Mad, no. 27

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Title

Mad, no. 27

Description

Mad was initially a comic book, and it converted to a magazine format in 1955 with issue #24. The elaborate frame on this cover was drawn by Harvey Kurtzman, Mad's founding editor, and it features the magazine's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, and his catchphrase, "What, me worry?" Jack Davis painted the cover, which depicts the "new year" 1956 walking through a crowd of caricatures. As William Stout notes, "Davis developed the ability to draw, design, and clearly organize vast humorous crowds in a single picture, a skill that would pay off enormously once he started painting movie posters" (5). Indeed, Davis would go on to draw not just movie posters, but also album covers and illustrations for Time and TV Guide. (Reference: William Stout, "Jack Davis: Master of the Quick Draw," Jack Davis: Drawing American Pop Culture. Seattle: Fantagraphics, 2011. 5-7.)

Publisher

Date

Contributor

Kurtzman, Harvey (Editor)
Davis, Jack, 1924-2016 (Penciler & Inker)

Rights

RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.

Language

English

Type

Still image

Identifier

mad_027_cover.jpg

Tags

Citation

“Mad, no. 27,” Cary Graphic Arts Collection at RIT Libraries, accessed March 29, 2024, https://cary-exhibits.rit.edu/items/show/208.