{"product_id":"the-sincerest-form-of-parody-the-best-1950s-mad-inspired-satirical-comics-9798875001420","title":"The Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s Mad Inspired Satirical Comics","description":"When \u003cem\u003eMad \u003c\/em\u003ebecame a surprise hit as a comic book in 1953 (after the early issues lost money) other comics publishers were quick to jump onto the bandwagon, eventually bringing out a dozen imitations with titles like \u003cem\u003eFLIP, WHACK, NUTS, CRAZY, WILD, RIOT, EH, UNSANE, BUGHOUSE\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eGET LOST\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThe Sincerest Form of Parody \u003c\/em\u003ecollects the best and the funniest material from these comics, including parodies of movies (\u003cem\u003e20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From Here To Eternity\u003c\/em\u003e), TV shows (\u003cem\u003eWhat's My Line, The Late Show\u003c\/em\u003e), comic strips (\u003cem\u003eLittle Orphan Annie, Rex Morgan\u003c\/em\u003e), novels (\u003cem\u003eI, the Jury\u003c\/em\u003e), plays (\u003cem\u003eCome Back, Little Sheba\u003c\/em\u003e), advertisements (Rheingold Beer, Charles Atlas), classic literature (\"The Lady or the Tiger\"), and history (Pancho Villa). Some didn't even try for parody, but instead published odd, goofy, off-the-wall stories. \u003cp\u003eThese earnest copiers of \u003cem\u003eMad \u003c\/em\u003erealized that Will Elder's cluttered \"chicken fat\" art was a good part of \u003cem\u003eMad\u003c\/em\u003e's success, and these pages are densely packed with all sorts of outlandish and bizarre gags that make for hours of amusing reading. The \"parody comics\" are uniquely \"'50s,\" catching the popular culture zeitgeist through a dual lens: not only reflecting fifties culture through parody but also being themselves typical examples of that culture (in a way that Harvey Kurtzman's \u003cem\u003eMad\u003c\/em\u003e was not).\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis unprecedented volume collects over 30 of the best of these crazy, undisciplined stories, all reprinted from the original comics in full color. Editor John Benson (who wrote the annotations for the first complete \u003cem\u003eMad \u003c\/em\u003ereprints, and interviewed \u003cem\u003eMad \u003c\/em\u003eeditor Harvey Kurtzman in depth several times over the years) also provides expert, profusely illustrated commentary and background, including comparisons of how different companies parodied the same subject. Artists represented include Jack Davis, Will Elder, Norman Maurer, Carl Hubbell, William Overgard, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Bill Everett, Al Hartley, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito, Hy Fleischman, Jay Disbrow, Howard Nostrand, and Bob Powell.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCasual comics readers are probably familiar with the later satirical magazines that continued to be published in the '60s and '70s, such as \u003cem\u003eCracked \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eSick\u003c\/em\u003e, but the comics collected in this volume were imitations of the \u003cem\u003eMad \u003c\/em\u003ecomic book, not the magazine, and virtually unknown among all but the most die-hard collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBenson, John:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eJohn Benson\u003c\/strong\u003e has written about comics since 1956, in many venues, and has edited several comics anthologies for Fantagraphics, the most recent being \u003cem\u003eThe Sincerest Form of Parody\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection culled from \u003cem\u003eMad\u003c\/em\u003e comics knock-offs. In 1966 he put on the second two-day comics convention ever held. His interviews with pioneering cartoonists such as Harvey Kurtzman, Gil Kane, and Bernard Krigstein are legendary. He has been the editor of \u003cem\u003eSqua Tront\u003c\/em\u003e, the respected long-running magazine about EC comics and their creators, since 1974.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLynch, Jay:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eJay Lynch\u003c\/strong\u003e (1945-2017) was a \u003cem\u003eMad\u003c\/em\u003e magazine and Topps's \u003cem\u003eWacky Packages\/Garbage Pail Kids \u003c\/em\u003econtributor and a member of the 1960s-1970s underground comics movement.","brand":"Fantagraphics-Fu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51552696008978,"sku":"9798875001420","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_98c32ec4-840d-4fd1-b1bd-52d764694926.jpg?v=1754899233","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-sincerest-form-of-parody-the-best-1950s-mad-inspired-satirical-comics-9798875001420","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}