Art

The next to last post was satire/parody of course…something I’m always fond of. And that makes me think of MAD magazine. There was a brief mention of that magazine in today’s paper and the date of its founding, 1952. I would have been 12 years old at the time and I remember seeing those first issues while viewing the great selection of comics at Stuarts Pharmacy in Manhattan Beach. When the magazine debuted, it was published/edited by William Gaines and my favorite cartoonist from those pages was Will Elder. Great stuff!  

“In October 1952, William M. Gaines and E.C. Publishing brought out a new comic book, priced at 10 cents ("Cheap!"), titled "Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad," and sub-titled “Humor in a jugular vein” which at first just made fun of other comic books.”

But, by 1958, it was all over for me; as the artwork degenerated (I think Elder left) and the humor became sophomoric. (Was it always?) I really think it’s the artwork that draws me to Bizarro…there’s a lot more in the drawings than first meets the eye. And with Elders work, I remember staring at one panel for a very long time to be certain that I hadn’t missed a single item.