# What happened to Mad magazine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222 "2008-04-28T15:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/1 "2008-04-28T15:07:51Z")
Mad used to be funny as hell. Now, it is boring. Older issues from the 1980’s hold up well as long as I’m familiar with the tv show or movie being spoofed. When did Mad start going downhill? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/2 "2008-04-28T15:14:19Z")
Hate to tell you this but you’re getting OLD. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/3 "2008-04-28T15:53:11Z")
Mad’s changed somewhat, especially with the death of Bill Gaines and the corporate takeover. (Mad now takes advertising! You used to be sure that everything in it was a parody – now I’m not sure). And a lot of the Old Guys – who have been doing this forever – have died off. Nevertheless, I’m amazed at how much is the same. You still have the movie parodies, and Dick de Bartolo still writes, and Mort Drucker still contributes. Al Jaffee still does articles and the fold-in. Sergio Aragones still does articles and the marginals. And, dammit, I like a lot of the new stuff, which can actually make me laugh out loud. Of course, there’s stuff I don’t like. I never did like Monroe. And Mad seems to have a greater tendency towards gross. But I still love it, especally their end/beginning of the year roundup of the Dumbest Stories of the Year. Het, Esquire dumped it’s Dubious Achievements Awards and Dave Barry’s stopped his yearly roundups-- we need humor from someplace that covers the whole year. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/4 "2008-04-28T15:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] When did Mad start going downhill? [/QUOTE] As _MAD_ themselves once answered, “when you stopped reading it.” > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Dave Barry’s stopped his yearly roundups No he hasn’t. Even though Barry retired from his weekly column, he sometimes does a special column, including his Year in Review. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/5 "2008-04-28T16:01:03Z")
I have fond memories of MAD as a kid and I’ve come to the conclusion that the 90s were just a better decade for humor altogether. The times we’re living in right now just aren’t funny at all. Everything is too fucking serious and after 9/11 there’s this unbelievably heavy sense of severity to everything, and all attempts to parody it just come off as extremely heavy handed as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/6 "2008-04-28T16:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Mad’s changed somewhat, especially with the death of Bill Gaines and the corporate takeover. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I think that did it. There was a comic store across from my grammar school that sold back issues of MAD (cheap!). Pretty much everything I know about American history since the 1960s comes from those old magazines. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/7 "2008-04-28T16:19:41Z")
I always thought afterthe late Don Martin left for Cracked magazine in 87’ it went downhill from there. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/8 "2008-04-28T16:52:06Z")
In the early 90s, a couple years after Bill Gaines died, there was a redesign, the first since the 50s. Really, I had a few copies from the 50s, and everything had previously remained the same, right down to typeface. I was around 16 then, and not especially fond of change in general, so I let my subscription lapse. But I also think I was starting to outgrow it, anyway. I mean, I’m sure there’s still plenty of stuff in it that would appeal to me, but nothing will compare to the joy of discovering it as an adolescent. It’s possible that Mad’s never gone downhill, just that everybody moves past it at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/9 "2008-04-28T17:04:53Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Het, Esquire dumped it’s Dubious Achievements Awards and Dave Barry’s stopped his yearly roundups-- we need humor from someplace that covers the whole year. [/QUOTE] Worth noting… Esquire has resumed its Dubious Achievements Awards and its worth looking for when they come out. I _think_ they are in the February issue in recent years. …and, now I guess I should be looking for this MAD annual feature, too! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/10 "2008-04-28T17:08:31Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I have fond memories of MAD as a kid and I’ve come to the conclusion that the 90s were just a better decade for humor altogether. The times we’re living in right now just aren’t funny at all. Everything is too fucking serious and after 9/11 there’s this unbelievably heavy sense of severity to everything, and all attempts to parody it just come off as extremely heavy handed as a result. [/QUOTE] The Onion [managed to prove that it is possible](http://www.theonion.com/content/index/3734). One just has to remember what Mark Twain said: > [@](#): > > \*Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven. \* I wish I could find National Lampoon’s Mad parody on line. It had brilliant features like “You Know You’re Too Old For Mad When…” and a movie parody called “Citizen Gaines”. Some of the artwork looked like it had been drawn by actual Mad artists. It was obvious that the writers had loved Mad when they were kids. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/11 "2008-04-28T17:08:52Z")
There was recent article, I think in The New York Times, about Al Jaffee still plugging along. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/12 "2008-04-28T17:39:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Worth noting… Esquire has resumed its Dubious Achievements Awards and its worth looking for when they come out. I _think_ they are in the February issue in recent years. > > …and, now I guess I should be looking for this MAD annual feature, too! No, they haven’t. They announced in the last Dubious Achievements that this was the last – and I don’t believe it was a hack (For one thing, it wasn’t as long as it’s been in the past). I do think they’ve given up on it. By the way, I don’t recall it stopping and then restarting. AFAIK this is the first time they’ve stopped. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/13 "2008-04-28T17:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] No, they haven’t. They announced in the last Dubious Achievements that this was the last – and I don’t believe it was a hack (For one thing, it wasn’t as long as it’s been in the past). I do think they’ve given up on it. By the way, I don’t recall it stopping and then restarting. AFAIK this is the first time they’ve stopped. [/QUOTE] Exactly. I read the announcement in the February '08 issue: they did a couple of pages and then said, no mas. I always liked the feature, but they were right: when Jon Stewart is doing essentially the same thing every night, it’s old news by the time the issue rolls along. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/14 "2008-04-28T17:47:09Z")
Huh. My bad, then. I have the 2008 issue, but haven’t actually read it yet (it’s buried somewhere). FWIW, I thought it was gone for several years after 9/11 and only recently resumed. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/15 "2008-04-28T18:04:23Z")
[QUOTE=gaffa] The Onion [managed to prove that it is possible](http://www.theonion.com/content/index/3734). [/QUOTE] That was a genius issue. The article about the woman baking the flag cake is a brilliant piece of writing. One of the few issues of the Onion that I’ve held onto (another being the one following the 2000 presidential election). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/16 "2008-04-28T18:40:17Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] There was recent article, I think in The New York Times, about Al Jaffee still plugging along. [/QUOTE] [Indeed there was.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=461797) ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/17 "2008-04-28T23:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I always thought afterthe late Don Martin left for Cracked magazine in 87’ it went downhill from there. [/QUOTE] Totally. He was the best thing about _Mad_, as far as I’m concerned. Everything kinda just went _Fagroon, Klubble Klubble_ after that. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/18 "2008-04-29T00:16:34Z")
[QUOTE=Creaky] Totally. He was the best thing about _Mad_, as far as I’m concerned. Everything kinda just went _Fagroon, Klubble Klubble_ after that. ☹ [/QUOTE] [I agree.](http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/index-dmd.html) ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/19 "2008-04-29T01:12:54Z")
**What happened to Mad magazine?** Chlorpromazine. It works wonders. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222/20 "2008-04-29T03:46:08Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] [I agree.](http://www.collectmad.com/madcoversite/index-dmd.html) [/QUOTE] Shtoink!! Holy moly, that’s a great glossary. That is some rabid fan (ah, aren’t we all?). And hey, have you seen the _Complete Don Martin_ book? My buddy just got one from Amazon for like sixty bucks (it retails at about $150) and I hijacked it bigtime and I’m now chomping my way through the first volume. It’s seriously a gas! My friend is now looking for one for me so he can get his back. Long live National Gorilla Suit Day!!! 🆒 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-mad-magazine/447222.md?page=2)