Number 1200: That crazy little mixed-up mag

Crazy was an attempt from Atlas Comics to lure some of the readers who were buying Mad into parting with their dimes. Any Mad loyalist would immediately see the attempt fell short. But even if it sounds as if I'm dismissing it, I actually like this comic with its frenetic energy and lunacy popping out of every panel. I like the sexy pin-up art of  Al Hartley, who later went on to Archie and then to Spire Christian Comics; I like Bill Everett's funny Frankenstein, and Joe Maneely's artwork is, as always, superb. Ed Winiarski was a comic book journeyman, and Davy Berg later became a Mad-man. What Crazy didn't have was Mad creator/writer/editor Harvey Kurtzman, and it makes all the difference. There was Mad and then there was everyone else. It didn't make the imitators bad comic books, and Crazy is entertaining in its own crazy way, but in my opinion no Mad imitator ever reached the heights to which Kurtzman had taken Mad. (See more in my review of John Benson's The Sincerest Form of Parody, below the scans.)

Here's Crazy #1 (1953):

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John Benson’s book, The Sincerest Form of Parody, is an excellent example of an overview (with examples) of a less-than-excellent subject. To wit (ho-ho), it is a book about all of them furshlugginer imitations of Mad comics that popped up in the wake of Mad’s success.

Benson, whom I admire as a comics historian,* obviously researched his subject matter. It appears that he read all of the Mad imitators of that period. The book reproduces a couple of dozen stories, some better than others, but none up to the high standards set by Harvey Kurtzman and Mad.

There just weren’t any other talents like Kurtzman out there at the time. There were writers who could write funny, and artists who could draw funny, but they couldn’t write and draw Kurtzman-funny. Even if the artists were technically good, they just didn’t come up to the level set by Kurtzman’s inspired cadre of cartoonists, artists like Elder, Wood, and Davis. At the time, they were the holy trinity of humor.

In my opinion, the best Mad imitations are what you see above you, the Mad-like comics from Atlas, and Harvey Comics’ short-lived Flip, with the sharp Davis-like drawing by Howard Nostrand.  EC Comics’ own in-house imitation, Panic, had some gems like Wood’s “African Scream,” shown in Pappy’s #871 or Elder’s “The Lady Or the Tiger,” the latter reproduced in Benson’s book. But same publisher or not, Panic was still a Mad imitator.

If Kurtzman worried at all about posterity, his name or his stories being remembered, he need not have been concerned. Kurtzman is one of the comic book geniuses, and they were rare, so we remember him. Reprints over the years have kept the twenty-three issues of Mad comics available to fans in various print formats, even two digital versions. The imitations just don’t get that kind of treatment, so The Sincerest Form of Parody makes some of the better imitators (“better” being subjective) available for the first time since their original publication almost sixty years ago.

I recommend The Sincerest Form of Parody with a qualification. The stories can be more bizarre than laugh-out-loud funny, and oftentimes (which happens with Mad, also) the satirical references are obscured by the half dozen decades between their first appearance and this book. Production is top notch, and the reproduction from the original four-color comic books is excellent.

It’s available from Amazon.com or your favorite bookseller. If your local comic shop has it or will order it for you, that’s even better.

The Sincerest Form of Parody by John Benson with introduction by Jay Lynch. Fantagraphics Book, 2011, trade paperback, 192 pages, 7 ¼” x 10”. $24.99 suggested retail.

*Benson also wrote Romance Without Tears, and Confessions, Romances, Secrets and Temptations, about the love comics of St. John publishing and writer Dana Dutch.

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Number 435


Comic book cuties


Before finding the Lighter Side of Mad, the late Dave Berg drew comic books. He's been featured in Pappy's a couple of times for his comic book work. Go to the labels below this posting and click on his name for more. He drew Merton in four issues of that title from Toby Press in the early 1950s. He drew some really cute girls in his stories, like Merton's gf Marcia in this 4-pager.

Note to guys: Always compliment a woman when she does something different to her hair. Even if you hate it, say you love it. I learned that from over three decades of working with hundreds of different women.

All three of the stories in this post are from the same issue, Meet Merton #3.

Gill Fox drew many a hottie himself, from Torchy to Jeanie to...Melody. Ger Apeldoorn in his excellent Fabuleous Fifties blog, has many examples of Fox's fine work.

Finally, Peggy Dean is by an artist I don't know, but who obviously had more than enough experience in drawing female anatomy to get the eye of even the most casual reader.

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Number 170


The Earlier Side of Dave Berg


When cartoonist David Berg died at age 81 in 2002, he had drawn for Mad for over 40 years, appearing in over 350 issues. His wry observations about everyday life, "The Lighter Side" reflected his own life.

Before he worked for Mad Berg was a comic book cartoonist, contributing to different publishers over the years. I have two stories here from 1954, a Mad Comics-styled satire and an Archie-clone.

"King Arthur and His Squares Around the Round Table" appeared in Atlas Comics' Crazy #2, and the Merton story, "A Heck Of A Hair-do!" is from Meet Merton #3, published by Toby Comics.

I'm also posting a scan of the printed cover of Meet Merton #3, and a scan of the original art I found on the Internet. This will be kind of a test, fans…see if you can spot the differences between the original and printed versions of the cover illustration . Click on the pictures for full-size images.
 

Berg had a great pin-up style. He could draw really cute chicks! Marcia from the Merton strip is vivacious and pretty, and unlike the stupid guys in her life, I can appreciate her Italian hair-do. I appreciate everything else about her, too. The Merton story was aimed at pre-pubescent kids, but even they might've wondered why Merton isn't shown as being horny. I mean, two teenagers, a tunnel of love, a beautiful girl…and he brings garlic? I don't know if Berg wrote his own story, here, but he showed with his Mad output that he was more than capable.

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