Al Jaffe — A MAD Look At Gags

Mad #141, March 1971

Ah, more memories of a misspent youth.

Once upon a time, Mad Magazine was a users manual for anti-establishment thinking among the baby boomer generation. Think of it as an introductory guide to counter culture.

And my personal sweet spot for devouring each issue (around 1970-1976) coincides with its biggest circulation success — reaching sales of more than 2million copies per issue, and rivaling TV Guide and Reader’s Digest as an American magazine powerhouse. 

In other words, a lot of kids got the joke. 

The art styles of its stars — Mort Drucker, Sergio Aragones, Jack Davis, Dave Berg, et al — were instantly recognizable.

Including, of course, the legendary Al Jaffee.  In an incredible 50-year span (1964-2013), only one issue of Mad doesn’t feature a gag from him. He actually holds the Guinness World Record as the comic artist with the longest career. Jaffe “retired” from cartooning just shy of turning 100-years old.

When the original art for this page appeared for sale a few years ago, I remembered the gag vividly. I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but a 50-year old cartoon from Mad? 

No problem.

Happy 70thanniversary, Mad.