John Benson Jay Lynch (4 results)

Softcover. Condition: Near fine. Like new. Preserved in plastic sleeve.

Trade Paperback. Condition: New. No Jacket. New Graphic Novel.

Softcover. Condition: Very Good+. First Edition. First printing, trade paperback, has slight bumps with a hint of creasing to the spine ends and corners, and some faint rubbing with a touch of edge wear to the covers. Overall, a solid, tight and clean, Very Good+ copy.

Paperback. Condition: New. âWhat, me imitated?âWhen MAD became a surprise hit as a comic book in 1953 (after the early issues lost money!) other comics publishers were quick to jump onto the bandwagon, eventually bringing out a dozen imitations with titles like FLIP, WHACK, NUTS, CRAZY, WILD, RIOT, EH, UNSANE, BUGHOUSE, and GET LOST. The Sincerest Form of Parody collects the best and the funniest material from these comics, including parodies of movies (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, From Here To Eternity), TV shows (Whatâs My Line, The Late Show), comic strips (Little Orphan Annie, Rex Morgan), novels (I, the Jury), plays (Come Back, Little Sheba), advertisements (Rheingold Beer, Charles Atlas), classic literature (âThe Lady or the Tigerâ), and history (Pancho Villa). Some didnât even try for parody, but instead published odd, goofy, off-the-wall stories. These earnest copiers of MAD realized that Will Elderâs cluttered âchicken fatâ art was a good part of MADâs success, and these pages are densely packed with all sorts of outlandish and bizarre gags that make for hours of amusing reading. The âparody comicsâ are uniquely ââ50s,â catching the popular culture zeitgeist through a dual lens: not only reflecting fifties culture through parody but also being themselves typical examples of that culture (in a way that Harvey Kurtzmanâs MAD was not). This unprecedented volume collects over 30 of the best of these crazy, undisciplined stories, all reprinted from the original comics in full color. Editor John Benson (who wrote the annotations for the first complete MAD reprints, and interviewed MAD editor Harvey Kurtzman in depth several times over the years) also provides expert, profusely illustrated commentary and background, including comparisons of how different companies parodied the same subject. Artists represented include Jack Davis, Will Elder, Norman Maurer, Carl Hubbell, William Overgard, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Bill Everett, Al Hartley, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, Hy Fleischman, Jay Disbrow, Howard Nostrand, and Bob Powell. Casual comics readers are probably familiar with the later satirical magazines that continued to be published in the â60s and â70s, such as Cracked and Sick, but the comics collected in this volume were imitations of the MAD comic book, not the magazine, and virtually unknown among all but the most die-hard collectors. For the first time, Fantagraphics is collecting the best of these comics in a single, outrageously funny volume. 208 full-color illustrations. …