $10. I don’t know if it’s hard to find. Maybe I just got lucky?
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Post by Hoosier X on Nov 17, 2021 12:35:52 GMT -5
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