Rating: 
Summary: The Tepid Mad
Review: Everyone has nostalgic affection for what Mad once was, and the art generated for it in its heyday has been endlessly recycled. The names Davis, Coker, Drucker, Wood, and others are legendary. The selections for this book are nice, but the reproductions are tiny. The color section is printed in dull, brownish colors, with no chronological order or comment. There is exactly one rough preliminary sketch (from Dave Berg) to give any insight into the process. The writing is perky and lightweight, like a testamonial speech for a retiring employee, with a little biographical information, where he was schooled, what a gifted cartoonist, how repected by his peers, what a funny guy, etc. Here and there are hints at the real pressures that must have come into play in the production of the magazine, but the fluff piece mentality always wins out, and the real story is glossed over with well-worn Madisms like, "...mainly because, (insert quip here)...!" and other breezy, hand-me-down phrases. With no glimpse into the creative life behind the vacant gaze of Alfred E. Neuman, you might as well just buy a reprint of the actual magazine from the days when it used to parody superficial stuff like this book. I would suggest Mad about the Sixties (or Seventies). The only interesting thing about "Mad Art" is its inclusion of the newer artists who have appeared since most of us stopped reading Mad. They are technically very good (if uninspired), and it's important to see what's being done today, even though Mad hasn't been funny for a decade and a half.
Rating:
Summary: The Tepid Mad
Review: Everyone has nostalgic affection for what Mad once was, and the art generated for it in its heyday has been endlessly recycled. The selections for this book are nice, but the reproductions are tiny. There are relatively few of the gorgeous full color paintings that graced its pages in the '50s and '60s, and no roughs or preliminary sketches to give any insight into the process. The writing is perky and lightweight, like a testamonial speech for a retiring employee, with a little biographical information on each artist, where he was schooled, what a gifted cartoonist, how respected by his peers, what a funny guy, etc. Here and there are hints at the pressures that must have come into play in the production of the magazine, but propriety and niceness always win out, and the real story is glossed over with well-worn Madisms like, "...mainly because...!" and other breezy, hand-me-down catchphrases. With no glimpse into the creative life behind the vacant gaze of Alfred E. Neuman, you might as well buy a Mad reprint from the days when it used to parody superficial fluff like this book. The only interesting thing about "Mad Art" is its inclusion of the newer artists who have appeared since most of us stopped reading the magazine. These newcomers are technically rather good (if unoriginal), and it's important to see what's being done today, even though Mad hasn't been funny for a decade and a half.
Rating:
Summary: The Tepid Mad
Review: Everyone has nostalgic affection for what Mad once was, and the art generated for it in its heyday has been endlessly recycled. The names Davis, Coker, Drucker, Wood, and others are legendary. The selections for this book are nice, but the reproductions are tiny. The color section is printed in dull, brownish colors, with no chronological order or comment. There is exactly one rough preliminary sketch (from Dave Berg) to give any insight into the process. The writing is perky and lightweight, like a testamonial speech for a retiring employee, with a little biographical information, where he was schooled, what a gifted cartoonist, how repected by his peers, what a funny guy, etc. Here and there are hints at the real pressures that must have come into play in the production of the magazine, but the fluff piece mentality always wins out, and the real story is glossed over with well-worn Madisms like, "...mainly because, (insert quip here)...!" and other breezy, hand-me-down phrases. With no glimpse into the creative life behind the vacant gaze of Alfred E. Neuman, you might as well just buy a reprint of the actual magazine from the days when it used to parody superficial stuff like this book. I would suggest Mad about the Sixties (or Seventies). The only interesting thing about "Mad Art" is its inclusion of the newer artists who have appeared since most of us stopped reading Mad. They are technically very good (if uninspired), and it's important to see what's being done today, even though Mad hasn't been funny for a decade and a half.
Rating:
Summary: The Tepid Mad
Review: Everyone has nostalgic affection for what Mad once was, and the art generated for it in its heyday has been endlessly recycled. The selections for this book are nice, but the reproductions are tiny. There are relatively few of the gorgeous full color paintings that graced its pages in the '50s and '60s, and no roughs or preliminary sketches to give any insight into the process. The writing is perky and lightweight, like a testamonial speech for a retiring employee, with a little biographical information on each artist, where he was schooled, what a gifted cartoonist, how respected by his peers, what a funny guy, etc. Here and there are hints at the pressures that must have come into play in the production of the magazine, but propriety and niceness always win out, and the real story is glossed over with well-worn Madisms like, "...mainly because...!" and other breezy, hand-me-down catchphrases. With no glimpse into the creative life behind the vacant gaze of Alfred E. Neuman, you might as well buy a Mad reprint from the days when it used to parody superficial fluff like this book. The only interesting thing about "Mad Art" is its inclusion of the newer artists who have appeared since most of us stopped reading the magazine. These newcomers are technically rather good (if unoriginal), and it's important to see what's being done today, even though Mad hasn't been funny for a decade and a half.
Rating:
Summary: too small to read
Review: I could not believe that a book with such obvious
interest to many would be printed in the form it was.
The print is so small in the cartoons that have been
reproduced that one needs a magnifying glass to read. And I am not exagerrating. I would rate this book
as a 5 if it were not published with such unreadable print.
Rating:
Summary: too small to read
Review: I could not believe that a book with such obvious
interest to many would be printed in the form it was.
The print is so small in the cartoons that have been
reproduced that one needs a magnifying glass to read. And I am not exagerrating. I would rate this book
as a 5 if it were not published with such unreadable print.
Rating:
Summary: Artist only please????
Review: I liked this book in the sense that it was a Mad sampler. I got to see art by old friends (I have been into Mad since the early 1970s) but I don't know if a novice researcher would find this book as good. There are short biographical sketches of all involved. The best history of Mad was The Mad World Of Bill Gaines which is sadly out of print for decades now. Also while I know that the title is Mad Art this book lacks for not talking of the writers of Mad.
Rating: 
Summary: You'll laugh out loud as you relive your youth!
Review: If the names Dave Berg, Don Martin and Al Jaffee mean anything
to you, then you'll want to read MAD ART by Harvey
Kurtzman . . . I loved it, but then again, I rarely missed an
issue of MAD when I was a kid . . . and I can still "see" (in
my mind) the drawings of Berg, Martin and Jaffee, along with
the rest of the "Usual Gang of Idiots," to quote the magazine's
masthead. MAD ART features interviews with many of MAD's veteran
contributors about their favorite pieces, as well as what influenced
them in their work . . . but best of all, this official guides through
MAD history also includes a treasury of advertising parodies,
classic front and back covers, and interior art . . . I found
myself laughing out loud, reliving what gave me joy when
I was younger . . . and thinking that someday soon, as a
guilty pleasure, I'm going to have to break down and purchase
a current copy to see if it is still as funny as I remembered. Obviously, it is difficult to try to present art in this text-based
newsletter, but I'll try by describing just a few of the hilarious
illustrations: In one Don Martin strip, written by Duck Edwing, a guy sees a
sign that says "Pay Toll Fifty Feet" . . . he pulls up and as the
collector puts his hand out, he reaches back in his trunk and gives
him fifty feet! "Footnotes to History," illustrated by Paul Coker, Jr. and written
by Paul Peter Porgest, has illustrations featuring just feet with
such lines as:
"Adolph . . . can't you walk like the other boys?"
"One of these days, David, you're going to hurt somebody with
that slingshot."
"Would you mind very much using a drop cloth, Michelangelo?"
"Orville! Wilbur! Come down here this instant!" And "Your pet has reached blissful retirement when," illustrated
and written by Paul Peter Porges, shows:
your parrot making special menu requests (and some lukewarm
milk);
your doborman giving limp handshakes;
your piranha losing its bite; and
your parakeet having to walk up its perch. I now find myself looking forward to a follow-up book, featuring
interviews with the magazine's great writers and their classic pieces.
Rating:
Summary: A 'must' keepsake, packed with iconoclastic humor
Review: Mad Art celebrates fifty years of MAD art, presenting not only a catalog of highlights, but discussions with MAD Magazine's veteran contributors about their favorite creations and pieces. Except for a selection of vivid color in the middle, these are black and white reproductions of MAD art comics, accompanied by biographies and insights by their creators. Prior MAD fans will find Mad Art a 'must' keepsake, packed with iconoclastic humor, irony, and insights.
Rating:
Summary: MADMADMADMADMAD
Review: MAD magazine has been on the fore front of everything involved in the world of HILARITY. Politics, comedy, tragedy, dramedy, it's got everything, even the kitchen blech! For those people who are ready to LAFF, give MAD a whirl in the ol' brain drain and tell them Dr. CheekZ sent ya!
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