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.
