Mad #43

(December 1958)

I Never Carry More Than $50 in Cash (Table of Contents: 1)

American Expense Account Cheques / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed as Kf)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed as Kf)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Brigitte Bardot (sic)

Synopsis

Parody of American Express Travelers Cheques ads.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #2 (1959)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997) [from inside front cover]

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

Departments (Table of Contents: 2)

Vital Features / foreword, introduction, preface, afterword / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

various

Inks

various

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

Art is excerpts from this issue.

MAD's M.V.B.T.A. Awards (Table of Contents: 3)

The Double-Play's the Thing Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel (sourced)

Pencils

George Woodbridge (credited)

Inks

George Woodbridge (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Harry Jingo; Babe Brando; Enos Schwack; "School Boy" Drake; Hank Ozone; Jake Jacobs; Leo Screech

Synopsis

Acting awards for baseball players hamming it up for fans and the camera during games.

Reprints

• in The Mad Frontier (Warner Books, 1975 series) #12 (86-066) (September 1975)

Help Make This Christmas a Memorable One (Table of Contents: 4)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.33 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Indexer Notes

MAD For Keeps is a house ad for hardcover book from Crown Publishers.

People Who Have Read It Are Raving About It (Table of Contents: 5)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.17 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Indexer Notes

The Brothers MAD is a house ad for a MAD paperback book.

Random Samplings of Reader Mail (Table of Contents: 6)

Letters Dept. / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein (credited as Ed.)

Pencils

various; ? (photo)

Inks

various; ? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Characters

The Alfred E. Neuman [Auto] Racing Club; Bill Gaines's daughter

Synopsis

Letters of comment, mostly about issue #40. Includes a photo of Bill Gaines's (unnamed) daughter.

Indexer Notes

Notes that "Famous Monsters of Filmland #2" includes some article reprinted from an issue of MAD. Letter writers: Alexander Wilde; Ron Bergman; Jack Litch; Carolyn Walker; Bradley Pieper; Chuck Venturi; Gene Herson; Jon Kwitny; The Alfred E. Neuman [Auto] Racing Club; G. J. Manos; Nancy Gaines; William Doorly.

Cleaned Out! (Table of Contents: 7)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.17 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Norman Mingo (painting)

Inks

Norman Mingo (painting)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Synopsis

House ad for pinups suitable for framing.

Do Your Christmas Shopping Early (Table of Contents: 8)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.33 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bill Elder

Inks

Bill Elder

Letters

typeset

Characters

Santa Claus

Indexer Notes

House ad for MAD subscriptions.
Illustration is excerpt from a previous issue of Panic.

The End of Comics (Table of Contents: 9)

Installment Overdue Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Tom Koch

Pencils

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wally Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wally Wood)

Letters

?; typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Blondie Bumstead; Dennis the Menace; Henry; Smilin' Jack; Little Orphan Annie; Lothar; Mandrake the Magician; Dick Tracy; Daddy Warbucks; Puck; Sandy; Annie's real mother; Pogo; Albert the Alligator; Chief; Junior; Toonerville's The Skipper; Mary Worth; Mary's nephew; Mammy Yokum; Pappy Yokum; Li'l Abner

Synopsis

Possible final strips for when newspapers have to eliminate comics to use the space for more educational features.

Reprints

• in The Mad Frontier (Warner Books, 1975 series) #12 (86-066) (September 1975)
• in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #36 (Fall 1981)

Indexer Notes

Parodies these strips: Little Orphan Annie; Mandrake The Magician; Pogo; Dick Tracy; Mary Worth; Li'l Abner; Dennis The Menace; Henry; Smilin' Jack; Blondie.

Future Magazine Mergers (Table of Contents: 10)

Togetherness Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Tom Koch (sourced)

Pencils

Bob Clarke (credited)

Inks

Bob Clarke (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Dwight Eisenhower; Harry Truman; Nikita Krushchev

Synopsis

Unlikely magazine titles for when magazines merge.

Reprints

• in Mad Follies (EC, 1963 series) #1 (1963)

Scenes We'd Like To See: The Frogmen (Table of Contents: 11)

Hollywood Dept. / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee ?

Pencils

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando [cursive])

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed as Joe Orlando [cursive])

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Synopsis

Enemy frogmen successfully blow up each other's ships and are then stranded mid-ocean.

Indexer Notes

This may be Al Jaffee's first script for Mad. According to info in Feldstein: The Mad Life and Fantastic Art of Al Feldstein by Grant Geissman Jaffee contributed to this issue, alhough it does not specifically note what story. Early on Jaffee was only writing scripts for other artists to illustrate.

The Electricians (Table of Contents: 12)

Don Martin Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Don Martin (signed as D. MARTiN)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed as D. MARTiN)

Inks

Don Martin (signed as D. MARTiN)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Two building maintenance men try to find why a toaster won't work.

Reprints

• in The Completely Mad Don Martin (Warner Books, 1974 series) (June 1974)
which is reprinted
• in De verste brølerne til Mad's Don Martin (Illustrerte Klassikere / Williams Forlag, 1974 series) (1974)

If Hollywood Directors Staged...Advertising Photos (Table of Contents: 13)

Hollywood Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Synopsis

Parodies of ads depicted in the styles of directors: Alfred Hitchcock; Elia Kazan; Cecil B. DeMille; Sam Katzman.

Indexer Notes

Ads parodied are: Body By Fisher; Joy Detergent; Marlboro Cigarettes; White Rock beverages.

Pushcarts (Table of Contents: 14)

Food For Thought Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Dave Berg (signed as David Berg (heart over i))

Pencils

Dave Berg (signed as David Berg (heart over i))

Inks

Dave Berg (signed as David Berg (heart over i))

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

History of merchandising by pushcarts and projection to a future where stores are so large that vendors sell by pushcarts within the stores.

Reprints

• in Dave Berg's Mad Trash (Warner Books, 1977 series) (September 1977)
• in Dave Berg's Mad Trash (EC, 1981 series) (1981)

Health Chairs (Table of Contents: 15)

Relax in Discomfort Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee (sourced)

Pencils

Bob Clarke (credited)

Inks

Bob Clarke (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Taking the fad of reclining chairs to extremes.

Reprints

• in Mad (EC, 2018 series) #31 (June 2023)

The MAD Halloween Trick-Or-Treatment (Table of Contents: 16)

Hobble Them Goblins Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs (sourced)

Pencils

Mort Drucker (credited)

Inks

Mort Drucker (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A list of revenges against common Halloween pranks.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #7 (1964)
• in Mad (EC, 2018 series) #22 (December 2021)

The MAD Treasury of Unknown Poetry (Table of Contents: 17)

Verse of the People Dept. / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Tom Koch (sourced)

Pencils

Joe Orlando (credited)

Inks

Joe Orlando (credited)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Synopsis

Parodies of famous poems.

Reprints

• in The Mad Frontier (Warner Books, 1975 series) #12 (86-066) (September 1975)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)
• in Mad for Decades (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2007 series) (2007)

Special Lamps for Reading Magazines (Table of Contents: 18)

Light of Your LIFE Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Inks

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Synopsis

Reading lamps designed in styles to match popular magazine content.

Misleading Headlines (Table of Contents: 19)

Extra! Extra! Dept. / text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs (sourced)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Sarah Klunk; Sidney Klutz; Byron Brisket; Gladys Glotz; Carl Umlaut; Fred Mildew; Hank Shlubb; Alfred E. Neuman

Synopsis

Headlines that purposefully do not describe the underlying newspaper articles.

Reprints

• in The Mad Frontier (Warner Books, 1975 series) #12 (86-066) (September 1975)

The New Baby (Table of Contents: 20)

Danny Kaye Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Danny Kaye; Milton Schafer (credited)

Pencils

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Danny Kaye

Synopsis

Song lyrics as performed by Danny Kaye, with illustrations.

Reprints

• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)

Indexer Notes

Song copyright 1957 by Frank Music Corp.

Coming Musicals (Table of Contents: 21)

And Then I Wrote Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel (sourced); Frank Jacobs (sourced)

Pencils

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Inks

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

Broadway musicals based on unlikely source material.

The End Of A Perfect Day (Table of Contents: 22)

Don Martin Dept. / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Pencils

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Inks

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A man has trained his dog to fetch him everything...including his wife.

Reprints

• in The Completely Mad Don Martin (Warner Books, 1974 series) (June 1974)
which is reprinted
• in De verste brølerne til Mad's Don Martin (Illustrerte Klassikere / Williams Forlag, 1974 series) (1974)

Music Report (Table of Contents: 23)

Bob & Ray Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Bob Elliott (credited); Ray Goulding (credited)

Pencils

Mort Drucker (credited) (signed as Mort Drucker)

Inks

Mort Drucker (credited) (signed as Mort Drucker)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Bob Elliott; Ray Goulding; Wally Ballew; Filbert Hoffenberger

Synopsis

Wally interviews a man who tests the truth of song lyrics and watches him demonstrate "It's a treat to beat your feet in the Mississippi Mud."

Payhouse 90 (Table of Contents: 24)

TV Dept. / T.V. Dept. / Television Dept. / text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Nick Meglin (credited as Albert Meglin)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Synopsis

Ficticious filming schedule for tv show, showing that it mostly consists of commercials.

Indexer Notes

Show parodied is Playhouse 90. Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

The Smithshop (Table of Contents: 25)

Traumatic Workshop Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee (sourced)

Pencils

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Inks

Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

The ultimate in the trend towards combined home woodworking shop tools, parodying the Shopsmith.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #7 (1964)

Woodlore (Table of Contents: 26)

To Blazes with the Trail Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee (sourced)

Pencils

George Woodbridge (credited) (signed as G. Woodbridge)

Inks

George Woodbridge (credited) (signed as G. Woodbridge)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A guidebook to (phony) dangerous plants and animals of the woods.

Reprints

• in The Mad Frontier (Warner Books, 1975 series) #12 (86-066) (September 1975)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)
• in Mad for Decades (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2007 series) (2007)

The Bathtub Admiral (Table of Contents: 27)

Danny Kaye Dept. / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Danny Kaye; Milton Schafer (credited)

Pencils

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood) (signed as Wood)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Danny Kaye

Synopsis

Song lyrics as performed by Danny Kaye, with illustrations.

Indexer Notes

Song copyright 1957 by Frank Music Corp.: this and writer credits given in the first Danny Kaye Dept. of this issue.

Down Lovers' Lane (Table of Contents: 28)

Don Martin Dept. / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Pencils

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Inks

Don Martin (credited) (signed as D. MARTiN)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Two couples carve a heart; one on a tree and one on a forehead.

Reprints

• in The Completely Mad Don Martin (Warner Books, 1974 series) (June 1974)
which is reprinted
• in De verste brølerne til Mad's Don Martin (Illustrerte Klassikere / Williams Forlag, 1974 series) (1974)

You'll "Go Far" In A MAD T-Shirt (Table of Contents: 29)

promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Larry Maleman (photo); Wally Wood

Inks

Larry Maleman (photo); Wally Wood

Letters

typeset

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Indexer Notes

House ad for t-shirts with Alfred E. Neuman on front on inside back cover.

Proverbs Revisited (Table of Contents: 30)

Marginal Thinking Dept. / text story / 0 pages (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Common proverbs with twist endings.

Indexer Notes

Appear in the margins of 22 pages of the issue.

Look Mom - No More Cavities! (Table of Contents: 31)

Crust Gumpaste / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed as Kelly Freas) (painting)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed as Kelly Freas) (painting)

Colors

Kelly Freas (signed as Kelly Freas) (painting)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Melvin Furd

Synopsis

Parody of ad for Crest Toothpaste, with painting signed as "Norman Rocknroll."

Reprints

• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997) [back cover]
• in Mad (EC, 2018 series) #33 (October 2023)

Indexer Notes

Back cover.