So long “Mad” magazine

That face was unmistakable – freckles, toothy grin, with a tooth missing, tussled brown hair, and most of all…cartoon.

His name was Alfred E. Neuman and he appeared somewhere on the cover of virtually every issue of “Mad” magazine.

It was with great sadness that I heard back in September “Mad” magazine was publishing its last issue in December.

Although not a religious reader every month, “Mad” magazine, with its combination of parodies and quirky features, was definitely a part of growing up in the 1980s.

Going mad

Like most things, I learned about “Mad” magazine through my older siblings and cousins. One memory in particular sticks out. My sister was working on an art project on the kitchen table. She was sketching this cartoon of a guy who walked on another guy’s face, leaving a footprint on him. She had drawn a grid on the original cartoon and, as was the project, was sketching what was in each square of the grid. When it was all put together, it was a replica of the cartoon.

That cartoon was from “Mad” magazine.

It was also something my cousins read, and where I first flipped through old issues. They told me they bought it used at Baxter’s Books.

Getting Mad

I can still see the cover of the first issue I ever bought. Alfred E. Neuman is swimming on the top of the ocean, while lurking underneath is a shark. It is a spoof of the iconic “Jaws” movie poster. In this drawing, the shark has its tongue out and is exclaiming, “Yecch!”

That would be the start of buying “Mad” magazine every so often, usually when the cover appealed to me. The one I remember best was a spoof of “Star Trek” with Spock, Kirk and Alfred in a dance line kicking and tipping their hats. Of course, Alfred is wearing the red uniform, and it has “Keep on Trekin’” stenciled on the front.

What to get Mad about

What really stuck out for me were some regular features. There was “Spy versus Spy”, a cartoon with two identical spies chasing each other – one black and one white. There was the cartoon on the back inside cover that, when folded, in threes, made a completely different picture. There were the glossy colour cartoons, usually in the back as well, that could be a tad raunchy. The one I recall seeing in various incarnations was Rapunzel in the tower letting down her hair – except in one case it was her boobs and another her armpits maybe.

And, there were all the advertisements “Mad” magazine poked fun at. The only thing that came close was a set of stickers called “Wacky Packages” that spoofed popular products. For example, Ragu spaghetti sauce became “Raw Goo”.

Above all else, was the spoof and satire of everyday pop culture, particularly television and movies.

Parting thoughts

“Mad” magazine was the place I first learned about parody. Every time I saw an issue at Baxter’s Books, I looked to see what show or movie they were making fun of or spoofing. I just loved the play on words, even though I didn’t always get all the jokes or references.

I liked Wayne and Shuster, that venerable CBC TV show for the same reason, but their parodies were less out there and much more Canadian. Later on, I would discover Weird Al Yankovic, and he brought his own brand of parody, that still keeps on going to this day.

Those pictures you could fold into different pictures, was the other thing I flipped to in every issue. It was just so clever, and so well done. I even tried to emulate my big sister. With the help of one of my cousins, I drew a grid on one of those Mad fold-ins, but never finished the drawing.

Given my mediocre drawing ability, it would have been a visual parody of a parody.

I am pretty sure there is still a box of “Mad” magazines in my mom’s basement. Given she is moving, I may just dig those out and read them again.

I am sure they will have a completely different meaning this time.

But multiple meanings – that’s what parody is all about.

So thank you “Mad” magazine for introducing me to parody, and so long.

Give my best to Alfred.