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found Kurtzman trying to find the book’s focus, terrible change—that Harvey had left and
but with the fourth issue, he struck comedy gold taken all the artists with him. I don’t think
with “Superduperman,” the fledgling publication's they knew that there was a new editor who was
first bona fide classic. MAD had found its voice, on his knees praying for artists and writers to
satirizing not just generic comic book styles, but help him do his job.” Artists answering his
specific comic book and comic strip features. And prayers, and who would soon become familiar
little by little Kurtzman began taking on movies, names among MAD fans: Don Martin,
television, politics, and various other aspects of George Woodbridge, Mort Drucker, Norman
popular culture. MAD had become a hit, selling Mingo, Kelly Freas, Bob Clarke, and Dave
upwards of a million copies of a 10¢ comic book. Berg (with EC veterans Wallace Wood and Joe
By 1955, MAD had been a comic book for Orlando also contributing). The first new
nearly three years, but for all of MAD’s success, writer in the door was Frank Jacobs, joined a
Kurtzman was still not satisfied. Harvey felt he few years later by Arnie Kogen, Larry Siegel, Al
was slumming in the world of comics, and he Jaffee, and Dick DeBartolo.
longed to break The pragmatic, hard-working Feldstein
into the world got the magazine back on track and back on
of magazines. deadline. With a regular schedule and what
Kurtzman had was arguably a more accessible package,
been entertaining circulation—which had recently been slipping
a job offer from under Kurtzman—began to increase.
Pageant maga- The first cover to feature
zine, and he Alfred E. Neuman NEUMAN
told Gaines he Soon after Feldstein arrived at MAD, the
MAD No. 30 (December 1956), painted by
was thinking of Norman Mingo. Mingo’s initial version was the impishly grinning “What—me worry?” face
leaving. To keep archetype for all future versions of Alfred. and the name “Alfred E. Neuman” were
Kurtzman in the wedded once and for all, and Alfred became
fold, Gaines offered to let him the magazine’s cover boy and mascot. Kurtzman had found the face,
re-invent MAD as a 25¢ magazine, and appropriated it for the cover of the first MAD paperback book,
an offer Harvey readily accepted. The MAD Reader (published in 1954 by Ballantine Books). Kurtzman
The first magazine issue (No. 24, began to sprinkle “the face” around the magazine under various
July 1955) flew off the newsstands, names. (The actual “first” appearance of the face has been
prompting a second printing, which determined to date back to at
is all but unheard-of in magazine
MAD creator Harvey Kurtzman, as least the late 1800s, and was
caricatured by longtime EC Comics publishing. used to advertise everything
and MAD artist Jack Davis. Despite the success of the new from “painless dentistry” to
MAD, there were still problems, most 1940s anti-President Roosevelt
notably that the perfectionist Kurtzman just couldn’t stay ahead of his sentiments.)
deadlines. And he was demanding more money—not for himself, but Feldstein had the image
to spend on the magazine. Harvey’s deadline problems and demands fleshed out in full color by
did not endear him to MAD’s publisher. The formerly friendly illustrator Norman Mingo;
Gaines/Kurtzman relationship became increasingly strained.
Mingo’s Alfred ran for
President on the cover of
THE BREAK-UP issue No. 30 (December 1956),

After producing five issues of the magazine, Kurtzman found that he and appeared enshrined on
had a not-so-secret admirer in the young Hugh Hefner, who had Mount Rushmore on the cover
recently launched Playboy. With a standing offer from Hefner, of the following issue. Alfred
Kurtzman went to Gaines and demanded 51 percent ownership of graced the cover of virtually
MAD, a demand Kurtzman almost every issue since.
certainly knew Gaines would not Mingo departed after doing
meet. Gaines refused, and Kurtzman eight covers, and illustrator
made his exit. Kurtzman and Hefner Kelly Freas began a long run of
almost immediately began work on a cover duties. Freas departed in The cover to MAD No. 50
lush, expensively produced new 1962, and Mingo returned as (October 1959), illustrated by Kelly Freas.
humor magazine called Trump. the magazine’s premier cover While Mingo could produce endless
identical versions of the Alfred E.
Gaines was distraught, convinced that artist, continuing until his Neuman face, Freas’s Alfreds were more
without Kurtzman there could be no death in 1980. Other notable impish and had much more expression.
MAD. And worse, Kurtzman had MAD cover artists include Jack
taken with him most of MAD’s artists. Rickard, Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Bob Jones, Sam Viviano,
With no other options, Gaines James Warhola, Mark Fredrickson, and Richard Williams, who
brought in his former right-hand man brought a classic, Norman Rockwell-styled approach which made him
at EC Comics, Al Feldstein (who had an instant favorite.
been let go after the collapse of
Gaines’s comic book empire) to take A NATIONAL TREASURE
over as MAD’s editor. By about 1958, MAD was again selling a million copies a month,
Feldstein quickly picked up the and by the dawn of the 1960s, the magazine was regarded by many as
pieces. “I don’t know how the first few Al Feldstein as depicted a national treasure, and by some as a national disgrace. Gaines, after
issues got done,” Feldstein said, “but by Jack Davis. Artist/writer/editor being vilified for his EC horror comics and abandoned by Harvey
they got done. It was just one incident Feldstein was Bill Gaines’s Kurtzman, had emerged triumphant. He began to reward his staffers
of serendipity after another. All these right-hand-man at EC Comics, and the freelances who had met a minimum yearly page count by tak-
talented people were walking into the and he stepped in as MAD’s editor ing them on lavish, all-expense-paid group trips to exotic locales. A
in 1956 after the sudden departure
office, not aware that there’d been this
of Harvey Kurtzman. large, gruff-but-affable man with a paternal nature, Gaines had an

18 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles