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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI remember when MAD Magazine would mock government actions, not essentially defend them.
This was also posted on their Facebook page. About half the FB comments take them to task.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/MAD-Magazine/115919138428537?ref=br_tf
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I remember when MAD Magazine would mock government actions, not essentially defend them. (Original Post)
tuvor
Aug 2013
OP
villager
(26,001 posts)1. Well, MAD is owned by Time Warner now
A shadow of its former self...
muriel_volestrangler
(101,295 posts)2. To think it was founded because of censorship of the media
Under the editorial direction of William Gaines, EC Comics in the early 1950s specialized in horror, sci-fi, and true crime comics, publishing classic titles such as Tales from the Crypt and Weird Fantasy. These comics featured twisting and twisted plots, boldly illustrated with strong lines and graphic images. In a repressed and fearful age, EC Comics openly addressed problems of racial segregation and arms proliferation. The lurid artwork and progressive themes finally proved too much for Dr. Fredric Wertham, who addressed the supposed threat comics proved to the youth of America in Sedcution of the Innocent. Fitting right in to the McCarthyism of the era, Werthams book led to a Congressional hearing on comic books. In an attempt to regulate and control his own product, Gaines banded with other publishers to form the Comics Code Authority. This pre-emptive strike backfired, howeverthe CCA decided that they needed to censor every comic that came out, and give it this stamp of approval (still seen on mainstream comics today!)
A disappointed Gaines quickly left the CCA but the damage was done. They ruled that comics couldnt be published with words like horror or weird in the title, effectively blacklisting ECs major titles.
Gaines continued to publish new comics like MD, and Psychoanalysis, but the CCA had poisoned the well. EC Comics went under, plagued by censorship battles and distribution problems. Gaines focused all of his efforts on MAD, turning it into a full-sized magazine in 1955. MAD Magazine has been in continuous publication for over 50 yearsalthough today the magazine prints paid ads. Yeah. That sucks, doesnt it? So MAD has succumbed to commercialismno wonder, considering that its the commodity name for such a crappy TV show. Even so, Ill always recall gleefully devouring Special Editions of MAD, reprint digests chock full of references I didnt get, thinking that I was gaining some forbidden knowledge. Maybe I was.
http://biblioklept.org/2006/11/15/ec-comics-censorship-and-the-comics-code-authority/
A disappointed Gaines quickly left the CCA but the damage was done. They ruled that comics couldnt be published with words like horror or weird in the title, effectively blacklisting ECs major titles.
Gaines continued to publish new comics like MD, and Psychoanalysis, but the CCA had poisoned the well. EC Comics went under, plagued by censorship battles and distribution problems. Gaines focused all of his efforts on MAD, turning it into a full-sized magazine in 1955. MAD Magazine has been in continuous publication for over 50 yearsalthough today the magazine prints paid ads. Yeah. That sucks, doesnt it? So MAD has succumbed to commercialismno wonder, considering that its the commodity name for such a crappy TV show. Even so, Ill always recall gleefully devouring Special Editions of MAD, reprint digests chock full of references I didnt get, thinking that I was gaining some forbidden knowledge. Maybe I was.
http://biblioklept.org/2006/11/15/ec-comics-censorship-and-the-comics-code-authority/
Sad to see it putting forward an authoritarian "Snowden has not been appropriately punished for his crimes" line.