[Iron Munro]

For better or worse, I like to think that “Mad” magazine had an influential impact on my sarcastic sense of humor, and love for satire and parody. Growing up in the 1970’s, I loved the magazine.

Mad Magazine was a Rite Of Passage for the All-American boy.

It seemed that most girls (and parents) never saw the humor while the young boys would be rolling in the streets with hysterical laughter.

[a fool in paradise]

When the Senate subcommittee hearings into juvenile delinquency (led by 2 time VP candidate Estes Keffauver D-Tenn.) essentially outlawed Bill Gaines’ comics (*) he switched over to magazine publishing (Picto-Fiction and Mad became a magazine, aimed at the adult/college crowd with pieces written by Ernie Kovacs, Bob & Ray, and others). Harvey Kurtzman’s original model had been the college lampoons published (and even collected into reprint editions by mainstream publishers).

When Harvey was offered whatever he wanted to stay and helm the magazine EXCEPT 51% ownership, he left first to work for Hugh Hefner on a color glossy version of Mad called TRUMP (2 issues published, 3 completed). Then he self-published Humbug (since collected) and later Help (which published Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton before there was an “underground” comics movement).

I began reading Mad around age 9. Even the library had the pocketbook paperbacks. I didn’t buy the issues off the newsstand as regularly for awhile.

(*) even specific words in Gaines’ titles (like ‘Weird’) were prohibited by the “self-regulating” code, there was a code in effect before that EC was a member of... Ray, and others).

[Lou L]

young boys would be rolling in the streets with hysterical laughter.

You're absolutely right!