Mad #146 (Albert Feldstein) - Special Polluted Issue - October 1971

Mad has never shied away from the problems of the country.  In this issue, articles are focused on pollution and other ills.  The cover shows Alfred in a smoggy haze and the logo is filled with garbage and industrial waste drawn by Al Jaffee.  Sy Reit and Angelo Torres presented their "Pollution Primer."  Lou Silverstone and Paul Coker, Jr. exposed the "Typical 'Middle American' Family."  And, the excellent back cover drawing by Jack Thurston featured "The Four Horsemen of the Metropolis" - drugs, graft, pollution and slums.

More truth from Mad: writer Max Brandel identified some American contradictions including "... where winners are losers" under photo of Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) " ... and losers are winners!" under photo of Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994).  I suffered through the assassination of Mr. Kennedy and his brother (and others); and I also suffered through the terrible Nixon administration.  In June 1968, I voted for the first time in the California primary.  I voted for Bobby Kennedy, watched his acceptance speech, and went to bed happy to rest for college finals the next day.  In the morning, my mother told me that Kennedy had been shot.  For years afterward, I displayed a large portrait of Bobby Kennedy in my room.

The best article of the issue is Dick DeBartolo's "Mad's Reality Street" with some of the best drawings ever by Jack Davis.  This television parody is better than the cover-advertised parody of that sappy movie, Love Story.  [JAM 3/2/2010]

Departments:
The Old Bawl Game - Lover's Story
Fowl Play - Hawks & Doves
Turning a Phrase - This Is America
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of the "Now Look"
Don Martin - The Very First Musical Instrument; One Day a Million Years Ago
Ecchology - The Mad Pollution Primer
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Hypocritic Oafs - Mad Interviews a Typical Middle American Family
A Hitch in Time - Recruiting Posters Through History
Inside-Ouch - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a Resort Hotel
Up-Chuckles - A Mad Look at Amusement Parks
Opened Sesame - Reality Street

Fold-In - Paint Brush