Debuting in August 1952 (cover-dated October–November),[1] Mad began as a comic book, part of the EC line published from offices on Lafayette Street in Lower Manhattan.
However, he was known as an exceedingly "hands-on" editor and a visual master, and thus many Mad articles were illustrated in strict accordance with Kurtzman's detailed layouts.
[6] A handful of other artists also contributed to the original run, including Bernard Krigstein, Russ Heath and most conspicuously among the non-regulars, Basil Wolverton.
[7] The first two issues of Mad spoofed only comic books and movie genres of romance, horror, sports and science fiction, without overtly specific references.
Since this new title also used Kurtzman's core trio of artists (Davis, Elder, Wood), the peeved editor felt that Panic sapped and diminished the creative energy necessary to meet Mad's production schedule.
According to popular myth, this was done to escape the strictures of the Comics Code Authority, which was imposed in 1955 following U.S. Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency.
His first issue as editor coincided with the debut of Don Martin: crucial longtime contributors such as prolific writer Frank Jacobs and star caricaturist Mort Drucker quickly followed.
Before the classic Mad staff was assembled, Feldstein also relied on celebrity guest contributions to attract attention and fill pages.
Some of these pieces, attributed to Bob and Ray, were actually the work of their main writer Tom Koch, who would flourish in Mad for decades under his own byline.
By the early 1960s, working with art director John Putnam and such notables as Antonio Prohias, Al Jaffee and Dave Berg well in hand, Feldstein had fully established the format that was to be a commercial success for decades.
Though some fans speculated about the secret meaning of the "M-IND" message, the truth was more prosaic: from 1957 on, the magazine was handled by Independent News Distribution.
Though technically an employee for 30 years, the fiercely independent Gaines was named a Kinney board member, and was largely permitted to run Mad as he saw fit without corporate interference.
For more than two years, subsequent issues labeled the normal-sized symbol with a series of humorous captions, such as "Closeup of the gap in Alfred E. Neuman's teeth" or "Hair of man watching horror movie.
Closely involved with DC licensing, Orlando had also been a staff artist with EC Comics in the 1950s, and a prolific contributor to Mad during the 1960s.
Orlando's Special Projects department at DC Comics hired Bhob Stewart to edit a new Mad Style Guide (1994), featuring artwork by Sergio Aragonés, Angelo Torres and George Woodbridge.
Mad editor John Ficarra joked that the move was in response to letters complaining that only every third issue is funny, "so we've decided to just publish those.
[20] In August 2015, the cover of Hillary and Bill Clinton, a parody of Mad Max: Fury Road, was praised highly by The Huffington Post,[21] Sun Times[22] and many other media.