DIG THESE 'CRAZY' MONSTERS! (PART 1)

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the phrase couldn't be any better illustrated than by the scads of comic magazines that emulated MAD, the ground-breaking humor magazine published by Bill Gaines' EC Comics.

Mad #1 - Cover by Harvey Kurtzman.

Before the days of a goofy-looking kid named Alfred E. Neuman appeared in its magazine-sized pages and "What, me worry?" became a phrase that nearly everyone was familiar with, MAD began as a regular-sized comic book, the first issue being published with a cover date of October-November 1952 and an on-sale date of July 10, 1952. Edited by Harvey Kurtzman, over the course of its 23 comic book issues it set the template for all manner of cartoon parody and satire. That it had razor-sharp (and very humorous) writers, as well as a stable of some of the best artists in the business didn't hurt its growing reputation, and became so popular that a second printing of #24, its first full-size magazine, was ordered.

Cracked #1 - Cover by Bill Everett.

Well, of course it didn't take long for other comic publishing companies to stand up and take notice, and soon MAD was being chased -- and not very closely -- by a crowd of competitors. Over the years, MAD was copied time and again until the format continued on even after it was published as a full magazine. Each competitor came and went -- some took a little longer than others -- and it wasn't until the Sol Brodsky-edited CRACKED magazine showed up almost a half-dozen years later, that a similar magazine had any staying power (CRACKED lasted for a total of 365 print issues from three different publishers, until November 2004 -- a distant second was Joe Simon's SICK at 134 issues).

Sick #1 - Cover by Joe Simon.

One of the earlier knock-offs was Atlas Comics' CRAZY, the first issue of which was published in December 1953 and edited by Stan Lee. This was no surprise as publishing czar Martin Goodman could never pass up a good idea and try to make it his own. Goodman is well known for flooding the comic book market with titles in order to capitalize on his sales.

What makes CRAZY interesting to monster fans is that there was at least one monster parody in each issue. CRAZY ran for a total of seven issues until the laughs -- and the sales -- stopped in July 1954. 

CRAZY #1

Cover art by Bill Everett.

Art by Bill Everett.

CRAZY #2

Cover art by Sol Brodsky.

Art by Bill Everett.

Art by Joe Maneely.

CRAZY #3

Cover art by Joe Maneely.

Art by Bill Everett.

CRAZY #4

Cover art by Joe Maneely.

Art by Bill Everett.

More CRAZY-ness tomorrow.