Mad is always a part of growing up American, or at least it was for a few generations. Although only being twenty-five I missed out on the original incarnation of the staff by quite some time. While the style is still rigidly imitated today, and the humor is largely the same it does lack a certain spark.

For Mad's 50th Anniversary Icon Books reprinted the run of paperbacks that are the only way to find a lot of the original Mad Magazine material. As I said much of the humor is the same. The culture being spoofed is vastly differnet, and put in that perspective, I can see how this passed for edgy in the 1950's.

This is a quick read, and worth it too. Harvey Kurtzman was a genius, and as the original writer for Mad it had a sinister grin the has turned into a slack jaw over time. Comedy historians should really take interest becuase this is the birth of modern American satire.
http://pissandvinegar.vox.com/library/post/book-review-mad-reader-vol-1.html ( )

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