HOWARD COSELL INTERVIEWS COSMO MANTRA FOR MAD MAGAZINE

Of all the artists that have "humorized" horror in their work, my favorite is Jack Davis (a close second goes to John Severin). My earliest memory was his series of  "Funny Monsters" (aka "You'll Die Laughing") Bubbles, Inc. (!) trading cards from 1959. At the time we didn't know Davis was the mastermind behind the cartoons, but my big sister and I would crack up at every one of the clever puns, aided and abetted by the illos.

Davis never stopped using monsters for his gags, and this example of original artwork from MAD magazine #232 (July 1982) shows that he was still using them in his work. With a script by Frank Jacobs, Davis takes us on a hilarious journey deep inside the magical, mystical world of the New Age movement (no pun intended) with famous sportscaster Howard Cosell taking a tour of Cosmo Mantra's circus of "Occult Enterprises". It's not hard to see that Davis' Mr. Mantra is inspired by a certain Uncle from the Warren side of the publishing industry.


Now, on with the show!

Mad #232 cover by Jack Rickard.