Mad #162 - EC

Oct. 1973 - "From the usual gang of idiots."

Ah, Mad magazine--I wish I could quit you.

Actually, I don't. I love finding an old, cheap issue of Mad on eBay and exploring the treasures I find inside. Like Conan stories, you know what you're going to get, you just don't know the exact proportions. And that's kind of comforting sometimes.

This issue's first parody is of The Heartbreak Kid, called "The Heartburn Kid", drawn by the incomparable Mort Drucker:

There are some panels here where the linework and devotion to detail are simply startling. Its amazing to me Drucker would put this much work into a silly movie parody, but maybe that's what gives this pieces like this such a classic feel:

Following this, there's "The Mad Motorists Guide to American Wildlife", "One Morning At A Bus Depot" by Don Martin, "Fortune Cookies That Are Relevant", and "You Know It's Really Summer When...", again featuring beautiful artwork, in this case by Jack Rickard:

Then there's another installment of "Spy Vs. Spy", "The Lighter Side of...Crime in the Streets", more Don Martin, then "Magazines for Neglected Sports", drawn by the master, Jack Davis:

...the funny thing is, most of these magazines exist today.

Following this, there's "Old Standards Rewritten For The Liberated Woman", then "Mad's Summer Camp Owner of the Year", drawn by one of my favorites, Paul Coker:

There's more Don Martin, "A Mad City Street Scene We'd Like To See", followed by one more parody, drawn by Angelo Torres:

On the inside cover there's, of course, The Mad Fold-In, and the whole thing is topped off with this timely back cover gag:

Sure, it's about as subtle as a sledgehammer, but that's not what you buy Mad for!