Mad (magazine)

Mad is an American humor magazine founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1974 circulation peak. As of July 6, 2015, Mad had published a total of 537 issues.

The magazine is the last surviving title from the EC Comics line, offering satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Its format is divided into a number of recurring segments such as TV and movie parodies, as well as freeform articles. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the magazine's cover, with his face often replacing that of a celebrity or character who is lampooned within the issue.

History

Mad began as a comic book published by EC, debuting in August 1952 (cover date October–November), and located in lower Manhattan at 225 Lafayette Street. In the early 1960s, the Mad office moved to 485 Madison Avenue, a location given in the magazine as "485 MADison Avenue". The title is trademarked in capitals as MAD.

The Mad Magazine Game

The Mad Magazine Game, titled Mad Magazine: The "What-Me Worry?" game on the cover, is a board game produced by Parker Brothers in 1979. Gameplay is similar, but the goals and directions often opposite to, that of Monopoly; the object is for players to lose all of their money. Play proceeds to the first player's right and the first player is determined by a left-handed roll for the lowest number. The game includes cards, money, dice, and tokens, and the game board features Alfred E. Neuman and illustrations from Mad magazine. By design, no conclusive strategy exists for the game, since even if a player is winning, several spaces and cards direct players to exchange money or chairs with others, causing advantages to be lost instantly.

The rules

To begin the game, after placing all tokens on Start and determining the first player, one player is selected to be the Banker ("preferably someone honest"), who gives $10,000 to each person to begin the game. The dice may only be rolled with the left hand, with a penalty of each other player giving that player $500 if dice are rolled with the right hand. Also, tokens move counterclockwise around the outside track. If moving clockwise, the player is informed that he or she is a nerd person, and may never play the game again.