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Mad Strikes Back!
More anniversary reprints
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
1 person is currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Wallace Wood
754 books36 followersWallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he claimed to dislike. Within the comics community, he was also known as Woody, a name he sometimes used as a signature.
He was the first inductee into the comic book's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, in 1989, and was inducted into the subequent Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame three years later.
In addition to Wood's hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas — advertising; packaging and product illustrations; gag cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated comic strips; and trading cards, including work on Topps' landmark Mars Attacks set.
For much of his adult life, Wood suffered from chronic, unexplainable headaches. In the 1970s, following bouts with alcoholism, Wood suffered from kidney failure. A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. Faced with declining health and career prospects, he committed suicide by gunshot three years later.
Wood was married three times. His first marriage was to artist Tatjana Wood, who later did extensive work as a comic-book colorist.
EC editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had worked closely with Wood during the 1950s, once commented, "Wally had a tension in him, an intensity that he locked away in an internal steam boiler. I think it ate away his insides, and the work really used him up. I think he delivered some of the finest work that was ever drawn, and I think it's to his credit that he put so much intensity into his work at great sacrifice to himself".
EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist... I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant".
He was the first inductee into the comic book's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, in 1989, and was inducted into the subequent Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame three years later.
In addition to Wood's hundreds of comic book pages, he illustrated for books and magazines while also working in a variety of other areas — advertising; packaging and product illustrations; gag cartoons; record album covers; posters; syndicated comic strips; and trading cards, including work on Topps' landmark Mars Attacks set.
For much of his adult life, Wood suffered from chronic, unexplainable headaches. In the 1970s, following bouts with alcoholism, Wood suffered from kidney failure. A stroke in 1978 caused a loss of vision in one eye. Faced with declining health and career prospects, he committed suicide by gunshot three years later.
Wood was married three times. His first marriage was to artist Tatjana Wood, who later did extensive work as a comic-book colorist.
EC editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had worked closely with Wood during the 1950s, once commented, "Wally had a tension in him, an intensity that he locked away in an internal steam boiler. I think it ate away his insides, and the work really used him up. I think he delivered some of the finest work that was ever drawn, and I think it's to his credit that he put so much intensity into his work at great sacrifice to himself".
EC publisher William Gaines once stated, "Wally may have been our most troubled artist... I'm not suggesting any connection, but he may have been our most brilliant".
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 6, 2024
Funny old time comics were a treat to read.
May 8, 2023
Growing up on late-70's MAD, seeing their 50s-era output in anthologized forms or special anniversary issues brought me to places I didn't recognize as culturally significant at all. (Not that I was thinking all wordy like that as a kid.) So, while I appreciated all the Yiddish I was learning so as to impress my grandparents by calling someone a 'gonef', I barely had any reference point to come close to appreciating the content. And I still don't. Then again, maybe I'm a putz?
October 29, 2018
A lot of stuff with regard to politics has become dated. However, students of history should nevertheless be able to squeak out laughter from this intelligently written book being sardonic about everything in America. It's still a good comic.
April 16, 2025
Potrzebie.
May 30, 2008
Despite efforts to map the influence of literary pornography in childhood, most of my book reviews give the misleading impression of a precocious boy genius, a Tom Swift of the intellect. Riding to the forest preserves along the DesPlaines River with two dogs and a human friend today, I tried to come up with a list of hitherto unmentioned literary influences dating to elementary school which would give a more balanced picture of my actual interests. Along with Proust and Nietzsche I came up with the publications of Mad Magazine, the series of paperback reprints in particular, all of which I acquired during grade school, all of which I read again and again and again.
The title most outstanding of the lot is Mad Strikes Back. First published in 1955, it consists of reprints from their period as a comic book. I purchased it for something like $0.35 at the Meadowdale Shopping Centre, then home of the "world's largest department store under one roof"--one of the very many signs of global progress spearheaded by the American free enterprise system. Being with my parents, my reading of it began immediately--an early lesson in the necessity of always having a book along to avoid the agonies of boredom consequent upon human herd behavior.
Although I occasionally picked up an actual issue of Mad Magazine itself, none of them compared to the quality of the paperback reprints of their really old material, the humor of which is sometimes actually appealing to both adults and kids and the artwork of which is often quite impressive for its zany detail.
The title most outstanding of the lot is Mad Strikes Back. First published in 1955, it consists of reprints from their period as a comic book. I purchased it for something like $0.35 at the Meadowdale Shopping Centre, then home of the "world's largest department store under one roof"--one of the very many signs of global progress spearheaded by the American free enterprise system. Being with my parents, my reading of it began immediately--an early lesson in the necessity of always having a book along to avoid the agonies of boredom consequent upon human herd behavior.
Although I occasionally picked up an actual issue of Mad Magazine itself, none of them compared to the quality of the paperback reprints of their really old material, the humor of which is sometimes actually appealing to both adults and kids and the artwork of which is often quite impressive for its zany detail.
September 22, 2014
Just as I blame Chevy Chase for the election of Jimmy Carter, I credit Mad with much of what happened in the 60s and early 70s. Nothing else in our preadolescent lives broke down automatic respect for established norms and authorities. I can conceive of a time or place where something like that might not be a good thing. Not there. Not then.
April 25, 2010
Another mad Mad product! It begins with straight talk from Bob and Ray (for those of us who remeber Bob and Ray, we betray our age!). Then, takeoffs on a number of subjects are sent up: Popeye, Prince Valiant (remember that comic strip?),King Kong, and so on. As always, fun. . . .
January 22, 2011
Good times. And really racist times. Yikes.
March 28, 2015
loved it overall but hated the last story about manduck the magician
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews