https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Aragon%C3%A9sAccording to the artist, he arrived in New York in 1962[6] with nothing but 20 dollars and his portfolio of drawings. After working odd jobs around the city, Aragonés went to Mad's offices on Third Avenue hoping to sell some of his cartoons. "I didn't think I had anything that belonged in Mad," said Aragonés. "I didn't have any satire. I didn't have any articles. But everybody was telling me, 'Oh, you should go to Mad."[7]
Since his knowledge of English was not very extensive, he asked for the only Mad artist he knew of that spoke Spanish, Cuban-born artist Antonio Prohías, creator of the comic strip "Spy vs. Spy". Aragonés hoped Prohías could serve as an interpreter between him and the Mad editors. According to Aragonés, this proved to be a mistake, since Prohías knew even less English than he did. Prohías did receive Aragonés very enthusiastically and, with difficulty, introduced the young artist to the Mad editors as "Sergio, my brother from Mexico," temporarily leading to even further confusion, as the Mad editors thought they were meeting "Sergio Prohías."[7] Mad editor Al Feldstein and publisher Bill Gaines liked what they saw, and Aragonés became a contributor to the magazine in 1963. His first sale was an assortment of astronaut cartoons which the editors arranged into a themed article.[8]
When associate editor Jerry DeFuccio encouraged Aragonés to submit more material in the future, the cartoonist took it to heart, producing a full article on motorcycle cops overnight. He returned to the Mad offices the following morning, and made his second sale. In 2022, Aragonés told an interviewer, "I was back at the door before they opened. They were asking, "What happened? What do you need?" I said, "No, I have your articles here." They couldn't believe it. I had drawn close to 15 ideas and they loved it."[9]
With little money and no connections in the United States, Aragonés spent so much time at the office that publisher Gaines allowed him to sleep there overnight. "I don't think any other company would have been so generous or friendly," Aragonés recalled 57 years later.
Aragonés worked continuously for Mad from 1963 to 2020, only stopping because the magazine transitioned into an almost-all-reprint format. His final new material appeared in an issue otherwise entirely filled with Aragonés reprints. It was the 491st issue to include new work by Aragonés, second only to Al Jaffee (509 issues).[10] "They told me, 'Make Mad your home,'" said Aragonés, "and I took it literally."
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