On our date this past Tuesday, my boyfriend @pyrokenes1s gifted me one of the greatest things I could ever ask for: MAD No.60 from January 1961. For those unfamiliar, this issue is incredibly important for a few reasons.
Starting from the obvious, this issue has no back cover, but two front covers. It was released to the public on the 9th of November - the same day as the results from the 1960 election were announced-meaning that the folks at MAD had the opportunity to congratulate whoever won. Obviously they wouldn't have known who to congratulate during the process of producing the issue so they made separate front covers for both Kennedy and Nixon, half the pages in one direction and the other half in the opposite. It was instructed for the issue to be flipped to display the correct side when it hit the stands. To paraphrase their own words, they would have been on the winning side in either outcome.
This issue is also very special in another way, as it was the first time Spy vs Spy had ever been published. Not only the very first comic, but the first three are featured. Here are them in order:
The quality of the magazine isn't perfect, but it's in very good condition considering it's been 60 years since it went on newsstands. The cover has a few wrinkles and a couple small tears on the edges as well as the entire magazine having discoloration due to age, but other than that, everything printed seems to have remained pristine. It's amazing that my boyfriend managed to spot this gem, especially when so many magazine copies much more recent in antique stores tend to be considerably damaged. I'm beyond grateful.