Mad #205 (Albert Feldstein) - Grease Issue - March 1979

Jack Rickard still can't draw a caricature of John Travolta (see also cover of Mad #201).  One would think that this silly teenage musical would be a great subject for a Mad parody.  Such was not the case.  Writer Stan Hart was apparently just going through the motions using the same old jokes over and over.  In a seven-page article, we got seven oily hair jokes (Travolta) and seven dull & pale girl jokes (Olivia Newton-John).  In addition, we were subjected to four references to Travolta's previous movie (Saturday Night Fever).  Mort Drucker's drawings were wonderful as always.  He managed to find room for Eve Arden (1908-1990) of Our Miss Brooks, Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back, Kotter and of course, Snoopy.  [JAM 9/28/2010]

The Mad logo for the newsstand magazine was red.  However, the logo was shown as yellow in various publications that reprinted Mad covers.  Mr. Ed Norris, editor of Mad Panic, explained this to interested parties on January 10, 2001 as follows:

"As you may remember, Mike Slaubaugh noticed that Mad Cover to Cover pictured Mad #205 with a yellow logo.  Here's the facts behind this cover.  Mad has pictured issues of Mad #123 and 205 with covers that were not released.  These issues' images are printer proofs.  In the case of #123, pictured in Completely Mad, the proof has a different number 1,376,485/2,210,000.  This printer proof was bound into Mad's file copies and Maria Reidelbach photographed it for her book.  Mad knew it was just a proof so they decided not to use it in the Mad Cover to Cover book.  Mad #205, pictured in Completely Mad and Mad Cover to Cover, has the unpublished cover with a yellow logo.  This proof didn't get bound in Mad's file copies.  Mad used Maria's slide for that proof cover, unaware that there was a difference in logo colors.  Charles Kochman, Editor of Licensed Publishing for DC Comics and Mad Magazine verified these facts."

Departments:
The Oily Fifties - Cease
Don Martin - Early One Morning in South America; One Cold Afternoon Outside Buffalo; One Night in the L.A. Bus Terminal
Underplay-By-Play - Insignificant Moments in Sports
Guided Miscellany - Consumer Reports for Government Purchasing Agencies
Givin' 'Em a Ribbin' - Mad Medals of the Issue (Doctors)
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Snow
Gim-Mimicry - Recycled Magazine Articles
Brave New Whirls - Really Dangerous Stunts We'd Like to See Evel Knievel Do on TV
Stump of Approval - Other Election Campaign Acts
Rhyme with a Reason - Mad Greeting Cards for Very Special Occasions
Through Prose-Colored Glasses - Some "Joy of ..." Books We Could Really Use
Claus And Effect - Kids' Letters to Santa After Xmas
Press And Jerk - Lou Grouch

Fold-In - Sugar