Mad #81
(September 1963)

EC, 1952 Series
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Volume
1
Price
0.25 USD
Pages
52
Indicia Frequency
monthly except February, May, August and November
On-sale Date
1963-06-27
Indicia / Colophon Publisher
E.C. Publications Inc.
Editing
Al Feldstein (credited as Albert B. Feldstein) (editor)

Issue Notes

On-sale date from 1963 Periodicals, Copyright Office, Library of Congress.

Buy Mad...and Have a Ball! (Table of Contents)

cover / 1 page (report information)

Pencils
Bob Clarke (signed as Clarke)
Inks
Bob Clarke (signed as Clarke)
Colors
Bob Clarke (signed as Clarke)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor
Characters
Alfred E. Neuman
Reprints

Watch Out for This One! (Table of Contents: 1)

photo story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Lester Krauss (credited) (photograph)
Inks
Lester Krauss (credited) (photograph)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor
Synopsis
Parody of Nationwide Insurance print ads; a man is crushed by a falling sign numeral and it is implied that an insurance company is doing it on purpose to increase policy sales.

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

Departments (Table of Contents: 2)

table of contents / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
various (see Notes)
Inks
various (see Notes)
Letters
typeset

Indexer Notes

Art is excerpts from this issue.
Includes a quote attributed to Alfred E. Neuman: "You never know how many friends you have until you rent a Summer place!"

Random Samplings of Reader Mail (Table of Contents: 3)

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

Script
Al Feldstein (credited as Albert B. Feldstein)
Pencils
? (photo)
Inks
? (photo)
Letters
typeset

Characters
Pete Myers (photograph); Alfred E. Neuman

Indexer Notes

Letters of comment from Denise Ford, Howell Chickering Jr., Jack Harrison, David Utevsky, Ian Graham, Pete Myers, Doug Poust, Gary Bandur, John Bienstock, Paul Windish, Jimmy Thompson, Thomas Strickland, Stephen Billard, and Craig Barnard.
Includes photo of cover of MAD #32.

Hex Marks the Spot (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

Mad Paperbacks / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.3 page (report information)

Help Us to Clear Our Heads! (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

Alfred E. Neuman bust / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.15 page (report information)

Cheaper Than Ever! (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.05 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

Mad Magazine / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.2 page (report information)

Two for the Hee-Haw! (Table of Contents: 8) (Expand) /

Mad record albums / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.3 page (report information)

Labels We Should've Seen (Table of Contents: 9)

And the Brand Played On Dept. / photo story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
Dick DeBartolo (credited as Dick De Bartolo)
Pencils
Lester Krauss (credited) (photo)
Inks
Lester Krauss (credited) (photo)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Photos of commercial products with the labels altered to satirize the product.

Drawn Out Dramas (Table of Contents: 10)

Marginal Thinking Dept. / cartoon / 0 pages (report information)

Script
Sergio Aragonés
Pencils
Sergio Aragonés
Inks
Sergio Aragonés

Genre
humor
Synopsis
Cartoons inserted into margins of 16 random pages.

New Movie Monsters From Everyday Life (Table of Contents: 11)

Horror Things By You Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script
E. Nelson Bridwell (credited)
Pencils
Joe Orlando (credited) (signed as Orlando)
Inks
Joe Orlando (credited) (signed as Orlando)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Horror movies centered on contemporary nuisances.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

A mailbox pictured has the name H. P. Lovecraft.

The Class Program (Table of Contents: 12)

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)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor
Synopsis
A school performance of shadow puppets doesn't go as rehearsed.
Reprints

On the Beach (Table of Contents: 13)

Term Warfare Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Phil Hahn (credited)
Pencils
Jack Rickard (credited) (signed as Rickard)
Inks
Jack Rickard (credited) (signed as Rickard)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
NASA terminology applied to situations on the beach.
Reprints

If Modern Comedians Performed For Civilizations in the Past (Table of Contents: 14)

Jest in Time Dept. / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script
Arnie Kogen (credited)
Pencils
Mort Drucker (credited, signed)
Inks
Mort Drucker (credited, signed)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Characters
Bob Hope; Bill Dana [as Jose Jimenez]; Jackie Mason; Dick Gregory; Jack E. Leonard
Synopsis
Contemporary comedians do their stand-up act in historical situations.

Spy Vs. Spy (Table of Contents: 15)

Joke & Dagger Dept.; Spy Vs. Spy / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)
Pencils
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)
Inks
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)

Genre
humor
Characters
The Black Spy; The White Spy
Synopsis
The Black Spy uses a helicopter to steal the White Spy's secret plans; the White Spy uses a camera and slingshot to take a photo of the Black Spy's secret plans.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Also credited in Morse code as "By Prohias".

The Lighter Side of Summer Camp (Table of Contents: 16)

Berg's Eye View Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
Dave Berg (credited as David Berg) (signed as David Berg)
Pencils
Dave Berg (credited as David Berg) (signed as David Berg)
Inks
Dave Berg (credited as David Berg) (signed as David Berg)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Various strips satirizing life at summer camp.
Reprints

Another Brain Operation (Table of Contents: 17)

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)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor
Synopsis
A surgeon examines a patient's brain.
Reprints

The Mad Plan for Beating TV Commercial-Breaks (Table of Contents: 18)

Stepping Away from the Pitch Dept. / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script
Al Jaffee (credited)
Pencils
Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)
Inks
Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Various plans for doing things around the house in the space of a TV program commercial break.
Reprints

Mad's Wonder Drugs for Common Teenage Ailments (Table of Contents: 19)

A Cure for the Common Clod Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script
Stan Hart (credited)
Pencils
George Woodbridge (credited) (signed as G Woodbridge)
Inks
George Woodbridge (credited) (signed as G Woodbridge)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Drugs designed to counteract embarrassing situations endemic to post-pubescent life.

Off the Deep End (Table of Contents: 20)

Oy-Vay All Boats Dept. / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Sergio Aragonés (credited)
Pencils
Jack Rickard (credited, signed)
Inks
Jack Rickard (credited, signed)

Genre
humor
Synopsis
A man goes diving in the on-board pool of a luxury liner.
Reprints

If Comic Strip Characters Behaved Like Ordinary People (Table of Contents: 21)

What Mortals These Fools Be Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script
Al Jaffee (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; satire-parody
Characters
Daddy Warbucks; Little Orphan Annie; Charlie Brown; Lucy Van Pelt; Snoopy; Linus Van Pelt; Dick Tracy; Pat Patton; Superman; Pogo Possum; Albert Alligator; Mandrake the Magician; Lothar; B.C.; Wiley; Maggie; Jiggs; Dennis Mitchell; Henry Mitchell; Alice Mitchell
Synopsis
Fictional characters are placed in authentic situations and react in authentic fashion.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Phony signatures: Schlitz, Jester Goldbrick, Want Killy, Hurt, Fink Features Syndicate Inc., The All Syndicate Ink, Hush K S Johnny ?

A Mad Look at Motorcycle Cops (Table of Contents: 22)

Where's the Fire Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script
Sergio Aragonés (credited)
Pencils
Sergio Aragonés (credited)
Inks
Sergio Aragonés (credited)

Genre
humor
Synopsis
Series of cartoons satirizing motorcycle police.
Reprints

Spy Vs. Spy Vs. Spy (Table of Contents: 23)

Joke & Dagger Dept.; Spy Vs. Spy / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)
Pencils
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)
Inks
Antonio Prohías (credited) (signed as A Prohias)

Genre
humor
Characters
The Black Spy; The White Spy; The Gray Spy
Synopsis
The Gray Spy traps the other spies burglarizing her safe.

Indexer Notes

Also credited in Morse code as "By Prohias".

Popular Scientific Mechanics (Table of Contents: 24)

For Whom the Fools Tool Dept. / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script
Al Jaffee
Pencils
Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)
Inks
Bob Clarke (credited) (signed as Clarke)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Parody of magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics.
Reprints

Indexer Notes

Includes a parody of an International Correspondence Schools (ICS) ad.

A Domestic Scene (Table of Contents: 25)

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)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor
Synopsis
A woman gives her husband a hair cut.

Just For the Record (Table of Contents: 26) (Expand) /

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

Announcing the All-New 1963 3/4 Edsel (Table of Contents: 27)

photo story / 1 page (report information)

Script
?
Pencils
Swedowsky & Weiss (photograph)
Inks
Swedowsky & Weiss (photograph)
Colors
Swedowsky & Weiss (photograph)
Letters
typeset

Genre
humor; satire-parody
Synopsis
Parody of Edsel print ads. While the ad copy extols the virtues of the 1963 Edsel station wagon, the vehicle pictured is a Ford wagon from the early part of the twentieth century.

Indexer Notes

Back cover.

Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
  1. 0. Buy Mad...and Have a Ball!
  2. 1. Watch Out for This One!
  3. 2. Departments
  4. 3. Random Samplings of Reader Mail
    Letters Dept.
  5. 4. Hex Marks the Spot
    Mad Paperbacks
  6. 5. Help Us to Clear Our Heads!
    Alfred E. Neuman bust
  7. 6. Cheaper Than Ever!
  8. 7. ["Teed Off..."]
    Mad Magazine
  9. 8. Two for the Hee-Haw!
    Mad record albums
  10. 9. Labels We Should've Seen
    And the Brand Played On Dept.
  11. 10. Drawn Out Dramas
    Marginal Thinking Dept.
  12. 11. New Movie Monsters From Everyday Life
    Horror Things By You Dept.
  13. 12. The Class Program
    Don Martin Dept.
  14. 13. On the Beach
    Term Warfare Dept.
  15. 14. If Modern Comedians Performed For Civilizations in the Past
    Jest in Time Dept.
  16. 15. Spy Vs. Spy
    Joke & Dagger Dept.; Spy Vs. Spy
  17. 16. The Lighter Side of Summer Camp
    Berg's Eye View Dept.
  18. 17. Another Brain Operation
    Don Martin Dept.
  19. 18. The Mad Plan for Beating TV Commercial-Breaks
    Stepping Away from the Pitch Dept.
  20. 19. Mad's Wonder Drugs for Common Teenage Ailments
    A Cure for the Common Clod Dept.
  21. 20. Off the Deep End
    Oy-Vay All Boats Dept.
  22. 21. If Comic Strip Characters Behaved Like Ordinary People
    What Mortals These Fools Be Dept.
  23. 22. A Mad Look at Motorcycle Cops
    Where's the Fire Dept.
  24. 23. Spy Vs. Spy Vs. Spy
    Joke & Dagger Dept.; Spy Vs. Spy
  25. 24. Popular Scientific Mechanics
    For Whom the Fools Tool Dept.
  26. 25. A Domestic Scene
    Don Martin Dept.
  27. 26. Just For the Record
  28. 27. Announcing the All-New 1963 3/4 Edsel
This issue was modified by, among others
  • mcomics
  • Steve Coates
  • Igor Dybzinski
  • Gregory Fischer
  • Katy Hayhurst
  • Donald Dale Milne
  • Mike Nielsen