Mad #381 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Science Fiction Primer Issue - May 1999

The first Mad primer parody ("My First Reader") appeared in Mad #41 (1958) and was written by (uncredited) Tom Koch.  The artist was Joe Orlando (1927-1998).  The primer parody became a popular article format for Mad with SF being the 31st primer topic through May 1999.  Topics have included horror, Madison Avenue, mythology, celebrity, suburbia, hypocrisy, air travel, psychoanalysis, fads, marriage, ice hockey, bigotry, Richard Nixon, sex education, blow-your-mind, orthodontia, pollution, religion, bowling, tennis, crises, economics, success, running, soccer, wrestling, computers, disk jockeys and basketball. Larry Siegel wrote ten primer parodies for Mad and one for Help! ("My First Golden Book of God") in the period from 1959 to 1980. The science fiction primer was written by Desmond Devlin with excellent drawings by Mort Drucker.  SF primer subjects included Star Wars, The Terminator and the aging cast of 60 Minutes.  Devlin also wrote "The Diary of a Tomb Raider Fanatic" to complement Scott Bricher's  Lara Croft Cover.  This four-page diary should be on the bedside table of every insomniac.  And, the diary entry dates may have been easier to follow if they had been presented sequentially.  [JAM 8/19/2013]

Departments:
Star Croft Lovers - The Diary of a Tomb raider Fanatic
Hoop Schemes - How the NBA Plans to Win Back the Love of Their Former Fans
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... Las Vegas Part I
Who Gives a Flying Fact - Pop Up Porno Videos
Soy Story - Tofu Times
Hide 'N' Critique - Instant TV Reviews
The Plane Truth - Brutally Honest Flight Attendant Announcements
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Appraise the Thing - Scenes from the "Antiques Freakshow"
The Clods Must Be Crazy - The Paranoid Psychotic's Guide to Foiling Paparazzi
Unreal Estate - Introducing Gravel Vista Gardens
Generation Hex - "Sub-Brainy The Teenage Witch"
You've Got Male - A Mad Guide to Mr. Right and Mr. Wrong
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Hotels
Plan It Hollywood - Mad's Science Fiction Primer
Grieving Las Vegas - Mad's Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds

Fold-In - Home Run