Mad
#8
(December 1953-January 1954)
- Volume
- 1
- Price
- 0.10 USD
- Pages
- 36
- Indicia Frequency
- Bi-monthly
- On-sale Date
- 1953-09-01
- Indicia / Colophon Publisher
- Educational Comics Inc.
- Brand
-
EC An Entertaining Comic
- Editing
- Harvey Kurtzman (editor)
Issue Notes
Character appearances, department names and other miscellaneous info for this issue added by Donald Dale Milne, December 2008.
[no title indexed]
cover / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as
H.Kurtz(figure of a man)) - Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Harvey Kurtzman (see notes); Marie Severin ? (coding for separations)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- We're looking for a monster, Ma'm!
- Reprints
-
in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #15 (1975) - in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)
- in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #3 (Spring 1998)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin addressed on at least two occasions the coloring of art created or edited by Harvey Kurtzman. In remarks published in 1995, she said “Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers.” And in response to a 1986 question about Kurtzman and MAD covers, she said “Now I might have interpreted, but I don’t remember. I think he did every one of them. I might have helped out with some production or something, but it’s all Harvey” (Ringgenberg 2016, 88).
_________
References:
Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. “The Artists of EC Comics” (reprinting Severin 1995). In Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. 46–47. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.
Ringgenberg, Steven. 2016. “Marie Severin.” In The Comics Journal Library Vol. 10: The EC Artists Part 2, edited by Michael Dean, 84–95. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books.
Ringgenberg, Steven. [2016] 2018. “An Interview with Marie Severin.” The Comics Journal, September 5. Accessed June 18, 2023. https://www.tcj.com/an-interview-with-marie-severin.
Severin, Marie (John Province, transcriber [uncredited]). 1995. “Mostly about Color.” In CFA-APA 36, January.
So What? So You, Too, Can Join the E.C. Fan-Addict Club!
E.C. Fan-Addict Club / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman ?
- Pencils
- Jack Davis (signed as
JACK DAVIS) - Inks
- Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)
- Letters
- Ben Oda
- Synopsis
- Inside front cover. E.C. Fan-Addict Club membership ad.
- Reprints
- in Mad (EC, 2018 series) #33 (October 2023)
-
Indexer Notes
Inside front cover.
Frank N. Stein!
Terror Dept. / comic story / 8 pages
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Pencils
- Bill Elder (signed as Bull Elder)
- Inks
- Bill Elder (signed as Bull Elder)
- Colors
- Marie Severin
- Letters
- Ben Oda
- Genre
- humor; satire-parody; horror-suspense
- Characters
- Baron Francesco Napoleon Stein; Bumble; Melvin; Sherman; the monster
- Synopsis
- A parody of The Frankenstein horror comics and films.
- Reprints
- in Utterly Mad (Ballantine Books, 1956 series) #4 (October 1956) which is reprinted
- in Utterly Mad (ibooks, 2002 series) (June 2002)
- in Utterly Mad (Ballantine Books, 1956 series) #4 (December 1963)
- in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #15 (1975)
- in Utterly Mad (Ballantine Books, 1956 series) #[4] (July 1976)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #3 (Spring 1998)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
- in Mad's Original Idiots Will Elder (EC, 2015 series) (2015)
-
Indexer Notes
The monster has Adolph Hitler's face.
Lone Stranger Rides Again!
Western Dept. / comic story / 7 pages
- Genre
- humor; satire-parody; western-frontier
- Characters
- Lone Stranger; Pronto [Chief Wonga]; Ookabollwonga tribe
- Synopsis
- The Lone Stranger learns of Pronto's secret identity.
- Reprints
- in The Bedside Mad (New American Library, 1959 series) #S1647 (April 1959), #D2316 (February 1964), #P3520 (c 1969)
- in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #18 (1975)
- in The Bedside Mad (Warner Books, 1973 series) #6 (88-893) (April 1979)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #3 (Spring 1998)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
- in Mad's Original Idiots Jack Davis (EC, 2015 series) (2015)
-
Indexer Notes
A parody of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.
We at E.C. are Proudest of Our Science-Fiction Magazines!
E.C. comics / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page
- Script
- ?
- Pencils
- Joe Orlando (signed)
- Inks
- Joe Orlando (signed)
- Colors
- Marie Severin
- Letters
- ?; typeset
- Genre
- science fiction
- Synopsis
- House ad for Weird Fantasy #22.
Indexer Notes
Left side of page.
Operation Under-the-Ground [Chapter II]
Cloak-And-Dagger Dept. / text story / 1 page
- Script
- Jerry De Fuccio ? (credited as Jerry DeFuccio); Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- typeset
- Genre
- humor; spy
- Characters
- Five Fingers Jones; the Chief
- Synopsis
- Five Fingers makes his way to Moscow.
- Reprints
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #3 (Spring 1998)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Right side of page and left side of facing page.
Script: Sources vary. De Fuccio credit is from The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2. Kitchen and Buhle assert that “Harvey Kurtzman wrote every word from front to back” of this issue (2009, 83).
_________
Reference:
Kitchen, Denis, and Paul Buhle. 2009. The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics. New York: Abrams ComicArts.
[no title indexed]
Educational Comics, Inc. / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page
- Genre
- history
- Synopsis
- Ad for Picture Stories From the Bible Complete New Testament Edition, Picture Stories from the Bible Complete Old Testament Edition, Picture Stories From Science #2, and Picture Stories from World History #2.
Indexer Notes
Right side of page.
[no title indexed]
Mad Mumblings / letters page / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (illustration)
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (illustration)
- Colors
- Marie Severin
- Letters
- typeset
- Reprints
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Letters of comments from John Hurt of Elgin, Oregon; Ronald Ketterer of Reading, Pennsylania; Harry Mitchell; Bobby Percy of Auburn, Alabama; Rose Sultan of New York City; Bill Wiesenbach of Pensacola, Florida; Atascaedro Union High school; Chucks Hancox; Howard Griffith; and David Allessio of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Script and colors credits from The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2.
Collectors' Item Dept.
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman; Ben Oda (panel one)
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- You will notice how this chair fits you when you sit...
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man tries a new chair.
- Reprints
- from Jeanie Comics (Marvel, 1947 series) #22 (November 1948)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
The first panel contains text lacking in the original publication noting that this and the following 5 pages are reprints.
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
[no title indexed]
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Come, my friend--
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man shows off his new fireplace.
- Reprints
- from Margie Comics (Marvel, 1946 series) #43 (October 1948)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
[no title indexed]
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- I think I'll listen to the radio!
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man doesn't like the sound of radio news.
- Reprints
- from Gay Comics (Marvel, 1944 series) #34 (October 1948)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
[no title indexed]
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- I'm hungry!
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man tries to eat breakfast cereal.
- Reprints
- from Patsy Walker (Marvel, 1945 series) #22 (May 1949)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
[no title indexed]
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- I'm going to the movies!
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man makes too much noise at a movie.
- Reprints
- from Margie Comics (Marvel, 1946 series) #43 (October 1948)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
[no title indexed]
Hey Look! / comic story / 1 page
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Pencils
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Inks
- Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man))
- Colors
- Marie Severin ?; Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Harvey Kurtzman
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Oh joyeux!
- Genre
- humor
- Synopsis
- A man tries out a magic hat.
- Reprints
- from Joker Comics (Marvel, 1942 series) #35 (January 1949)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
-
Indexer Notes
Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
Bat Boy and Rubin!
Hero Worship Dept. / comic story / 7 pages
- Script
- Harvey Kurtzman
- Pencils
- Wally Wood (signed as
Wood) - Inks
- Wally Wood (signed as Wood)
- Colors
- Marie Severin
- Letters
- Ben Oda
- Genre
- humor; satire-parody; superhero
- Characters
- Bat Boy; Rubin; the Fleagle Gang; the Flurgle Gang
- Synopsis
- Bat Boy and Rubin eliminate the gangs in Cosmopolis, but the killer is still at large.
- Reprints
- in Inside Mad (Ballantine Books, 1955 series) #124 (November 1955) which is reprinted
- in Inside Mad (Ballantine Books, 1955 series) #24427 (April 1975)
- in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)
- in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #12 (1973)
- in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #2 (1986)
- in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #71 (Summer 1990)
-
in Norsk Mad (Bladkompaniet / Schibsted, 1995 series) #2/1996 (1996) - in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)
- in Mad Batman Spectacular (EC, 1997 series) (July 1997)
- in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #3 (Spring 1998)
- in Mad About Super Heroes (EC, 2002 series) #[1] (April 2002)
- in Mad about Super Heroes (Barnes & Noble Books, 2006 series) (2006)
- in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #2 (2007 [January 2008])
- in Mad Presents Batman (EC, 2012 series) #1 (September 2012)
- in Mad's Original Idiots Wally Wood (EC, 2015 series) (2015)
- in Mad (EC, 2018 series) #15 (October 2020)
-
Indexer Notes
A parody of Batman and Robin comics. May be first use of word "furshlugginer" in MAD.
Flash!
Ideal Co. Products / advertisement / 1 page
Indexer Notes
An ad for Ideal Company watches, jewelry, and other items.
The New Way To Enjoy Sports, Movies, Plays, Television
Spektoscopes / advertisement / 1 page
- Synopsis
- An ad for International Binocular Company Spektoscopes.
Indexer Notes
Inside back cover.
-
0.
["We're looking for a monster, Ma'm!"]
-
1.
So What? So You, Too, Can Join the E.C. Fan-Addict Club!
E.C. Fan-Addict Club -
2.
Frank N. Stein!
Terror Dept. -
3.
Lone Stranger Rides Again!
Western Dept. -
4.
We at E.C. are Proudest of Our Science-Fiction Magazines!
E.C. comics -
5.
Operation Under-the-Ground [Chapter II]
Cloak-And-Dagger Dept. -
6.
[no title indexed]
Educational Comics, Inc. -
7.
[no title indexed]
Mad Mumblings -
8.
Collectors' Item Dept.
Hey Look! -
9.
["Come, my friend--"]
Hey Look! -
10.
["I think I'll listen to the radio!"]
Hey Look! -
11.
["I'm hungry!"]
Hey Look! -
12.
["I'm going to the movies!"]
Hey Look! -
13.
["Oh joyeux!"]
Hey Look! -
14.
Bat Boy and Rubin!
Hero Worship Dept. -
15.
Flash!
Ideal Co. Products -
16.
The New Way To Enjoy Sports, Movies, Plays, Television
Spektoscopes -
17.
Now You Can Fly a Real Jet Plane!
Jetex Jet Planes
- mcomics
- David B
- Chris Boyko
- Nick Caputo
- Bill Devine
- Michael Hoskin
- Darrel McCann
- Donald Dale Milne
- Tony R. Rose
- Per Sandell
- Richard Thomson
- Jim Van Dore
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