Mad #287 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Roseanne Barr Issue - June 1989

Roseanne was a very good stand-up comedienne who became a successful albeit mediocre television star and a very poor singer (national anthem).  Her popularity was largely due to her everywoman persona and her off-screen genuineness.  Mort Drucker did his best with a rather lackluster storyline by Stan Hart ("Grossanne").  Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Linus van Pelt and Sally Brown made cameo appearances.  The double-splash page features framed photos of The Lockhorns, an obscure comic strip by Bunny Hoest and John Reiner, and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939).  Momma, a Mell Lazarus creation is shown on page six.  I am sure that Roseanne had a good laugh while reading this issue. 

The editors of Mad paid tribute to legendary comic artist, Will Eisner (1917-2005) by printing three pages from his City People Notebook.  Charlie Kadau, Joe Raiola and Dennis Wunderlin paid tribute to Al Jaffee and his "flatbug" (see Mad #107) on the back cover in "The Squashed Bug Collection."  Jaffee had the best joke in the issue with his crying photographs for "It's Never a Good Sign When ..." [JAM 10/19/2011]

Departments:
The Fats of Life - Grossanne
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Female Bodybuilders
Bench Pressed - Future Supreme Court Decisions
Guided Muscles - Specialized Nautilus Machines for Practical Everyday Activities
Tales from the Duck Side - The Unnerving Undertaker's Undertaking; The Refrigerated Rocky Run-Through; The Hideous Headsman's Horseplay
They Just Didn't Clique - Anonymous Groups That Didn't Make It
Neumanclature - Additions to the Dictionary
Excerpts Mark the Spot - Will Eisner's "City People Notebook"
Assess Pool - Consumer Reports Aimed at Special Interest Groups
It's Training Cats And Dogs - Stupid Pet Owner Tricks
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy (2)
Hardee-Har-Harbingers - It's Never a Good Sign
Vericose Encounters of the Absurd Kind - Kookoon - The Rehash
Not Off the Press - Headlines You Can Bet We'll Never See
Statues For Limitations - Academy Awards for Audience Members
Flim Flam - Not Playing

Fold-In - Shoe