...is out!

SCOOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!

I P A D !

Is that yours?

Not my cover, but I'm in the issue.

Some guy named Jeff Kruse has a TON of writing in the latest issue. Good stuff, too.

You work at Mad Magazine for a living? How did I not know this?

Congrats, Scott!

That's a cover in the classic Mad tradition. I like the fact that there are no blurbs for what movie they're parodying or whatever else they're satirizing.

Not on staff. Just freelance.

Never been, but I'd love to visit their offices in NYC.

The covers these days are pretty uncluttered and usually just feature a strong central gag. I like 'em too.

Tom Richmond's movie spoofs are amazing and rival the classic Mort Drucker pieces (imho).

Alas, MAD is moving away from movie parodies.

Thanks, Professor!

I stopped buying Mad nearly two decades ago, probably not long after William M. Gaines died. It wasn't because of Gaines's passing, I just didn't feel the need to buy it anymore.

I've bought a few issues sporadically since then. One thing I noticed when I read the 400th issue, is how mean-spirited some of the humor was. Mad always went for the jugular, but usually did it with wit and good humor.

You should work a "balls out" reference into one of your Mad stories. And I'd really like to read 'em!

I thought some of the material in the 90s and early 2000s wasn't the best, but the the last few years of the magazine have been really good. Sharp political satire and genuinely funny stuff -- without getting too mean-spirited. There was a really funny Archie comics parody in issue #504.

MAD's worth picking up -- or at least browsing through at the local grocery.

That would be fun.

So far I've had single panel cartoons and strips published (part of MAD's Strip Club) and the cover idea for #504 -- but I'm always pitching articles.

Like I said, Scott, I've just picked up some random issues over the years and that was the impression I got from one issue.

Didn't Mad increase its circulation to ten times a year, only to be whittled down to quarterly status a little while ago...?

Yeah, but it's gone back up.

What was the cover of #504.

MAD went quarterly a year or so back -- only four issues a year, which was pretty brutal. The staff hated it because they couldn't get any sort of rhythm going.

Happily the magazine is now bi-monthly -- as of issue 504.

Oddly enough I got a lot of material approved when MAD dropped to quarterly.

I subscribed through most of the 2000s -- missed a few issues here and there -- and the magazine's definitely gone through changes.

I really miss seeing the work of Mort Drucker and Jack Davis -- giants in the industry, comic book gods. But Tom Richmond, Drew Friedman, and Herman Mejia -- the new guard -- are all excellent.

I grew up reading MAD and it had a huge impact on me -- like most cartoonists and writers of my generation.

Today's MAD isn't the MAD of the 70s (or 60s, or 50s), but those who dismiss it outright should take a closer look. There's a lot of very sharp humor in its pages.

And I can't believe they actually printed the strip I did (with Kit Lively) that runs in the current issue.

Congrats, Scott! Drew Friedman was a legend at SVA when I was there. He's great.