This past Christmas, some good friends of mine gave me a gift which ranks amongst the most inspired I have ever received; a year's subscription to MAD Magazine.
I was an avid reader of MAD from about the age of 9 until I was perhaps 14 or 15, at which point I discovered music magazines and MAD became one of those things consigned to my adolescence. I had dutifully saved up to purchase each issue fresh from the newsagent and in yet another example of my tendency towards obsessive-compulsive behaviour, kept them catalogued and filed in order. They were read and re-read with an attention to detail much greater than that of my school homework. I marvelled at the incredible artwork; much more than just cartoons, the detail in the likenesses of celebrities and politicians brought to life by Mort Drucker, Dave Berg and Don Martin and the biting social satire that often went straight over my young head, but inspired me to learn more about the world. In the fifteen years prior to the Internet becoming the pre-eminent mass media format, MAD Magazine served as something of a formative teacher; how to question, how to think for yourself and most importantly, why.
On a monthly basis I would head to the newsagent in search of the cover, almost always depicting the gap-toothed stupid grin of the magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman in place of the main character of a popular film, tv show or music artist. He rarely appeared in the magazine itself, but his often anachronistic, off-kilter countenance was very much a symbol of the tone of the magazine. It was so simple to replace Michael Jackson's face with Alfred's, highlighting the utter ridiculousness of his 'BAD' era fashion and styling.
MAD Magazine was first and foremost an American creation which, during the time I was an avid reader, saw more and more input from an Australian contingent. The Australian content was relevant but somehow lacked the true bite of the US component. I remember distinctly the first time Australian MAD Magazine had an Aussie cover. It was an illustration of Kylie Minogue with a Logie and I can still recall feeling that it didn't stand up to the amazing artwork of the US editions. The Jana Wendt and Derryn Hinch issues just cemented in my mind that we had neither the talent nor the celebrity to match the US team of contributors.
I remember quite well when an ongoing pay dispute saw the shock defection of one of MAD's most celebrated contributors, Don Martin, to the rival Cracked Magazine, a truly preposterous rip-off and a pale imitation of the mighty MAD. Oh how we howled with disbelief! Would MAD be the same without him? His spaghetti-thin characters with their long, seemingly-hinged shoes had not only been a constant for 20-something years, they were always amongst the funniest and cleverest in the magazine. Somehow, it really was never quite the same again.
The 1980's was an interesting time in US culture and society, providing a wealth of fodder for the MAD editors and artists; with hippies giving way to yuppies, the cold war turning into a thaw by the end of the decade, drugs in sport, a former actor in the White House, WWF and MTV. MAD Magazine inspired me to read more about Ralph Nader, Bernie Goetz, Ted Kennedy and the "Chappaquiddick Incident"; the famous, the infamous, current and historical events that were relevant and important. MAD Magazine was never cloying, never pandered to it's audience or subjects. The ridiculous were ridiculed. There was never a lengthy explanation as to "why". That part was left up to you.
Part of the appeal of the particular form of satire that MAD Magazine employs is that it reduces the mystique of celebrity by highlighting self-serving behaviour, pomposity, piousness and triviality. We laughed at TV Evangelists and right-wing politicians even though we had only the vaguest idea of who they were. What we did understand, however, was that more often than not, adults behaved exactly like children, it was just the consequences that were greater.
The brilliant, subversive Spy Vs Spy is a case in point. Two figures alike in every conceiveable way except that one is in white, the other in black constantly battle to outwit each other in covert espionage operations. Every cartoon ended with one protagonist beating the other, on a never-ending rotation. As clever as the seemingly endless methods of scuppering one another were, below the surface was the observation that the USA and USSR were locked for more than 40 years in a battle that neither side would never win. The minor skirmishes and threatening speeches did little to change the playing field - there it was in black and white - back and forth, back and forth.
The first two issues I ever got had Hulk Hogan (issue no 264) and Max Headroom (issue no 269) on the covers, and these images are burned ino my mind as are many of the articles and cartoons. Years later, I can still relate some articles and cartoons to my real-world encounters with authority, bureaucracy and celebrity. Not to mention the fact that without MAD Magazine, I wouldn't have learned what a "dork" was.
Reading MAD Magazine at 32 years of age is quite different to the experience of reading it as a 12 year old. I sort of flick through an issue now, stopping to read some of the articles and bypassing others completely. Part of this is directly related to my indifference towards Justin Bieber and other pre-fabricated stars of today. I no longer need a magazine to agree with me that he is ridiculous. The other reason is that it's just not as funny as it used to be. It's worth noting that the criticism 'it's just not as funny as it used to be' was famously printed in the letters section of the second issue.
