Totally Mad; 60 Years of Humor, Satire, Stupidity and Stupidity

New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2012. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Mark Fredrickson (Cover artist). 253, [3] pages. Illustrations (many in color). Plus "The Soul of Mad" --12 removable Classic MAD Cover Prints in pocket at back--unopened. Illustrated endpapers. Decorative DJ is in a clear plastic cover. Introduction by Stephen Colbert & Eric Drysdale. John Ficarra (born ca. 1956) is an American publishing figure. He was hired as assistant editor of the American satire magazine Mad in 1980, shortly after his debut as a contributing writer. He became editor-in-chief (a position he shared with Nick Meglin until 2004) in 1985, when the incumbent (Al Feldstein) retired, to 2018. Ficarra retired with issue #550 (dated April 2018) after 34 years as the editor of Mad magazine. #550 was also the final issue of the first volume of the magazine which launched at EC Comics in 1952 before being taken over by DC after EC ceased publication in the mid-'50s. Mad magazine was rebooted with a new #1 dated June 2018 and a new look, with illustrator and comic book artist Bill Morrison taking over as the new editor and the magazine shifting offices to Los Angeles, California after decades in Manhattan (first on Madison Avenue and then on Broadway). Mad (stylized as MAD) is an American humor magazine first published in 1952. It was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book series before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media, as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1973-74 circulation peak. The magazine, which is the last surviving title from the EC Comics line, publishes satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Its format includes TV and movie parodies, and satire articles about everyday occurrences that are changed to seem humorous. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is often on the cover, with his face replacing that of a celebrity or character who is being lampooned. From 1952 to 2018, Mad published 550 regular magazine issues, as well as scores of reprint "Specials", original-material paperbacks, reprint compilation books and other print projects. After AT&T acquired Time Warner in June 2018, Mad ended newsstand distribution, continuing in comic-book stores and via subscription. For the past six decades (that's 60 years-we did the math so you don't have to) MAD Magazine has keenly observed the American landscape and promptly made fun of everything in sight. Unwavering in their commitment to high quality stupidity, MAD's legendary artists and writers, long known as "The Usual Gang of Idiots," have brilliantly satirized politics, celebrities, sports, media, cultural trends, and more. Totally MAD (originally titled The New American Cookbook until cooler heads prevailed) is the ultimate collection of MAD's most idiotic material, including such classics as Spy vs. Spy, The MAD Fold-in, A MAD Look At..., The Lighter Side of, Horrifying Clichés and The Shadow Knows, plus modern MAD classics including The MAD Strip Club and The Fundalini Pages. Whether you grew up with MAD in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, reading it with a flashlight under the covers so your parents wouldn't catch you, or in the 80s, 90s and beyond, reading it while watching the MADtv sketch comedy show or the more recent animated series on the Cartoon Network, this book will bring back fond memories and also provide a great introduction to MAD for new readers. Then again, maybe not. SPECIAL BONUS! Includes "The Soul of MAD," 12 classic cover prints, ten featuring Alfred E. Neuman, MAD's gap-toothed grinning idiot mascot. These beautiful reproductions are suitable for framing or wrapping fish.