SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
The publication was founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, but it was Al Feldstein, who took over for Kurtzman and led the magazine for almost 30 years, who brought the outlet to national -- and international -- prominence, especially in the 1970s.
It peaked at 2.8 million subscribers in 1973, but had just 140,000 left as of 2017.
As news of the magazine's closure trickled across the internet, several contributors eulogized the publication. David DeGrand, a writer and artist who contributed to the magazine, was one of the first to confirm on Twitter the magazine was ending as rumors began to grow.
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
Mad Magazine to Stop Publishing Issues with New Content this Fall
|
Log In/Create an Account
| Top
| 25 comments
| Search Discussion
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Logicians have but ill defined
As rational the human kind.
Logic, they say, belongs to man,
But let them prove it if they can.
-- Oliver Goldsmith
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Friday July 05 2019, @10:29AM (2 children)
I have quite a few issues from the 70's and/or 80's; every once in a while I used to drag one back out and have a chuckle. I hadn't done that in quite a while. Then about a year ago, a nephew gave me a recent issue for a present, as it had satirized something I was a fan of. Aside from appreciating the thought, the magazine itself, which I read cover to cover... it was pretty awful. IMHO, that was a result of the very adjustment you refer to.
The humor was notably less sophisticated — and less humorous — and the attempts at peripheral edge cleverness that used to be so delightful fell entirely flat. I was kind of appalled, so I went back and grabbed an old one at random off the shelf. No, I hadn't misremembered or altered my POV; the new issue really was pretty awful by comparison. Heavy handed, grasping at cultural relevance and missing the brass ring over and over. The key to Mad, it seems to me, was that it was clever, madcap and lighthearted. The recent issue was none of that. Sarcastic and mean, yes. Clever, madcap and lighthearted... no.
I think they just lost their touch. Funny is still funny. They just weren't funny any longer.
--
Knock softly, but firmly. I like soft, firm knockers.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 05 2019, @03:40PM (1 child)
Sarcastic and mean, yes. Clever, madcap and lighthearted... no.
I think that sums up what I dislike about this latest generation of humor. It is not nice where we laugh at ourselves. It is mean and shallow and meant to show you which 'side' you belong to. It is humor that beats you over the head saying laugh damnit I am trying to be funny. While missing the mark. It is the humor of a narcissist who does not quite understand it and thinks they are witty because all of their friends tell them they are.
This video sort of shows what I am talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxa2tOWs6w [youtube.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Friday July 05 2019, @06:59PM
Reminds me of when I was introduced to the work product of Andrew Dice Clay. [wikipedia.org] My thought was, "This isn't funny, this guy is just looking to tear the listener's comfort zone into shreds."
You can be topical and culturally relevant while being funny: George Carlin [wikipedia.org] was a master at this. He could make you think while you were laughing, and without tearing up your state of mind. Most of the time, he did exactly that.
I miss that guy.
--
If you take the word "salad" and change only five letters, you get "pizza."