Mad #51

(December 1959)

One Kind of Husband...Two Kinds of Underwear (Table of Contents: 1)

Hames / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Eddie Fisher; Elizabeth Taylor; Debbie Reynolds

Synopsis

Satire on Hanes underwear ads.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #3 (1960)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997) [from inside front cover]

Indexer Notes

Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.
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

Indexer Notes

Art is excerpts from this issue.

Do Your Christmas Shopping Early (Table of Contents: 3)

MAD Christmas Gift Mart / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Lester Krauss (photo)

Inks

Lester Krauss (photo)

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

Ad for all types of MAD merchandise, including subscriptions.

Indexer Notes

Main photo appears to be of various MAD staff members, from the same photo session as last issue, at the Cup 'n Saucer Coffee House, New York, NY.

Random Samplings of Reader Mail (Table of Contents: 4)

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

Script

Charles S. Strong (credited as Charles Stoddard); Stephen Sullivan (credited as Sullivan); Chic Stone (credited as Stone)

Pencils

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood); Bob Clarke; Kelly Freas

Inks

Wally Wood (credited as Wallace Wood); Bob Clarke; Kelly Freas

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

Letters of comment, many about issue #49.

Indexer Notes

Art is excerpts from previous issues.

The letters were written by Julie Carroll, George Ainslie, Josh Zerlin, Robert Canning, Jane High, Don Gerson, Stanley Stone, Barry Signoretti, Ken Rose, Ray Soudant, Steve Schlessinger, and Judy Arnold.

Advertising Slogans Will Replace Everyday Conversations (Table of Contents: 5)

Gray Flannel-Mouth Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Mr. Sternwallow; Mr. Brooks; Sydney; Gladys; Casey Stengel; Whitey Ford; Bob Turley

Synopsis

Shows how advertising slogans can be used in many different situations to replace ordinary conversation.

Indexer Notes

signed on typewriter on first page

The Man With The Sprung Neck (Table of Contents: 6)

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

Script

Don Martin (signed)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed)

Inks

Don Martin (signed)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A man with his neck out of place visits two doctors, who end up winding him up like a toy top.

The Night The Price Is All Right Has An Unexpected Guest (Table of Contents: 7)

Lights, Camera, Auction Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Mort Drucker

Inks

Mort Drucker

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Bill Culon; Mrs. Kravitch; Mr. Getzoff; Mr. Ogilvie; Mr. Sfortz; Mr. Furd; President Eisenhower (on phone)

Synopsis

Parody of the TV show "The Price Is Right", in which an uncharacteristically unexcited guest nearly ruins the show.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages. Feature heading is changed from "Lights, Camera, Auction Dept."]

Painting By The Numbers (Table of Contents: 8)

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

Script

Al Jaffee

Pencils

Bob Clarke (signed)

Inks

Bob Clarke (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Shows how the principles of paint-by-number art could be applied to other endeavors such as surgery, cooking, creative writing, and wrestling.

Reprints

• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]
• in Mad (BSV - Williams, 1967 series) #83 (März 1976)

A MAD Treasury of Unknown Poetry Volume 2 (Table of Contents: 9)

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

Script

Tom Koch

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Parodies of famous poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Rudyard Kipling and others.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]
• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)

Indexer Notes

Poem titles are: Insomnia, The Spaniel, The Barefoot Fink, When I was A Used Car Salesman, On The Road To Louisville, and Killer Boy Furd.
References Volume 1 in MAD #43.

The Great Hotel Fire (Table of Contents: 10)

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

Script

Don Martin (signed)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed)

Inks

Don Martin (signed)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Some completely inept firemen manage not save a single person jumping from a building on fire.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]
• 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)

Testing Civilians For Space Flight (Table of Contents: 11)

Solar Perplexus Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Lester B. Cowznofski

Synopsis

Testing the theory that the most difficult part of long space flights for people to deal with is withdrawal from their usual patterns of life, researchers discover an even bigger problem.

Reprints

• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages. Signature removed.]

Scenes We'd Like To See: Driving The Golden Spike (Table of Contents: 12)

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

Script

Eugene St. Jean

Pencils

George Woodbridge (signed as G. Woodbridge)

Inks

George Woodbridge (signed as G. Woodbridge)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

An engineering error ruins the final connection of the trans-continental railroad.

Reprints

• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]
• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)
• in Mad for Decades (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2007 series) (2007)

The MAD Guide To Handwriting Analysis (Table of Contents: 13)

Scrawl's Well That Reads Well Dept. / text story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs

Pencils

Bob Clarke (signed)

Inks

Bob Clarke (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Tommy Furd; Jimmy Mung; Sidney Zorch; Alfred E. Neuman (handwriting); Herman Finster

Synopsis

Shows how handwriting reveals a person's soul, prospects for success and other information...or not. Some samples are Alfred E. Neuman writing in a diary about Moxie Cowznofsky.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)

TV Ads We'd Like To See: The Schleppe's Commercial (Table of Contents: 14)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody; humor

Characters

Commander Whytehead

Synopsis

Parody of Schweppe's mixers ad.

MAD Looks At Adult Education (Table of Contents: 15)

Blackboard Bungle Dept. / text story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Paul Laikin

Pencils

George Woodbridge

Inks

George Woodbridge

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

Parody of course offerings at adult schools, featuring the more practical offerings in the Course Bulletin for Potrzebie High School Division of Adult Education.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)

Indexer Notes

Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

Hide-A-Bed (Table of Contents: 16)

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

Script

Dave Berg (signed)

Pencils

Dave Berg (signed)

Inks

Dave Berg (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

The concept of a bed that folds out from a sofa or chair is extended to place beds in other items of furniture, and then to other items besides beds being folded up.

Reprints

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

Madison Avenue Turns To History And Literature (Table of Contents: 17)

Pros For The Cons Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Bob Clarke (signed)

Inks

Bob Clarke (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

Parodies of various magazine ads using history or literature as motifs.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]

Indexer Notes

Products used are Bufferin pain reliever, Miss Clairol hair color, Colgate toothpaste, and Winston cigarettes.

Grandstand Football (Table of Contents: 18)

Way Off-Side Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs

Pencils

George Woodbridge (signed)

Inks

George Woodbridge (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Monroe Fernfeather; Delbert (Biff) Smeed; Spencer (Go-Go) McNulty; Beauregard Finster; Ardsley Waxwing; Barney (Rah-Rah) Windlass; Kyle Esterhazy; Barclay Brisk; Jasper C. Van Flick

Synopsis

Discussion of the actions of the spectators in the stands during a football game, as if they are playing a game. Rules, player positions, and some of the great players are highlighted.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]

Teenage (Table of Contents: 19)

Pomp-Adore Dept. / text story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Murray Blech; Phoebe Newt; Yetta Blintzner; Monty Monroe; Myron Goraz; George Jessel; Steve Vance

Synopsis

Parody of magazines targeted towards teenagers.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Greasy Mad Stuff (New American Library, 1963 series) #D2343 (October 1963) [Reformatted to fit smaller pages.]
• in Mad about the Fifties (Little, Brown, 1997 series) (1997)

The Escaped Convict (Table of Contents: 20)

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

Script

Don Martin (signed)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed)

Inks

Don Martin (signed)

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Several G-men bumble a search for someone disembarking from a train.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• 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)

New Singers For Old Songs (Table of Contents: 21)

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

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Matching song titles to celebrities' personalities.

Indexer Notes

Appear on 38 pages in the issue.

Announcing The Birth Of A New Brainchild (Table of Contents: 22)

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

Script

?

Pencils

Wally Wood; ? (photo)

Inks

Wally Wood; ? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

House ad for new paperback book, the 7th in the MAD series.

Indexer Notes

A small image, by Wallace Wood, is from some previous issue.
Inside back cover.

...Paying For A Diamond Is Forever (Table of Contents: 23)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Colors

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

Parody of DeBeers Diamonds ads.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)

Indexer Notes

back cover