Mad #125 (Albert Feldstein) - Space Idiocy Issue - March 1969

Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey set the standard for special effects in 1968.  However, the story was a bit hard to follow at times.  Dick DeBartolo and Mort Drucker led off this issue of Mad with an inspired dig at Kubrick's story.  Mad parody artists and writers are at their best when tackling high-budget, popular mega-movies.

The other amazing article in Mad #125 is the poetry tour de force by Frank Jacobs who rewrote nine classic poems as if they were written by nine different, well-known poets ("The Mad Poetry Round Robin").  Jacobs seems to be able to create excellent parody poems and songs with uncanny regularity.  I could spend years trying to rewrite one classic poem and not come close.  Mr. Jacobs, I think I speak for all true Mad wordplay fans when I say: "We are not worthy!"

Look for Fred Flintstone in "201 Min. of a Space Idiocy."

Departments:
Slab-Schtick-Comedy - 201 Min. of a Space Idiocy
Don Martin - On the Golf Course; In the Hall of Fame
Deface Is Familiar - A Portfolio of Mad Portraits
Joke and Dagger - Spy Vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Teenage Dances
Odd-Ball in the Back Pocket - Tiny Tim's Purse Wallet
Who's Minding the Stork? - A Mad Look at Sex Education in Our Schools
Garbage Disposal - Mad's Book Publisher of the Year
Sport 'N' Blood - The Mad Hockey Primer
Tongue in Check - Me and My Big Mouth II
Shifting into Re-Verse - The Mad Poetry Round Robin
Status-Sphere - You Know You've Really Made It When
Pen and "Shrink" - If Comic Characters Were Psychoanalyzed

Fold-In - Shoe