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Future “No-Frills Air Travel Gimmicks” (MAD #169, December 1975)

Artist: Al Jaffee Writers: Dick De Bartolo & Al Jaffee

#Mad magazine #Al Jaffee #Dick DeBartolo #1975 #no-frills #air travel #funny #1970s #no frills

Goodbye, MAD: From Intern to “Idiot”

I first picked up a copy of MAD at my local library in elementary school. I was immediately hooked. As a kid who had already been attracted to comedy out of old sitcoms that were now in syndication, MAD echoed similar sentiments. Its artwork was attractive and its satire both pointed and funny and essential in helping shape my and many others’ senses of humor. While plenty of my friends may have been fixated on comic books, the superhero I was primarily interested in was Alfred E. Neuman.

In 2005, I was set to become a senior at Miami University and was headed to an obviously highly valuable degree in English Literature. I applied for several internships and, amazingly to me, MAD accepted my application. I had already been writing columns for the school’s newspaper, The Miami Student, that were more humor than perspective. I wanted to do the internship at MAD and now I had the opportunity to work in a building that was responsible for my comedic sensibility.

Monetarily, it was a terrible decision. It was an unpaid internship. However, I spent 6 weeks working in New York City, something overwhelming for a kid from suburban Cleveland to experience at the age of 20.

The internship proved valuable in a variety of ways to who I would become especially when it came to comedy. The offices were located at 1700 Broadway, right across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theater where The Late Show with David Letterman would film. I felt like I was on a corner every day that was a mecca of comedy and entertainment with Broadway being so close by.

It’s nice when certain people have an influence on you but it’s even better when those people ended up fitting who you are as well. Everyone at the MAD offices was kind. Associate Editor Amy Vozeolas nicknamed me “Bob” because my name was so complicated. The internship grounded me. It showed me that a person could be funny, critical, and satirical yet also be kind. My fellow interns had two very different personalities so it also proved to be helpful in continuing to show my place as an intermediary, capable of communicating, befriending, and working with a variety of others. I recall Editor John Ficarra saying, “If you want to write for MAD, you’ve got to read the Times,” and I thought that was ridiculous at the time but soon, in the midst of the Valerie Plame affair, I found myself regularly reading The New York Times and have ever since as it’s instrumental to have an understanding of society and the world as a comedian.

Interning at MAD also set a tone for me being a part of MAD. We weren’t treated like coffee bitches for everyone else as interns. Lines I contributed in meetings got put in to MAD Classics or the Letters to the Editor page. Each day, I worked on a project that allowed me access to the archives. It gave me a chance to look back on copies of the magazine I read as a kid or ones from before I was even born. Every day felt like a trip down memory lane.

Eventually, the internship was done and I returned to my senior year, but the internship opened the door for all of us to be freelance writers for MAD and to pursue comedy in this way. I continued with that for a couple years before stand-up comedy took over my life. I sold something that ended up in the pages of MAD about MySpace, I sold a story idea about Taco Bell sauce packets, I contributed jokes, and got plenty of rejections. I was now a comedy writer and a part of comedy and I was doing so with a publication that had been responsible for me loving comedy to begin with. I went from a fan to an intern to one of “The Usual Gang of Idiots.” It’s something that would frankly be amazing to that elementary school kid who picked up a copy of it some 15 years earlier.

Even in 2005, myself and the other interns knew the writing was on the wall for MAD. Print media as a primary source of information was on its way out and it was still unclear how the Internet would play a role in it. Remember, this was 2005. Facebook was still only for college students. MySpace was considered the supreme social media site but really didn’t equip itself well for media outlets.

Once Facebook expanded, YouTube and Twitter arose, it became clear how media and comedy were going to be distributed. Unfortunately, MAD was simply behind the times. Despite continuing to produce quality satire and art, they never had a true presence on social media for years. They never shared their content in ways other similar comedy publications and sites did. Some of that may be attributed to MAD’s staff but more of it can likely be attributed to DC Comics and whatever corporate entities were associated with decision making on MAD.

I recall during one meeting during my internship we were discussing what to name a new part of MAD where the staff had to make fun of certain products. These were clearly products that were paying for the advertising. It was an attempt by the corporate overlords to make MAD more like the far more popular at the time Maxim and perhaps more profitable. MAD readers saw through it and this feature in MAD faded pretty quickly.

So, I’m not privy to understanding who or why MAD didn’t have a major Internet presence for so long especially as what had become its target demographic (pre-teen to teens) were beginning to flock to the Internet for their entertainment. I sometimes wonder why MAD couldn’t have been as successful as The Onion has been in its presence on social media which has allowed for its sustainability.

But there is a flip side to it all and that’s that maybe MAD would have found itself in this position regardless. Cracked, MAD’s carbon copy adversary, even had a strong Internet presence but went through a series of layoffs last year. The same happened with Funny or Die. Even a seemingly successful comedy site on the Internet is still susceptible to falter with not enough revenue or corporate backing.

When DC Comics chose to move MAD’s offices to Burbank and re-brand, it actually seemed like an opportunity for a fresh approach. MAD looked great and now had more of a presence on social media with a new staff and even some new contributors. I even saw some things that were featured in the magazine get thousands of retweets on Twitter. But it apparently was just too little, too late.

On Wednesday, it was announced that MAD would be ceasing publication of new material following its next two issues and that it would no longer be available on newsstands. Only new issues containing older material will be shipped to subscribers. Why such a decision was made is beyond me and many other faithful MAD supporters but it seems clear once again that corporate interests are overshadowing reasonable thought.

That this announcement came the day before the 4th of July makes it even sadder because it’s the end of an American institution. MAD was instrumental to comedy, to satire, to counterculture, to rebellion, and the list goes on and on in its 67 years of existence in this country. It influenced so many people and comedians as evidenced by the outpouring of gratitude and sadness from prominent celebrities in the wake of the news.

So, there isn’t much to this other than to say thanks. Thanks to MAD for helping influence my comedic mind, for giving me a shot at an internship, for allowing me to become an “idiot” alongside influential “idiots” for me like Dick DeBartolo or Dave Berg. I have a special place among some esteemed comedy writers and I won’t forget that. Neither will most others as it sadly was my major stand-up comedy credit for way too many years.

Funny that Alfred E. Neuman always asked “What, Me Worry?” and now I became for comedy someone who says to everyone, “I’m Worried About You.” I now unfortunately have to worry about Alfred as well as he’s gone and won’t be what we once knew him as.

It’s a shame but, boy, what an impact he’s had on comedy and our country. If I could create a MAD Fold-In right now to end this I would, but instead, I’ll just leave you with this. “I’ll never wash these eyes again.”