Posted on 05/16/2008 2:02:18 PM PDT by Borges
William Elder, the illustrator who pioneered the visual style for iconic humour title Mad magazine, has died at the age of 86.
Gary VandenBergh, Elder's son-in-law, told comic world blog Journalista that the pioneering cartoonist died early Thursday morning after having battled Parkinson's disease for several years. DC Comics, which now owns Mad, also confirmed the news in a statement.
"Willie Elder was one of the funniest artists to ever work for Mad," John Ficarra, one of the humour title's editors, said in a release.
"Willie's 'anything goes' art style set the tone for the entire magazine and created a look that endures to this day."
Born in New York, Elder studied at Manhattan's High School of Music and Art, where he met writer and Mad magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman.
After a stint in the army during the Second World War, he teamed up with Kurtzman and Charles Stern to start an art studio that produced comics for several publishers.
In 1952, the duo launched Mad, with Elder creating the satirical, cartoony visuals for the influential title. He would become renowned for his packed panels, crammed full of background gags and jokes he later dubbed "chicken fat."
After they left Mad in 1956, Elder and Kurtzman's new collaborations included short-lived humour magazines such as Humbug and Help! as well as the comic characters Goodman Beaver and Little Annie Fanny, who was created expressly for Playboy and was featured in the magazine for about 25 years.
During his career, Elder also created myriad book and magazine illustrations, advertisements and caricatures. He retired in 1988 and his work was collected in several volumes, including Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art and, most recently, Chicken Fat, released in 2006.
He was inducted into the U.S. Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003.
I cut my teeth on MAD...then moved on to Nat’l Lampoon. An important part of my life was shaped by this man. RIP.
Sad day.
Long time fan. Only have a small original sketch. Never met him.
Did William Elder have something to do with that Playboy magazine thing?
So W. Elder thought he’d look like his hero Joe Stalin if he just added a mustache?
That is drawn by Elder’s long time collaborator, Harvey Kurtzman.
The two did a lot of stories for Mad then some continuing stories of Goodman Beaver for Help (which Kurtzman edited) and then changed him up a bit into “Annie”.
"After they left Mad in 1956, Elder and Kurtzman's new collaborations included short-lived humour magazines such as Humbug and Help! as well as the comic characters Goodman Beaver and Little Annie Fanny, who was created expressly for Playboy and was featured in the magazine for about 25 years."
Where's the X-ray specs?
The whole Mad crew left EC for Hefner in the late 1950s (when Gaines refused to give 51% control of Mad to Kurtzman). Hugh published 2 issues of the color cover to cover glossy “Trump” before folding it (his own magazine was costing him legal expenses to defend it). A third issue was drawn/painted but never published.
MAD fold-in:
The Mad fold-in is a feature found on the inside back cover of virtually every Mad magazine since it was introduced in 1964. Drawn by Al Jaffee, these fold-ins are one of the most well-known aspects of the magazine. The feature was conceived in response to fold-outs in adult magazines, namely Playboy [1].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAD_fold-in
I guess that Jack Davis and John Severin are the last men standing from the original Mad comic (Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Elder, Bill Gaines, and Wally Wood being the others).
Rest now Will your job is done.
I’d never heard of “Trump”. Are the issues rare and worth a few bucks?
At the lower right is some sort of glasses. But I think you'll need them to see the tiny print!
Little Annie Fanny, brings back my youth, the track artists in my Squadron went wild with Her, The Fighting Price of Donagal, track name had her emblazoned.
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