Looking For Laughs: Written Comedy

 

At the same time I was discovering and embedding myself into SNL, SCTV, and other eccentricities, the written comedy format became an element that I began to explore in the early 1980's.

I often found myself a connoisseur of the parody.  Mad Magazine offered a lot that I enjoyed in the general humor department, plus some incredible art, but it was always the movie parodies that got me. 

Riffing on the overly serious films especially, it pointed at the artsy-fartsy with slapstick, however peppered with more than just a touch of sarcastic intelligence.  Nothing was safe from Mad.  Not even politics, which (probably as a youth that kind of humor was over my head) really makes me do double takes now at the sharp incisiveness Mad exhibited.  It probably garnered a shrug from me back then.

I would sit on the floor of my room, probably surrounded by my other comics, chortling at shots taken at Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and past parodies brought back to life in retrospective issues. Mad (and to a lesser degree, Cracked) showed me that when that search for laughter on TV wasn't satisfied, I could turn to the written periodical medium. 

Now Mad is mostly out of business, minus the periodic special that still gets released.  I'm saddened by that.  I'll never forget the humor and art of the Late Greats Duck Edwing, Mort Drucker, Jack Davis, (who did more than a few movie posters in his time), and Dave Berg.  Also, Will Eisner Award Hall of Famer Sergio Aragones put out amazing work, and is still kicking, and who could forget Al Jaffee, leader of the usual gang of idiots. 

Eras do pass, and it looks like Mad's, while still hanging on but just barely, is playing out its string.  Be strong folks, as their website is strong and lively, and with lots to offer.  I'm not alone, Twitter is ablaze with many famous folks in industries far and wide, who showed their support for the magazine as tales of its downsizing hit the newsfeeds. 

One can hope that at least some figment of its existence will continue to burn, like that stubborn ember in a stamped out campfire that refuses to give up its orange glow.