Doohickamabob

Recently going through stuff from my dad's house and found one of my old Mad Super Specials that I'd forgotten about (and didn't realize I'd been missing all this time). It's the Winter 1980 special issue. The bonus materials are "Alfred E. Neuman for President" stamps/stickers. Pretty cool for kids who would prefer to vote for Alfie instead of Ronnie or Jimmy. Looking at the bonus, I realized something that I'd forgotten about long ago: My copy of this issue has an entire 2nd set of stamps/stickers because of a production mistake. Evidently a whole set of stamps were printed crooked, and somehow got inserted along with a set of properly-printed stamps. Kinda cool....I wonder if my copy is the only one like it? (Photos below.)

That's too bad, but I understand. Nice. You're not the first person I've heard that from. Even though it isn't the most highly valued in the Overstreet Price Guide, the issue with the full-size Alfred E. Neuman op-art poster has proven to be one of the toughest to find intact. The Zeppelin is a runner-up. I can only imagine how many kids' rooms and dorms had those as decorations. It would be cool to see a vintage photo of that. Those stamps are problematic if they were stored anywhere with a little humidity. Sometimes they would stick to themselves. Then you have to go and try to gently detach them from their folded-over counterparts.....it's like playing 'Operation' or something.

Beautiful copy, and my favorite of all the early Mad comics covers.

This is pretty much exactly the way I feel! The 'Nostalgic Mad' inserts were fascinating to me as a kid. Discovering the Mad material from the pre-magazine days blew my mind -- it seemed darker and meaner than anything in the regular Mads, in a fascinating way. Plus the art by Wood, Elder, Davis, Kurtzman, Wolverton etc. had more edge and chaos to it. That's fantastic that you have a full run of those. I am about 5 issues away from a full run now, thanks to a boardie who sold me several issues on my wantlist a few weeks ago. I never knew about the price variants, but yeah, maybe it's just a Canada thing. Trying to track down those variants is a level of hardcore collecting that might be beyond my concentration. Yeah, there are many issues I could stand to upgrade. The real challenge is not just all the Specials with inserts, but the Specials in FN+ or better grade, with the inserts fully attached to the spines, and without the fold-ins creased. Now THAT is a challenge. I'd really like to see a pic or two of the above hardcover runs. Are they stitched in somehow? (Lots of tiny pinholes woven to the book binding?) Just curious how that works. I like your idea of putting them in chronological order. That is a good way to keep similar design styles and bonus themes together.

Nice copy of that issue. I am also going to get a few of my Mad comics CGC graded, maybe sometime in the next month. I will be sure to post them here -- before/after shots or something like that. Keep the scans coming!

Earlier this year I tracked down a few of the Mad hardcover books from the late 1950s or so. Today I was sorting through stuff, and put them together for a small group shot. In chronological order, they're Mad for Keeps (1958), Mad Forever (1959), and A Golden Trashery of Mad (1960). Despite being a die-hard Mad freak, I didn't even know about the existence of these books for a long time. Turns out they're really cool, with thick-page reprint material from the early magazine issues. The brief, tongue-in-cheek intros by Ernie Kovaks, Steve Allen, and Sid Caesar give them some comedy-history clout too. Of the original Mad hardcover books, the only one I'm missing, that I'm aware of, is the Ridiculously Expensive Mad (1969). I might have to hold off from getting that one for a while, because I hear it's ridiculously expensive.

She looks soft and fuzzy.

EC's first horror comics (not counting Moon Girl #5...) and arguably the first successful horror comics in history. Stupendous grades.

There are some good ones Superb graphic! I haven't read through the thread yet, but you should definitely consider adding Zoot #9 to this grouping. (Bonus points for one of the women being dressed as a cat.)

$1725 according to Brian. Another strong finish for another eBay copy tonight. It's official: this book could potentially bypass(gulp) GCE12 as romance book #1 ?!?! Not really. A GCE 12 in this condition would fetch many thousands. A MRA 50 in 3.5 recently went for $130.00. No GCE 12 would ever go for so little. I request the occasional use of titles instead of acronyms so those of us with spotty memories can more readily understand the discussion.

That is VERY cool. Thanks for posting. I wish I had $10,000 burning a (ganja-scented) hole in my pocket.

That is practically 3-D.

Agreed, that is kick-.

Yours are most definitely outlandish, and by that I mean keep up the good work!

You mean a copy that they're willing to sell? Or just a high-grade copy? About 85% of my magazine issues of Mad are high-grade, from #24 up to about #300.

Very punny! Reminds me of the Games Magazine photo cover that is loaded with puns. They hired Playboy model Candy Loving as the centerpiece of the design, and had her wearing a slip covered with pictures of Sigmund Freud. Too bad you weren't involved -- you could have integrated the "camel tow" idea somewhere. Here is the cover, but it's only half of the photo. It's a fold-out cover. (In subsequent issues, Games got angry letters from readers complaining that this cover was too sexy and exploitative/degrading.... It simultaneously made a puns fan and Candy Loving fan out of me, though.)

Nice man! I love drawing lines, and getting lost in the ink. What kind of pen did you use? I had a fine-tipped Sharpie. The fumes left me a little woozy. I'll have to try one of those pens you posted.

When I was a kid, I was such a Mad freak that my family made fun of me. My uncle was an artist / designer for magazines and such, and one year he sent this artistic creation to me for my birthday. I have blurred out my name (actually, a goofy version of my name) but everything else is exactly as it appeared, though the glossy finish or whatever he used has turned light-brownish over the decades. Some of the text teases might not make sense, because they are part of in-jokes between my uncle and my dad (they were identical twins and practically had their own language). Anyway, this is proof that I have been a Mad geek ever since an early age. Pretty sad, really. Yeah, I did kinda look like this, complete with bowl-esque haircut, but my tooth wasn't missing. I should probably send this to Mad magazine -- maybe they'll put it in the letters page!

Stuck in a public waiting room.... Got fidgety...

Must.... resist... urge.... to say something snarky... in reference to.... your.... mom....

The black queen chants the funeral march, The cracked brass bells will ring; To summon back the fire witch To the court of the crimson king. Maybe she's a 21st Century Schizoid woman? She's a moon child who talks to the wind? Confusion will be her epitaph?

What you are missing: (1) Dimples! Dramatic, delicious, delectable, distinguishing....dimples! (2) She's probably the single most recognizable face to appear on multiple photo covers for romance comics. (3) She's super cute.....a real dollface... Dollface with dimples... (4) See #2. (5) Do not talk about Dimple Club. (6) DO NOT TALK ABOUT DIMPLE CLUB.

The black queen chants the funeral march, The cracked brass bells will ring; To summon back the fire witch To the court of the crimson king.

Still lotsa Bill Ward fans out here. The early posts were so thorough I don't think they left a lot of room for improvement.

I used to have a 9.2 (or was it 9.4? Long time ago...) I auctioned it for about $325 or something like that. Shoulda held onto it!