Mad #15

(September 1954)

Proof...Of 8 Brands Tested, Panic is best imitation of MAD (Table of Contents: 1) (Expand) /

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

Gasoline Valley! (Table of Contents: 2)

Newspaper Comics Dept. / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Bill Elder (credited as Will Elder) (signed as Bill O.Elder)

Inks

Bill Elder (credited as Will Elder) (signed) (Bill O.Elder)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Wilt Willit; Skizziks Willit; Phyllus Willit; bully; Alexander Bumpstead; Juddy Willit; Caulky Willit; Nin O'Clock; Smilin' Jack (cameo); Wilber Booble; Cleavia Willit

Synopsis

Where the question of "will Caulky ever grow" is answered.

Reprints

• in The Mad Reader (Ballantine Books, 1954 series) #93 [1] ([November] 1954)
• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #5 (Fall 1998)
• in The Mad Reader (ibooks, 2002 series) (March 2002)
• in Mad about Comic Strips (EC, 2003 series) (2003)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)
• in Mad's Original Idiots Will Elder (EC, 2015 series) (2015)

Indexer Notes

A parody of the Gasoline Alley comic strip. Will Elder's signature grows larger with each page.
Colors credit confirmed in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3.

Pot-Shot Pete Sheriff of Yucca-pucca Gulch! (Table of Contents: 3)

Collectors' Item Dept. / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman (signed as H.Kurtz(figure of a man)); Bill Gaines ? (opening panel)

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; Ben Oda (opening panel)

Genre

satire-parody; western-frontier; humor

Characters

Pot-Shot Pete; Pot-Shot's girl; Poopy; Apaches; Muzzle; arms dealer; the U.S. Calvary

Synopsis

Pot-Shot tries to halt arms sales to the Apaches.

Reprints

• from John Wayne Adventure Comics (Toby, 1949 series) #6 (November 1950)
• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in De avonturen van Urbanus - Wintertenenboek (Loempia, 1992 series) #[1] (1992)
• in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #5 (Fall 1998)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)

Indexer Notes

A western parody. Confirmed to be a reprint from John Wayne #6.

Colors: Sources vary. Marie Severin colors credit appeared in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 (but DC may have relied on GCD’s colors credit, which at that time named only Marie Severin). Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers...” (1995) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.
_________
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.

Severin, Marie (John Province, transcriber [uncredited]). 1995. “Mostly about Color.” In CFA-APA 36, January.

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 4)

Report from Abroad / text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Continuing along the same sober lines that we did in our last issue...

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Synopsis

An analysis of the Chinese political situation -- in Chinese.

Reprints

• in The Bedside Mad (New American Library, 1959 series) #S1647 (April 1959)
• in The Bedside Mad (Warner Books, 1973 series) #6 (88-893) (April 1979)
• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)

Indexer Notes

"Potrzebie" appears several times in the text.

Script credit identified in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3.

Now...If You Join...You Get the Bulletin...Free! (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

E. C. Fan-Addict Club! / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Mad Mumblings / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

Letters of comment from John Davidson, Sparks NV; Charles Chapocon, Aiken SC; Bob Henning, Brooklyn NY; David Anderson, Washington DC; Daniel Markewich, New York NY; I. Carnel, Bay Saint Louis MS; Victor Goff, Ft. Bragg NC; Walt Place, Detroit MI.

Reprints

• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)

Indexer Notes

Script and colors credits confirmed in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3.

Wild 1/2 (Table of Contents: 7)

Hollywood Dept. / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Johnny [played by Marlon Branflakes]; Johnny's gang; a girl; the girl's father

Synopsis

Johnny and his gang give up motorcycles.

Reprints

• in Son of Mad (New American Library, 1959 series) #S1701 (October 1959)
• in Mad Special [Mad Super Special] (EC, 1970 series) #18 (1975) [Confirm: direction of reprint]
• in Son of Mad (Warner Books, 1974 series) #7 (88-760) (January 1979)
• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #5 (Fall 1998)
• in The Son of Mad (ibooks, 2003 series) (August 2003)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)
• in Mad's Original Idiots Wally Wood (EC, 2015 series) (2015)

Indexer Notes

Parody of the movie "The Wild One."
Colors credit confirmed in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3.

Captain Tvideo! (Table of Contents: 8)

TV Dept. / T.V. Dept. / Television Dept. / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed as JACK DAVIS)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Ben Oda

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Captain Tvideo; Venusian; Commissioner; Lone Ranger (cameo); assistant Ranger; commercial announcer

Synopsis

A parody of the Captain Video television program.

Reprints

• in Mad Strikes Back (Ballantine Books, 1955 series) #[nn] (May 1955), #491K (February 1961), #01564 (March 1969), #03373-6 (July 1973)
• in The Complete Color Mad (Russ Cochran, 1986 series) #3 (1987)
• in Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad (EC, 1997 series) #5 (Fall 1998)
• in Mad Strikes Back (ibooks, 2002 series) (March 2002)
• in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3 ([July] 2012)
• in Mad's Original Idiots Jack Davis (EC, 2015 series) (2015)

Indexer Notes

Colors credit confirmed in The Mad Archives (DC, 2002 series) #3.

Get Shop-Method Home Training (Table of Contents: 9) (Expand) /

National Schools Home Training / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Do You Need Money? (Table of Contents: 10) (Expand) /

Cheerful Card / Cheerful House Cards and Stationery / advertisement / 1 page (report information)

Hey Skinny! (Table of Contents: 11) (Expand) /

Charles Atlas Dynamic Tension System / advertisement / 1 page (report information)