Mad: The Complete Harvey Kurtzman Years
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The core artists--Will Elder, Wallace Wood, Jack Davis and at first John Severin--all found themselves inspired by the opportunity to turn from horror or adventure comics to humor, turning out some of the best work of their comics careers--and going on to mainstream success from their name recognition MAD gave them.
By 1955, Kurtzman was ready to move on to grown-up magazine publishing--but seized an opportunity to convert MAD into a magazine first. With the same stable of artists, and a few new contributors from television (Ernie Kovacs, Roger Price), radio (Stan Freberg) and newspapers, he converted the color comic to a black-and-white magazine that aimed its satire at kids and adults alike - and went on to even greater success. Kurtzman himself, and most of his artists, moved on after five issues.
This gorgeously designed slipcase set includes the first 30 issues of MAD reprinted for the first time. Other highlights: tons of MAD original art and process work. Essays covering the history of MAD and its major players: Kurtzman, Elder, Wood, Davis, Severin, Al Jaffee, Marie Severin, William Gaines, Basil Wolverton, and Ben Oda. A section on Kurtzman's pre- and post-MAD career, covering EC, Help!, Humbug, Trump, and Little Annie Fanny/Playboy. A section on Kurtzman and Elder's unique decades-long working relationship, including a section reprinting all their work upon their short-lived return to MAD in the 1980s. Sections on MAD reprints and MAD ripoffs. A comprehensive gallery showing the various iterations of MAD cover reproductions, from the original mag to subsequent collections and archival efforts, showcasing surviving cover sketches, original cover art, color roughs, and more. Also, a short history of Alfred E. Neumann.
Will Elder
Will Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's MAD comic book in 1952. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003.
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Jack Davis
Jack Davis (1924-2016) was a founding cartoonist of MAD and one of the most in-demand caricaturists and cartoonists in the world throughout his 60-plus-year career. Among many other honors, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2003.
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John Severin
John Powers Severin (1921-2012), who had a "realistic" comics style, specialized in war, western, and humor comics. One of MAD's founding artists, he worked for Cracked magazine for forty-five years.
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Marie Severin
Marie Severin (1929-2018) joined EC as their first and only in-house colorist to work on Kurtzman's war books. She had no art schooling, no production experience, and was color-blind, but her bold and creative work immediately delighted Kurtzman. Her work ethic saw her develop enough skills that she went on to decades on staff at Marvel as a colorist and production artist, with many assignments as a penciller or inker including for Marvel's own MAD rip-offs, Not Brand Echh and Crazy magazine. Her last regular assignment before retirement saw her return to coloring, on DC's Superman Adventures from 1996 to 2002.
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein (1919-1990) was trained as a classical painter, but early on he recognized the artistic potential of the comics medium. He worked for major publishers including Harvey, Fawcett, Atlas (Marvel) and National (DC), in 1952 he moved to EC Comics, where his work is widely recognized as among the most innovative in comics history.
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Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (1919 - 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs created the television comedy variety show The Ernie Kovacs Show (1952-53, 1956) and became noted for his zany slapstick sketches. He later hosted the quiz show Take a Good Look (1959-61) and acted in such films as Operation Mad Ball (1957) and Our Man in Havana (1960). Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his death.
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