https://boingboing.net/2012/12/04/robert-crumb-writes-a-short-s.html

 Quote:


Harvey Kurtzman created MAD in 1952. It started out as a comic book, and the first issues mainly lampooned other comic books (Superman, Archie). It soon branched out to make fun of all cherised American institutions and I would argue that it was the beginning of modern humor that led to Saturday Night Live.

Kurtzman wrote every story for the first 23 issues of MAD, which were illustrated by the cream-of-the-cartoonist crop: Will Elder, Jack Davis, Wally Wood, and Kurtzman himself.

In 1956 Kurtzman left MAD after publisher William M. Gaines refused to give him controlling ownership. Unfortunately, MAD marked the high point of Kurtzman's career, in financial terms. Even though Kurtzman continued to produce brilliant work, he never again experienced the same level of commercial success that he'd had with MAD.

In this introduction to a 1976 one-shot comic book called KURTZMAN KOMIX (published by Kitchen Sink), Robert Crumb writes a bittersweet appreciation for one of America's great cultural treasures.




I never would have guessed that MAD was the greatest commercial success for Kurtzman. I would have guessed he made a ton more money doing "Little Annie Fannie" for PLAYBOY.

I guess the closest Crumb himself came to doing MAD (despite being heavily influenced by MAD) was his own magazine WEIRDO in nthe 1980's, that on many covers had an early 1950's MAD look, although very neurotic, perversely sexual and just way off the deep end from where MAD went.





The border around this cover almost looks like a twisted version of a Chick tract.

I highly recommend the documentary Crumb (1994) about the artist's life and career. Disturbing to watch, but intelligent, brutally honest and very interesting, about Crumb and his 2 brothers, who could have been equally talented artists if their lives took a different path. It won an academy award for best documentary the year it was released.

Crumb's work is brilliant, but I guess a bit too violent, overtly sexual and downright pornographic to have even appeared briefly in MAD. If you want a good sampling of Crumb's work, I like the book ROBERT CRUMB'S AMERICA, about 100 pages of his stories collected from across the spectum of his work, of material from roughly 1967-1994.

MAD, while often more intelligent than its audience, was mostly aimed at 10 to 15 year olds. And it was at roughly 15 that I lost interest in MAD, at least in the new material coming out. The stuff from about 1963-1976 spoke to me most at the time. The last year I was still buying but losing interest.