I freely admit, no, I proudly admit, that my worldview was largely formed by the wit and wisdom of Mad Magazine. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, I poured over these books, sharpening my senses of satire, irony and my comic timing. I think these books are compendiums of earlier magazines as the topics and the styles seem more 60s than 70s. To think that I grew up barely an hour from the Catskills, yet I learned of the Borscht Belt from Mad!
Somewhere along the line I lost my original copies, so when I came across these at an estate sale I was thrilled.
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Allee Willis
i used to love MAD when I was a kid. So renegade, so kool. I used to save up all the issues and take them to camp with me every summer as I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving Spy Vs. Spy behind.
But what I’m most impressed with is your once proximity to the Catskills. I was so enamored of lounge singers, one of the earliest manifestations of my Kitsch obsession. And there was no place better for singing in the cheese vernacular than Grossmans or the other places up there. I never made it there, probably like I won’t ever make it on a cruise, which I also dream about incessantly because of the lounge acts (and their proximity to the buffet lines). But I can’t believe that YOU never made it there. Leading a Jewish surf band I would have thought that the Catskills would’ve been in your blood.
Anyway, hope you amass more Mads.
Mark Blackwell
You’ve got me reminiscing with these – I can’t wait to get back to South Carolina for the holidays and climb up in the attic and retrieve all my old Mad magazine stuff…