The Self-Made Mad

by William M. Gaines

The clods at MAD have climbed to the top of the heap...mainly, they've climbed to the top of the heap of garbage they've published in past issues of their idiotic magazine...to bring you...the self-made MAD.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Fiction, Comedy

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Mad, first published in 1960. As usual, this volume includes many satires and some good comics. I really liked "The U.S. Army Chicken Officer's field manual" (a guide for REMFs) and "A profit without Honor" (how to sell anything via marketing). Mad really had the pulse of the 50s and 60s, spoofing trends, advertising, hobbies and of course the hipsters of the day. 4 nostalgic stars!!

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to be sure why this book, its contents enjoyed in a magazine during childhood, was such a let down now. Perhaps it is the way the stories are reformatted for this paperback. Perhaps there are too many high word count stories, when the best humor in the book is mostly visual. Perhaps it is that I am old and cranky. Whatever the cause, this attempt to enjoy something from my youth was a huge disappointment. Little of it was funny, and amount of work required to read the too small text did not reward my proportionally in enjoyment.

[Puhnner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this as a kid and now, my Son surprised me with a copy he found in a used bookstore.
Except for TV show parodies, which only those who grew up on them would remember and find humor in, most of the comedy and satire remain relevant today.

[dirt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history book from the future was a little too accurate. Yikes!

The movie parodies were still boring even in the 60's... Everything else was pure brain sugar (or maybe high fructose corn syrup).

[FranklinTV · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think these were a way for MAD to republish stuff from the 50s and 60s in the 70s. So, to a young teen, a lot of the cultural references didn't (and some still don't) make sense. Still, some amusing stuff but nothing memorable.

[Jay-r Trinidad · Rating 3 out of 5]

sweet.