Mad Magazine has published its last issue. For many of my generation the magazine provided constant amusement throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. My brother and I would buy one copy and share it back and forth each month. The humor was tame compared to what is available for adolescents today, but it was startling material then. We learned sarcasm, political critique, and product spoofs within its covers. Sometimes the cover could even be folded in such a way as to produce an alternative picture, usually more provocative than the newsstand version had displayed.
I was a child of the Cold War, constantly being warned about Russia. The most subversive feature of Mad Magazine was the wordless feature cartoon each month–Spy vs. Spy. Despite what I was learning in school, it appeared that both sides in the Cold war were equally inept.
A wonderful editorial in today’s New York Times highlights how much Mad influenced many of today’s comedians such as John Stewart formerly of The Daily Show. For Mad lovers, I recommend reading it.
Saved By Words 
Sorry to see the demise of ‘Mad’. I loved it, even though so many of the American references went over my head at the time. The details in the cartoon illustrations were amazing. I remember sitting for ages until I had explored every part of each square.
That’s a nice tribute, Elizabeth.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Dang. I couldn’t read the article without becoming a subscriber.
It was Mad that had the record “Super Spectacular Day”, wasn’t it? I only half remember the song, and it drives me “mad”!
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Too funny.
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We didn’t have that here or I was not just aware of it.
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I loved Mad too— and thank you for reminding me.
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My snarky pleasure.
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Mad Magazine was great fun and definitely part of my growing up years. I loved how they spoofed the movies of the time. I wish I would have kept some of those old issues.
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I didn’t keep any either.
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Surprised to hear it’s been going all these years. You could get it here in the UK. I remember someone at school having a copy in the 1960s – it had a cartoon in which a baby introduced its family – Aunty Bad Breath and so on.
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It seemed almost like contraband when I was a kid. We had nothing else like it.
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Oh, what a shame there will be no more MAD magazines. I read these for years as my cousins had them all. I used to sit and read them the whole time we visited.
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They entertained us endlessly. Glad that you knew about them too.
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I used to read them when we went to our uncle’s home, we enjoyed them. Things are changing.
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That is fun to know they made it to India.
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