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The Invisible Mad
The Questionable Mad
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
20 people want to read
About the author
MAD Magazine
290 books42 followersCollective name for "the usual gang of idiots," the various creators, authors, and illustrators of MAD Magazine.
Many compilations of MAD Magazine parodies have been published, and individual author and illustrator credits are sometimes difficult to find.
Many compilations of MAD Magazine parodies have been published, and individual author and illustrator credits are sometimes difficult to find.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 4, 2025
Jeez do these make good bathroom readers! Mad takes on the success of Charlie Brown, the lighter side of friendship, new types of air pollution, lots of comics by the greats of Mad's authors. Love the snark!
December 29, 2024
Mad magazine, in 1974, published a series of paperbacks that included odds and sods from mags from the 1960s. In this installment, we get insightful, sharp and surprisingly prophetic art and comedy from 1967 and 1968. This book was republished in 1991 with no additional material.
There is a section called "Air Pollution Problems of the Future" where one pollutant was called sprog. It was smog caused by aerosol spray cans.
Well -- wouldn't you know? There actually WERE bad air pollutants in spray cans called chloroflourocarbons (CFCs). America would ban them in 1978.
There's also a parody of a popular 1967 movie called Up the Down Staircase. You do not have to see the movie to find this bitingly funny. At the time, it was thought to be a hilarious exaggeration for a student to bring a machine gun to class.
As George Takai said, "Oh, myyy!"
Other bits were evergreen, such as the commercialization of the Peanuts comic strip, Spy vs. Spy, Don Martin's cartoons, special invitations for unique occasions, toilet stall graffiti at Howard Johnson's (oh wait, they recently went bankrupt -- anyway), snappy comebacks to stupid questions, and "Mad's Medical Mother Goose", which included a doctor kicking out a senior citizen because he had Medicare and this little ditty:
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
Under the scalpel of Dr. MacQueen!
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did he do?
I've grown fat and lazy -- that'll give you a clue!
There were many gags that were relevant to the time, such as one of the world's thinnest books being The Modesty of Cassius Clay.
Never heard of Cassius Clay, kids? That's because he hadn't changed his name yet to Muhammad Ali.
If you're studying about the 1960s or want to know more about the times, these Mad magazine paperbacks really let you know what was going on.
I tried reading Mad magazine (and some paperbacks) when I was a little kid in the 1970s. I didn't get the humor then, but did appreciate the art. It's widely varied, sometimes intricately detailed, and just pleasing to look at, even if you don't get the jokes.
There is a section called "Air Pollution Problems of the Future" where one pollutant was called sprog. It was smog caused by aerosol spray cans.
Well -- wouldn't you know? There actually WERE bad air pollutants in spray cans called chloroflourocarbons (CFCs). America would ban them in 1978.
There's also a parody of a popular 1967 movie called Up the Down Staircase. You do not have to see the movie to find this bitingly funny. At the time, it was thought to be a hilarious exaggeration for a student to bring a machine gun to class.
As George Takai said, "Oh, myyy!"
Other bits were evergreen, such as the commercialization of the Peanuts comic strip, Spy vs. Spy, Don Martin's cartoons, special invitations for unique occasions, toilet stall graffiti at Howard Johnson's (oh wait, they recently went bankrupt -- anyway), snappy comebacks to stupid questions, and "Mad's Medical Mother Goose", which included a doctor kicking out a senior citizen because he had Medicare and this little ditty:
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
Under the scalpel of Dr. MacQueen!
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did he do?
I've grown fat and lazy -- that'll give you a clue!
There were many gags that were relevant to the time, such as one of the world's thinnest books being The Modesty of Cassius Clay.
Never heard of Cassius Clay, kids? That's because he hadn't changed his name yet to Muhammad Ali.
If you're studying about the 1960s or want to know more about the times, these Mad magazine paperbacks really let you know what was going on.
I tried reading Mad magazine (and some paperbacks) when I was a little kid in the 1970s. I didn't get the humor then, but did appreciate the art. It's widely varied, sometimes intricately detailed, and just pleasing to look at, even if you don't get the jokes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews