Mad began as a comic book published by EC, debuting in August 1952 (cover date October–November). The … See more

Though there are antecedents to Mad's style of humor in print, radio and film, Mad became a signature example of it. Throughout the 1950s, Mad featured groundbreaking parodies combining a sentimenta… See more

Mad is known for many regular and semi-regular recurring features in its pages, including "Spy vs. Spy", the "Mad Fold-in", "The Lighter Side of ..." and its television and movie parodies. The magazine has also includ… See more

The magazine has been involved in various legal actions over the decades, some of which have reached the United States Supreme Court. The most far-reaching was Irving Berlin et al. v. E.C. Publications, Inc. In 1961, a g… See more

Mad was long noted for its absence of advertising, enabling it to satirize materialist culture without fear of reprisal. For decades, it was the most successful American magazine to publish ad-free, beginning … See more

Mad has provided a continuing showcase for many long-running satirical writers and artists and has fostered an unusual group loyalty. Although several of the contributors earn far more than their Mad pay in fields such as tel… See more