SilverRich

This may well be the Mad cover with the least amount of effort put into it. Were they in a rush to get the printer that month?

I think I read in one of my behind-the-scenes Mad books (probably "Mad Cover to Cover" by Frank Jacobs) that William Gaines and Al Feldstein always allowed for one "easy" cover per year. I think it gave them a month off from deadline worries and such -- probably the month before or after they went on their yearly trip (Gaines treated the core staff to an all-expenses-paid international vacation each year).

 

Among the "easiest" Mad covers is also the "Mad Lowers Its Price!" cover which shows the same price but at the bottom of the page. And then there's the big "SEX" cover which is bright pink on a black background. That's a favorite. Another good one is the variant cover that supposedly says the actual numerical number of each issue printed (though there are only 4 different numbers, but you'd have to flip back through the newsstand a bit to figure that out).

 

The whole trend was obviously started by Harvey Kurtzman with his conceptual covers during the comic-book phase. Scrolling down it looks like somebody else has posted a few.

 

Interesting. That really makes sense from a publishing point of view. Mad still get a gag cover, but with minimal artistic effort and time involved.

For some reason I'm thinking that in the past they used to skip a month each year (February or November, I believe). I would have to check when I get back around to them to be sure. But I'm pretty sure they combined two months in one issue for a while. This could've been when they took the vacation.

The mag definitely formed my outlook on life and sarcastic nature. Born in '56, I read them from about age 6-7 until I discovered that females were more fun in 1968 or '69 (same with comic book reading). Later in life, I hated learning that they had to start accepting advertisements, which ended their unique credo of everything and anyone being fair game for their talons.

I started collecting Mad in the mid-90's after an impulse buy on a stack of issues, completed a full run by 2004 and then subscribed to keep the run going. Funny thing is, I didn't renew my subscription last year because I figured that 1-500 was enough, but they keep sending issues each month. Guess they figure I'll come back and the freebies are worth sending.

Either I'm getting too old for todays brand of humor, or it's just simply bad material, but I haven't found much even remotely humorous in Mad since maybe the 1980's.

Depending on which part of the house I'm in, I'm currently simultaneously reading;

Whatever Happened To Orson Welles? - A Portrait of an Independent Career - Joseph McBride (my "Man-Cave")

Somewhere in the Night - Film Noir & the American City - Nicholas Christopher (my office)

Dark City - The Lost World of Film Noir - Eddie Muller (my bathroom)

Obviously I'm on a film-study kick these days. The subject matter of the previous 8-10 books I've read has been related to Film Noir, Hitchcock, Welles and Bogart. This has been a somewhat lighter digression from my World War II exploration last year, which included - among others - Mein Kamph and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

I found this a bit heavier reading than the original Galactus story arc.

.

All is well.

 

Business must be busy in Hoogieland since we never see you anymore.

 

bob

Lots of other stuff besides hoagies going on, Bob. Will you be in Essington in February? I would like to say hey and catch up.

Let me know when you find your wallet

Speaking of wallets... when can you give mine back?

Howzitgoin' Robert? Hope all is well.

My favorite thing about this is the translation of "What, me worry?" to "Quoi -- moi, m'en faire?"

That's exactly what I was thinking. Very nice book, BTW. (thumbs u

Friggin' show-off

That is the nicest comic-sized Mad I've ever laid eyes on. That's why you da man, Prof

Those foreign issues are SWEET.

I have a Spanish issue somewhere - but for whatever reason, if I recall - the cover is kind of blah. I'll try to locate it and post a scan.

Any other "Mad Men" out there, please share with us, by all means.

I almost forgot my favorite of the bunch. The pics aren't great, but this one looks much better in hand and I think the grade is kinda tight.

A few more pics for my fellow Mad brethren...

Here's my #1, which is one of the first books I had slabbed. I purchased it as a VG/F on eBay for a song. Shows how much that site has regressed. These days, many sellers would call it NM.

BTW... nice books, Bob (thumbs u

My avatar should be a dead giveaway, but I'm a full-fledged member. I have a full run from 1-500, plus all Trash, Worst and Follies (inserts intact), and the Specials from the first thru somewhere in the early 90's. To keep the run complete, I've been a subscriber for the last 8 years or so, but decided to stop at #500. I sold off all of my paperbacks a few years ago.

I started reading Mad when I was about eight or nine-years-old (circa-1964) and it was very influential in forming my sarcastic and cynical outlook on life. I'm not sure if it's just my getting older, but Mad has been a rag for the last 20 years or so, especially since they started accepting outside advertising (a forced economical move). Regardless, my Alfred E. bobble head remains proudly standing on one of my display shelves.

I still love to open the older ones up and enjoy the exceptional work from the truly-masterful "Usual Gang of I-diots." I've only slabbed 1-5, but was so happy when CGC started grading mags, so that my bright, beautiful, perfectly registered #24 had the opportunity to be under-graded at 9.2 by the powers that be. I'm not on my own PC right now, but I'll post some scans later if this thread stays afloat.

If it doesn't... What, me worry?

I still have nightmares on passing on a cgc 7.0 in SDCC 2 years ago at $5K

 

I saw it sell on clink last year for 10K+

 

 

I would love to upgrade my copy, but the .5 grade jump does not warrant spending the additional 3-4K.

I hear ya, Joey. In the last few years I've given some thought to cracking it out for re-submission, hoping to get lucky and grab a half-point. The problem would be the difference in value between a 7.0 and 8.0 if I decided to sell.

Plus there's always a chance for a PQ drop, although looking at the side view I doubt it would happen, but I've seen stranger things happen down there.

That is a real beauty, Dr. Banner. (thumbs u

 

Here's my card...one of my favorite books in my entire collection.

 

 

 

Wowza, that's a beauty. That must be worth like 2-300 bucks, no?

Are you crazy or something??? This book should bring in at least 400 to 500 bucks easy.

That is a real beauty, Dr. Banner. (thumbs u

Here's my card...one of my favorite books in my entire collection.

...although I think this one might look a bit better...

Here's my membership card to this club...

 

A couple of my favs of my collection

 

 

 

 

Awesome book Rich...and white

 

If this is #3 what are your other 4?

Thanks, Dave...These make up the rest of my "Fantastic Five" which is the top of my "Sweet Sixteen" list. I only collect SA and the usual Bronze Keys. One day I'm going to take a group photo, like another boardie did on his bed. His name eludes me right now.

1. AF 15

2. FF 1

4. Showcase 4

5. ASM 1

I always jump at a chance to post this one, but I dont think I've actually posted it in this thread yet...My prized possession...

That rarity of all rarities, a well centered HG copy of that book!

 

 

Ain't that the truth. Truly rare is the well-centered GL #76

 

This is the closest that I've come...

 

 

 

I think I recognize that book...

I think you have a good memory, even though the scan does it no justice.

I always jump at a chance to post this one, but I dont think I've actually posted it in this thread yet...My prized possession...

That rarity of all rarities, a well centered HG copy of that book!

Ain't that the truth. Truly rare is the well-centered GL #76

This is the closest that I've come...

 

A couple of my favs of my collection

 

 

 

I like this one

 

 

Thanks, Rick...it's #3 in my "Fantastic Five"

well, from what I have seen, if I were to collect SA again, I would do it your way (thumbs u

PLEASE don't start collecting SA again? There's enough bidding competition out here already. Besides...GA is much more of a challenge. (thumbs u

 

A couple of my favs of my collection

 

 

 

I like this one

Thanks, Rick...it's #3 in my "Fantastic Five"

Merci, Rick

A couple of my favs of my collection

Count me in...I threw my undercopy in as well, which will be sold when the time comes.