Mad; Humor in a Jugular Vein. Vol. 1, No. 1 - Vol. 1, No 23; with: MAD: Humor in a Jugular Vein, Vol. 1, No, 24 - Vol. 1, No. 51

New York: EC / Educational Comics, (1952-1959). Uniform 8vos, 7-1/4 X 10-1/4 in. (numbers 1-23); uniform 4tos, 10-3/4 X 8 in. (numbers 24-51); original printed wrappers. Together with an original ink drawing by Al Jaffee. Most issues fine; a small number slightly less than fine; old tape-mends to the rear wrapper of one of the comic-books (no. 17), in all a splendid run, extremely well-preserved. Item #203047

A consecutive run of the first 51 numbers of the iconic periodical of irreverent satire that has entertained several generations of postwar youth. Founded by Harvey Kurtzmann and William L. Gaines, for its first 23 numbers, MAD was a comic book; in July 1955 it changed over to a magazine format. In the course of its long life there has been virtually no aspect of American culture that MAD has not satirized. It established a model for irreverent humor that led to offspring such as National Lampoon, The Simpsons, and, it could be argued, a vast array of television, movies, and print-format humor. Among the roster of talent that helped to create MAD have been cartoonists Al Jaffee and Don Martin, Mort Drucker and comic giants such as Ernie Kovacs, Steve Allen, Bob Elliott & Ray Goulding ("Bob and Ray") and Stan Freberg. The drawing was done by Jaffee specifically for the original owner of this run. It is a cartoon self-portrait, with the artist standing and holding an oversized ink pen while one foot is in an open jar of india ink; inscribed and signed by Jaffee, no date.

Price: $10,000.00