The MADness Ends
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It seems the unthinkable has happened, MAD magazine will shut down.
Tom Spurgeon broke the news hearing of the demise but acknowledging it was unconfirmed.
Now Evan Dorkin has confirmed the news.
MAD began in 1952 with Harvey Kurtzman in charge and a stellar cast of artists.
It soon changed to a magazine format, and not long after that switched
to Al Feldstein running the show with his Usual Gang of Idiots.
above: MAD brags about its print run in the late 1960s
By the 1970s it was selling over two million copies of every issue. An immensely successful “comic book” and as a magazine was among the top in circulation. (And not accepting advertising at that time!)
Like all magazines and comic books the totals today are much lower. In 2017 it was down to 140,000.
Rebooted in 2018 with a new #1 the current issue is #8.
Word is there is enough new material (and plenty of material available for reprinting) for them to fulfill their obligations to subscribers.
And then MAD no more.
MAD has issued no statement.
Will update as Tom Richmond and other contributors weigh in.
above: the infamous MAD cover from 1974
Update: July 4th, 2019
And indeed, longtime and current MAD contributor Tom Richmond has given an insightful, informative eulogy to the end of an American classic.
“I will say… it’s hard to be one of the ones that has to turn out the lights.”
Tom Spurgeon, who broke the story, has an article at his Comics Reporter.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story for the mainstream press.
As it is a major U.S. holiday, no immediate word is expected from MAD/DC/Warner Bros/AT&T.
For a closer look at MAD go to Doug Gilmore’s Mad Cover Site where all issues and contributors are indexed; including the reprint Specials and books, which is what MAD will seemingly devolve to in the near future.
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