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MAGAZINE REVIEW! MAD #1, JUNE 2018 

'n yeah, I thought that MAD was stick a fork in it for quite some time, but espying a special X-mas issue at the local Dollar General proved that the thing exists, even if it is as a special one-off here and there. Sorta like the way LIFE magazine roars on even to this day with issues dedicated to all sortsa past historical events and personalities, both atrocious (the Grateful Dead) or not (World War II). Those checkout mags were always there to sucker the rubes into spending extra moolah and if they weren't interested in stale Mentos well, mags like that were bound to separate the fool from his soon parted pennies.

But considering the plain ol' fact that for all intent purposes MAD hadn't been the same once the late-seventies clocked in it wasn't like I was gonna disperse with any hard-begged for a mag that was probably gonna end up in some landfill around the time what's left of my once-comatose corpse gets stashed somewhere. Naturally I skipped this 'un over in lieu of some stale Mentos. 

But hey, there is what some might call  an "extenuating circumstance" as to why I snatched this by-now half-decade old "special" issue (which I guess purported to be the first in a line of new MADs), and it just happens to be that this mag includes the latest in quite a long line of spoofs directed at that once bastion of comic book wholesomeness otherwise known as the Archie Comics Group!

As anyone who read more'n a few comic book journals o'er the year can tell you, there was more'n what some might call "bad blood" between the EC and former MLJ comic companies, what with the former continually spoofing ARCHIE to the point of a lawsuit temporarily putting the kibosh on the infamous "Goodman Goes Playboy" story (hokay, that was in HELP! but all of the former partners in MAD crime were involved) while the latter (allegedly) worked behind the scenes to create the Comics Code Authority thus putting their nemesis in pretty dismal financial straits. And surprises of surprises, somehow this rivalry has managed to last well into the 21st, mostly if not all-ly due to a story that appears twixt these pages, a spoof of the old RIVERDALE tee-vee series that I gotta admit I never saw because with only four stations to choose from for years it wasn't like I was able to see any of those small network shows which were way beyond the reach of my UHF corner reflector.

Anyhoo, the "Riverdull" story was worth the separation of me from my hard-begged if only due to the first part of the story being a "homage" as they say to the legendary "Starchie" saga that appeared in a 1954 issue of the then-comic book MAD. Being a fan of not only those MAD comic burlesques but the way artist Bill Elder could mimic the style of the subject at hand I thought that the purchase would be beneficial, not only for the warm 'n toasty nostalgia of it all but because writing about it would certainly make for a hotcha BLOG TO COMM post. And don't tell me we ain't had enough of those these past few years!

The homage lasts only through the first three pages (after which the story turns into a typical MAD by the numbers takeoff of the series) and golly ned but it is a mighty fine spoof of a spoof that does come fairly close to the original. The Starchie and Bottleneck that pop up here ain't exactly the criminal deviants of the original but they're close enough for jazz, and the spirit of the original is mimicked well enough even if Mr. Weathernot ain't chasing Biddy and Salonica around his desk.

Directly below're the first three (and most crucial) pages of the story done in the style of the original. Once again, don't go sayin' I don't do anything for ya:

The rest ain't that bad even if Tom Richmond's art comes off like Mort Drucker after a few huffs of jenkem. For once the satire seems to hit home (after years of just about everyone producing more than their share of off-the-target attempts as any recent reading of THE ONION will tell you) what with all of the foibles and downright irritating modernisms that have befallen everything that media stands for. The obvious (as one would expect from MAD --- I mean, what else?) is trotted out and given the ol' Alfred E. phallic salute that, at least this time, doesn't come off like the late-period grossout potty humor that EC eventually threw themselves into. Not that there could have been something even more acidic delivered but I guess, given the tight reigns placed upon all of us by our benefactors, we should be lucky we even got this!

The rest of this new #1 varies from ever-so-slightly snat (a superhero-based spoof of "take your children to work" day that kinda reminds me of something Jay Kinney would have done for ODD back 1966 way) to extremely pedestrian what with the same kinda moderne cartooning style you can find on any cable tee-vee cartoon show coupled with the same kinda jokes that I guess appeal to the younger set because for the love of fanabla I sure can't get it! 

Sergio Aragones was still around as was a soon-to-retire Al Jaffee doing yet another not-so-funny "fold-in" and it's so obvious that any spark and magic these guys had sixty years back has left the premises.  You might not care one whit what I think, but I kinda think you'll agree with me that "Spy vs. Spy" should have been buried along with creator Antonio Prohias, who at least knew how to execute a convoluted gag unlike the guy who took over the reins.

But otherwise, not too bad for a 21st century production even with alla the standard and lifeless art and just plain inoffensive spirit that permeates this full color slick paper effort (I mean, I kinda woulda hoped that by this time MAD'd have risen to the levels of at least a 1971 issue of NATIONAL LAMPOON). Maybe I do get way too critical of these current day shadows of former selves, If they still have flea markets, and I think they do, something like this is probably the modern day equivalent of alla that great fifties/sixties fun 'n jamz that I gobbled up back when a few pennies sure went a whole longer way'n they do now.  If it's cheap enough pick up the thing --- you can always get a corn dog your next trip 'round.