Mad #148 (Albert Feldstein) Mad Paint Issue - January 1972

I think that the paint can and roller on the cover was the most clever part of this issue.  Mad editors have taken every opportunity to use their own cover as a joke going back to Mad #11 when editor Harvey Kurtzman (1924-1993) put the Basil Wolverton (1909-1978) girl on the Life magazine parody cover.

The issue opens with another good parody of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang ("If the Character in Peanuts Aged Like Ordinary People") and ends with a very ambitious parody of the Congressional Record.  This was the 21st parody of the Charles Schulz (1922-2000) comic strip dating back to 1955 when "Popcorn" was drawn by Will Elder (1921-2008).  One of the easiest targets of the Mad parody has also been drawn by Wally Wood (1927-1981), Bob Clarke, Jack Rickard (1932-1983), Angelo Torres and Ken Ernst (1918-1985).

Who else would try to parody the Congressional Record?  I doubt that any Mad readers have ever read the real thing.  In "The Daily Congressional Off-The-Record", writer Lou Silverstone attempts to expose failings of elected officials.  The article is mediocre at best but there are a few "Mad truths" in it.  With the advantage of retrospection, I credit Silverstone for the following truths in the interview with "Senator Lester J. Mildew."

1. In response to the question: "What do you think is the single most important problem facing a Senator or Congressman today?" Mildew states "Getting re-elected."

2. Regarding his majority stockholder position with the "Gung-Ho Flag Company", Mildew counters with: "Better you should do some explaining yourself, like how come you ain't wearing a flag in your label?  You some kind of commie peacenik?"

Do politicians read Mad?  They should. [JAM 3/4/2010]

Look for Linus, Harold Teen and Skeezix in "The Trauma of '42."

Bill Gaines (1922-1992) is the balloon in the Messy's Parade.

Departments:
Adding a New Wrinkle - If the Characteristics in "Peanuts" Aged Like Ordinary People
Hard-Core-Sell - When Madison Avenue Appeals to Extremists
Three to Get Ready - The Trauma of '42
Con Vex - The Great Escape Plot
Don Martin - Don Martin in a Playland; One Thursday Afternoon on the Moon
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Living Space
Fowl Play - Hawks & Doves
Escape Claus - Answers to Children's Letters - From Santa
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Pros And Poetry - Mad's Rhyming Guide to Pro Football
Inside-Ouch - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at an Underground Newspaper
Asleep on the Deep - A Mad Look at Water Beds
Turkey An' the Store - Messy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Senate And House Organ - The Daily Congressional Off-The-Record

Fold-In - Wire-Tapping