Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,627
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Post by Confessor on Jun 9, 2020 0:34:08 GMT -5
I don't ever remember seeing Crazy or Cracked for sale here in England. Whereas almost every newsagents shop carried MAD. Of course, we had our own British version of MAD that, while mostly the same as its U.S. counterpart, did sometimes feature exclusive UK-centric strips (and even UK-centric covers).
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Post by tarkintino on Jun 9, 2020 5:38:39 GMT -5
I liked both Cracked and Mad magazines. A nice thing about Cracked is that the magazine never had a problem poking fun at their chief competitor, as seen on the covers of Cracked #99 (March, 1972) and #177 (May, 1981), both by the one and only John Severin--
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Post by Icctrombone on Jun 9, 2020 6:11:10 GMT -5
What could Mad magazine say? It's a parody comic.
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Post by MDG on Jun 9, 2020 8:21:51 GMT -5
I remember picking up the first issue of Marvel's CRAZY while I was on vacation. Even then, I thought it was interesting that they included NatLamp as one of the competitors getting blown up on the cover. NatLamp was what you "graduated" to after you stopped reading those B&W mags.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jun 9, 2020 8:44:31 GMT -5
One thing that bothers me about modern comics is that the art no longer shows lines of action. What do I mean by lines of action? I mean, for example, when someone throws a punch, you might see some lines coming from the arm, of if someone is flying, you might see some lines showing the path that he/she took. Maybe there is a correct technical term for it, but I don't know what it is. Anyway,I think the lines of action make the art look a lot more dynamic, and it also often makes the action easier to follow. There have been times that I've been confused as to what's going on in a modern comic, which I think some lines of action would have helped me greatly in understanding. I guess someone decided it was "better" to make things more "realistic" by not showing the lines of action. However, I think that was a mistake. A comic is not a series of still photographs. Each panel is a work of art, and you're throwing away an opportunity to take advantage of this unique medium by trying to make it look like a bunch of little photos. Comics books, or superhero comics, at least, should be escapist fantasy. The modern drive to make everything super "realistic" is a bit silly, IMHO, as the idea of people flying, lifting a car over their head with one hand, and shooting energy bolts out of they hands is inherently ridiculous, so let's not take it too seriously. Let's have some fun with it and remember that it's supposed to be fun, and be, as I said, escapist fantasy. Of course, it can't be too silly or unrealistic, or else it just becomes a bunch of drivel that a child could have come up with it, but there should be a balance between realism and fantasy. The picture below, a classic Jack Kirby battle scene, shows plenty of lines of action. The far right panel in the top row, showing lines of action coming from Cap's swinging arm, is a great example of what I'm talking about. The very next panel (the far left one of the middle row) shows the lines of action coming from Batroc's leg and Cap's body, and both of those panels would be tougher for me to figure out what going on (and less exciting-looking to me) without those lines of action. There, I said it!
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Post by badwolf on Jun 9, 2020 9:56:19 GMT -5
I never had a Mad Magazine but I did have a set of paperback reprints. It had all the classic parodies like Starchie, Howdy Doit, Superduperman, etc. Recently I found a new collection of the Wally Wood stuff (in full color!) I look forward to revisiting these.
I had one issue of Crazy as a kid. It wasn't the sort of thing I normally bought but I did enjoy it. Casper the Dead Baby RTW!
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Post by badwolf on Jun 9, 2020 9:59:26 GMT -5
One thing that bothers me about modern comics is that the art no longer shows lines of action. What do I mean by lines of action? I mean, for example, when someone throws a punch, you might see some lines coming from the arm, of if someone is flying, you might see some lines showing the path that he/she took. Maybe there is a correct technical term for it, but I don't know what it is. Anyway,I think the lines of action make the art look a lot more dynamic, and it also often makes the action easier to follow. There have been times that I've been confused as to what's going on in a modern comic, which I think some lines of action would have helped me greatly in understanding. I guess someone decided it was "better" to make things more "realistic" by not showing the lines of action. However, I think that was a mistake. A comic is not a series of still photographs. Each panel is a work of art, and you're throwing away an opportunity to take advantage of this unique medium by trying to make it look like a bunch of little photos. Comics books, or superhero comics, at least, should be escapist fantasy. The modern drive to make everything super "realistic" is a bit silly, IMHO, as the idea of people flying, lifting a car over their head with one hand, and shooting energy bolts out of they hands is inherently ridiculous, so let's not take it too seriously. Let's have some fun with it and remember that it's supposed to be fun, and be, as I said, escapist fantasy. Of course, it can't be too silly or unrealistic, or else it just becomes a bunch of drivel that a child could have come up with it, but there should be a balance between realism and fantasy. The picture below, a classic Jack Kirby battle scene, shows plenty of lines of action. The far right panel in the top row, showing lines of action coming from Cap's swinging arm, is a great example of what I'm talking about. The very next panel (the far left one of the middle row) shows the lines of action coming from Batroc's leg and Cap's body, and both of those panels would be tougher for me to figure out what going on (and less exciting-looking to me) without those lines of action. There, I said it! I agree! I think that is one reason why I have trouble "reading" (visually) modern comics. And even when I can decipher the action it looks, as you say, like photos. It's static and doesn't look right.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jun 9, 2020 10:10:06 GMT -5
As I've said before, Mad magazines were ubiquitous at yard sales in the 70s and early 80s. My Grandmother was a nut for garage sales, plotting out her route for Friday and Saturday mornings. We had our issues, but I'll say this, she always bought Mads and comics for me. So I had a lot of Mad magazines (and the odd Cracked) from the 70s.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 11:33:49 GMT -5
Well Kirby was a storyteller as well as an artist. That is something lost with modern comics. The aspect of the art telling the story. Instead it's all poses and lacks dynamic pacing.
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Post by dbutler69 on Jun 9, 2020 12:34:44 GMT -5
Well Kirby was a storyteller as well as an artist. That is something lost with modern comics. The aspect of the art telling the story. Instead it's all poses and lacks dynamic pacing. Exactly. That's another criticism I have of modern comics. There's no attention to sequential storytelling. The artist is just trying to cram a bunch of cool looking poses into the comic.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 12:40:35 GMT -5
I wish there was a MAD SUPER SPECIAL that collected all the Bond parodies.
Or if there is one, I've never seen it.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 12:53:42 GMT -5
Maybe not a comic, but if all the artwork is of that caliber I wouldn't mind having it. (Who is the artist anyway? Looks like...Snowman??) Full credits
Text by Gary Reed. Art by Ray Lago, Guy Davis, Vincent Locke, Andy Bennett, Tom Biondolillo, Marco Galli, Jason Jewett, Jeff Johnson, Scott Kolins, Don Kramer, Isaac Owens, Mike Perkins, Galen Showman, Ronn Sutton, Sam Varney, Philippe Xavier and Kelly Yates. Cover by Ray Lago.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jun 9, 2020 13:03:06 GMT -5
I don't ever remember seeing Crazy or Cracked for sale here in England. Whereas almost every newsagents shop carried MAD. Of course, we had our own British version of MAD that, while mostly the same as its U.S. counterpart, did sometimes feature exclusive UK-centric strips (and even UK-centric covers). You'd probably have loved the Cracked parody of The Empire Strikes Back, with artwork by John Severin!
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 9,627
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Post by Confessor on Jun 9, 2020 14:08:51 GMT -5
I don't ever remember seeing Crazy or Cracked for sale here in England. Whereas almost every newsagents shop carried MAD. Of course, we had our own British version of MAD that, while mostly the same as its U.S. counterpart, did sometimes feature exclusive UK-centric strips (and even UK-centric covers). You'd probably have loved the Cracked parody of The Empire Strikes Back, with artwork by John Severin! Probably. The three MAD movie satires of the original trilogy are among my favourite MAD strips ever.
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Post by impulse on Jun 9, 2020 15:13:22 GMT -5
My uncle used to buy me MAD magazines for Christmas every year, even as an adult. I will always be nostalgic about MAD for that. May he rest in peace.
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