Last Updated on August 5, 2021
When I was a kid, going to the local Genevese Drug Store was about two things: Picking up my delicious bubble gum-flavored amoxicillin and securing the latest issue of MAD Magazine. Whether the long-running humor publication was taking the piss out of the latest POTUS, lampooning the most outrageous personalities in pop culture, or delivering laughs with their "Spy vs. Spy," "The Lighter Side of …," or "A Mad Look at …" features, I was sure to snag myself a copy of every issue. As the years flew by, MAD Magazine evolved in its approach to humor, artistry, and representation of humanity's greatest follies and failings. I'll never forget the times I'd spent sitting in my bedroom, combing each and every page for "chicken fat," and good times. With all those sentiments said, it is with much sadness that I report that after 67 years of delivering crass laughs to the masses, MAD Magazine is coming to an end.
“There’s been an outpour of kindness surrounding the rumor that @MADmagazine is ceasing publication, but MAD is not quite done,” said former MAD Magazine Editor Allie Goertz in a tweet on July 3. “After the next TWO great new issues are released, MAD will begin publishing bi-monthly issues with vintage pieces and new covers.”
“While there will be no new material after issue #10, @MADmagazine is not gone,” Goertz continued. “I find it deeply sad to learn that there will be no new content, but knowing history repeats itself, I have no doubt that the vintage pieces will be highly (if not tragically) relevant.”
You can view Goertz's Twitter thread below, in which she goes on to thank the MAD team for all of their hard work throughout the years.
There’s been an outpour of kindness surrounding the rumor that @MADmagazine is ceasing publication, but MAD is not quite done. After the next TWO great new issues are released, MAD will begin publishing bi-monthly issues with vintage pieces and new covers.
— Allie Goertz (@AllieGoertz) July 4, 2019
Following Goertz's sentiments, MAD artist and writer David DeGrand posted his own take on the magazine's new status by saying that the over-the-top humor mag “isn’t shutting down but is only leaving the newsstand and will be sold to the direct market. The best thing to do is buy MAD and support it as much as possible, it’s not going away!”
I need to clarify the MAD rumors: MAD isn't shutting down but is only leaving the newsstand and will be sold to the direct market. The best thing to do is buy MAD and support it as much as possible, it's not going away!
— David DeGrand (@daviddegrand) July 4, 2019
While the near future of MAD Magazine appears to be clearly laid out by both Goertz and DeGrand, DC Entertainment, who publishes MAD, nor the magazine themselves have issued an official statement as to the institution of insanity shuttering its doors.
MAD magazine first arrived on the scene in 1952 as a monthly comic published by EC Comics, a label made famous for offering readers stories from the horror and crime genres. In time, MAD converted to a bi-montly schedule, after legendary EC Comics editor Harvey Kurtzman, who had established MAD from its inception, desired work in magazine publishing as opposed to comics. After successfully evading the newly established Comics Code Authority, a self-censorship mandate established by the comics industry that policed triggering-content during the 1950s, MAD was soon able to publish its rude, crude, and risque content outside of the CCA's influence. In time, MAD went on to sell millions of copies of its magazine, thereby establishing itself as a cornerstone of humor-related publishing.
As news of MAD shuttering its doors reached the masses, scores of celebrity readers and fans alike were quick to share their thoughts about the humor mag going the way of the dodo.
I am profoundly sad to hear that after 67 years, MAD Magazine is ceasing publication. I can’t begin to describe the impact it had on me as a young kid – it’s pretty much the reason I turned out weird. Goodbye to one of the all-time greatest American institutions. #ThanksMAD pic.twitter.com/01Ya4htdSR
— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) July 4, 2019
I hope people can understand what this means to us a nation; both as a culture and as a functioning critical society.
MAD wasn’t JUST a humor magazine. It’s not just the end of an era; it’s the end of… https://t.co/hwyhuZUt6X
— Bill Sienkiewicz (@sinKEVitch) July 4, 2019
Goodbye, Mad Magazine. Thanks for inspiring generations & generations of comedy & most of all, thanks for the laughs. There was a moment in so many of our childhoods where you were the greatest thing ever.#thanksMAD pic.twitter.com/ZJS8HxxqtF
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) July 4, 2019
MAD MAGAZINE
1952-2019
You and the “usual gang of idiots” will be missed. pic.twitter.com/DRgjyhuPLQ— (((Judd Winick))) (@JuddWinick) July 4, 2019
Hard to imagine a world without @MADmagazine– My older brother's collection helped me learn to read. It taught a generation how to question & mock the status-quo. An honor & a career highlight to be ridiculed mercilessly by that "usual gang of idiots" ??You Madly, Lube Skystalker pic.twitter.com/GvKpQszL7A
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) July 4, 2019
Growing up, my cousin John was the editor of #MADMagazine. Visiting his office was like going to a candy store. He’d bring me to the archives & tell stories & intro me to the writers & when I was 13 he actually put me in the mag as a kid wondering how Robocop goes to the bathroom pic.twitter.com/mqOkle1uMg
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) July 4, 2019
And of course, there was even a tweet from yours truly:
So long, Mad Magazine, and thanks for all the fish. pic.twitter.com/6g7dtKw8z9
— Steve R. Seigh (@dead_anchoress) July 4, 2019
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