Mad #54

(April 1960)

How We Retired at the Age Of 11 With $800 a Month (Table of Contents: 1)

comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Synopsis

Parody of ad for Phoenix Mutual Insurance.

Reprints

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

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.
Writer credit from "Totally MAD" CD collection.

Departments (Table of Contents: 2)

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

Script

?

Pencils

various (see Notes)

Inks

various (see Notes)

Letters

typeset

Synopsis

table of contents

Indexer Notes

Art is excerpts for various stories in this issue.

It's Better To Give Than To Receive (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

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

You Get Nine Issues For The Price of Eight (Table of Contents: 4) (Expand) /

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

Random Samplings of Reader Mail (Table of Contents: 5)

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

Script

Al Feldstein; David Barbour

Pencils

Kelly Freas; Ivan Ludington Jr. (photo); ? (photo)

Inks

Kelly Freas; Ivan Ludington Jr. (photo); ? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Characters

Fred Astaire [as Alfred E. Neuman]; Barrie Chase

Synopsis

Letters of comment, many about issue #52, and comments on a recent Fred Astaire TV show where he appeared in an Alfred E. Neuman mask.

Indexer Notes

One image is an excerpt from previous issue.

The letters were written by Douglass Dunn, Richard Nagle, J. G. Cummins, Ivan Ludington, Jr., Gary Auten, Marie Woods, Lon Pinkowitz, Ken Boldt, A. J. May, Curtis Croulet, Dave McClelland, and Mrs. Tom Woods.

A Lovable April Fool (Table of Contents: 6) (Expand) /

Alfred E. Neuman / promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.17 page (report information)

If You're Looking For Laughs... (Table of Contents: 7) (Expand) /

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

Ad Testimonials From Politicians (Table of Contents: 8)

Dollar Diplomacy Dept. / comic story / 4 pages (report information)

Script

Tom Koch

Pencils

Bob Clarke

Inks

Bob Clarke

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

John F. Kennedy; Richard Nixon; Harold Stassen; Adlai Stevenson; Harry Truman; Jim Hagerty

Synopsis

Ads we might see if politicians made paid endorsements of consumer products.

Indexer Notes

Products used are Vitalis hair tonic, Blatz beer, Wheaties cereal, Bausch & Lomb contact lenses, Gillette razors, and Acme School of Ventriloquism.

Magician (Table of Contents: 9)

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 magician disappears when all the animals he was hiding on his person leave.

Reprints

• in Three Ring Mad (New American Library, 1964 series) #Y6197 ([circa 1970])
• 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)
• in Mad's Greatest Artists: Don Martin (Running Press Book Publishers, 2014 series) (2014)

How I Turned $6.85 Into A Zillion (Table of Contents: 10)

One for the Bucks Dept. / text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee (credited as William Nickelnurser)

Pencils

? (photo)

Inks

? (photo)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

William Nickelnurser

Synopsis

Parody of ad for real estate "get rich" books.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)

Around The World With U.S. Television (Table of Contents: 11)

Variations On A Screen Dept. / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed); Bob Clarke (signed); Wally Wood; Kelly Freas (signed); Mort Drucker (signed); Dave Berg (signed); Don Martin; George Woodbridge (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Uncle Sam (cameo); Tim; Marjorie; Batty; Buz; Catty; Rilley; Timothy; Maude; Beatrice; Herbert; Kate; Sir Cedric Koukie; Brigitte; Henri; Paladinawa; Mishuginov; Timolikov; Dorschka; Ivan; Vladimir

Synopsis

A typical "Father Knows Best" type of TV show plot and how it might be redone using stereotypes of people in Britain, France, Japan, and Russia.

Indexer Notes

Some characters not named.

The Interpreter (Table of Contents: 12)

Nyets To You Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Arnie Kogen

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Nikita Khrushchev; Dwight Eisenhower; Jimmy Cagney; Mort Sahl; Jack E. Leonard; Gary Cooper

Synopsis

How international diplomatic conversations might turn out if celebrities, in character, were used as interpreters.

Educational Billboards (Table of Contents: 13)

Roads Scholar Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Tom Koch

Pencils

Bob Clarke (signed)

Inks

Bob Clarke (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Slyly including educational content in highway billboards.

America Is Getting Soft (Table of Contents: 14)

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

Script

Dave Berg

Pencils

Dave Berg

Inks

Dave Berg

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Dave develops the thesis that as the US becomes fatter and lazier, and ends up driving everywhere instead of walking, we'll become pushovers for the lean hungry barbarians, just as ancient Rome did. Only our invaders will be from the east (oriental).

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Three Ring Mad (New American Library, 1964 series) #Y6197 ([circa 1970])
• in Dave Berg's Mad Trash (Warner Books, 1977 series) (September 1977)
• in Dave Berg's Mad Trash (EC, 1981 series) (1981)

Indexer Notes

Uses small in-house personal scooters to ride, foreshadowing the Segway.

Garbage (Table of Contents: 15)

A Heap 'O Livin' Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs

Pencils

Bob Clarke (signed)

Inks

Bob Clarke (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A collection of peoples' garbage arranged so that the right-hand page shows the results of the lifestyle lived on the left-hand page.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)

Distinctive Picket Lines (Table of Contents: 16)

Workers Of The World, Rewrite! Dept. / comic story / 3 pages (report information)

Script

Frank Jacobs

Pencils

George Woodbridge (signed)

Inks

George Woodbridge (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Alfred E. Neuman

Synopsis

Specialized picket signs for various professions.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Three Ring Mad (New American Library, 1964 series) #Y6197 ([circa 1970])

My Fair Ad-Man (Table of Contents: 17)

Shaw-Fired Plot Dept. / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Nick Meglin

Pencils

Mort Drucker (signed)

Inks

Mort Drucker (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Officer Einsfoot; Henry Higgenbottom; Charles Pickerwick; Irving Mallion

Synopsis

The musical "My Fair Lady" is retold with two ad-men trying to give a makeover to a beatnik.

Reprints

• in The Worst from MAD (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)
• in Three Ring Mad (New American Library, 1964 series) #Y6197 ([circa 1970])
• in Mad for Decades (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2007 series) (2007)

Indexer Notes

Characters are drawn as: Officer Einsfoot [Dean Martin]; Henry Higgenbottom [Cary Grant]; Charles Pickerwick [?]; Irving Mallion [Frank Sinatra]

Mail By Missile (Table of Contents: 18)

Spatial Delivery Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Sy Reit

Pencils

Bob Clarke

Inks

Bob Clarke

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

The disasters that could follow using missiles for mail delivery.

The Hero (Table of Contents: 19)

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

Script

Don Martin (signed)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed)

Inks

Don Martin (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

A man tries to be a hero before understanding the situation...ending in tragedy.

Doctors' Progress (Table of Contents: 20)

Thar's Gold In Them Thar Ills Dept. / comic story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Al Jaffee

Pencils

George Woodbridge (signed)

Inks

Joe Orlando (signed); Bob Clarke (signed); Wally Wood; Kelly Freas (signed); Mort Drucker (signed); Dave Berg (signed); Don Martin; George Woodbridge (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Comparisons between seeing your local doctor in the second half of the 1800s and today.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)
• in Three Ring Mad (New American Library, 1964 series) #Y6197 ([circa 1970])

Movie Land (Table of Contents: 21)

Stars And Tripe Forever Dept. / comic story / 5 pages (report information)

Script

Larry Siegel

Pencils

Joe Orlando

Inks

Joe Orlando

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Sal Mineo; Elsa (Baklor ?); Arnold Stang; Louella Parsnips; Biff Bopp; Kim Storch; Edd "Kookie" Byrnes; Winston Churchill; Lance Boyle; Phoebe Bebe; Gary Crosby; Fabian; Tony Curtis; Rock Cowznofski; Cary Grant; The Three Stooges

Synopsis

Parody of typical Hollywood star gossip magazines.

Reprints

• in More Trash from Mad (EC, 1958 series) #4 (1961)

Indexer Notes

Rock Cowznofski is drawn to resemble Alfred E. Neuman as Clark Gable.

Uncle Herman And The Coke Machine (Table of Contents: 22)

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

Script

Don Martin (signed)

Pencils

Don Martin (signed)

Inks

Don Martin (signed)

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Synopsis

Uncle Herman has a nose that could work as a bottle opener...and it does.

Here's Your Chance To Get A Head (Table of Contents: 23) (Expand) /

Alfred E. Neuman bust / promo (ad from the publisher) / 1 page (report information)

MAD "Y'OX" (Table of Contents: 24)

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

Script

?

Pencils

?

Inks

?

Letters

typeset

Genre

humor

Characters

Marginal Marvin

Synopsis

Captions with arrangements of "X"s and "O"s as the art.

Indexer Notes

Appears in the margins of 25 pages.

The Man In Command (Table of Contents: 25)

Aspire Boot-Lick Polish / comic story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Inks

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting); C. C. Beall Jr. (painting); J. Fred Muggs (painting); Norman Mingo (signed) (painting)

Colors

Kelly Freas (signed) (painting)

Letters

typeset

Genre

satire-parody

Characters

Commander Fenwick Sternwallow

Synopsis

Parody of Esquire Boot Polish "Ship's Officer" ad.

Reprints

• in The Ridiculously Expensive Mad (The World Publishing Company, 1969 series) (October 1969)

Indexer Notes

back cover