Mad #405 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Joe Raiola Issue - May 2001

Joe Raiola came to Mad magazine with his writing partner, Charlie Kadau in 1985.  Editor Albert Feldstein liked the boys so much that he hired them as full-time members of his staff in the same year.  Dave Berg often used Raiola as the foil for one of his "Lighter Side of the Office" jokes.  In this issues, he has problems with his paycheck leading to a confrontation with current editors Meglin & Ficarra with Joe making a really bad logic joke about paycheck errors as Founder Bill Gaines watches from the frame on the wall.  At this stage of his career with Mad, most of Berg's jokes were old one-liners.  Tom Richmond continued to establish himself as the featured artist with great full-color work on "Traff-Eccch!"  The other outstanding artwork in the issue is the celebrity songsters drawn by Rick Tulka in "Instant Music Reviews".  Tulka's drawing of Whitney Houston (1963-2012) captures the essence of her full-throated singing style. [JAM 2/10/2014]

Color Pages - 31 of 56 pages (55%)
Humorous Content - 50 of 56 pages (89%)

 Departments:
Michael Drugless - Traff-Eccch
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Survivor II
I Can't Believe I Mutated the Whole Thing - Has Your Food Been Genetically Altered?
Grieving Las Vegas - Mad's Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds  [George W. Bush]
Apply Swatter - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a College Admissions Office
Chords And Defects - Mad's Instant Music Reviews
Tales From the Duck Side - The Legend of Beggar Vance; Oh Rubber, Where Art Thou?
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Wee the People - The Mad Urinary Tract Infection Primer  [fake department]
Beat the Press - Shrill's Content Subscription Ad
The Schmucks Stop Here - Melvin and Jenkins' Guide to School Spirit
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... The Treehouse
A Word to the Wise Guys - You Can Fuhgeddabout Becoming a Made Man in the Soprano Mob If
Patron Taints - Mad Closing Credits for a Typical Movie Theatre Audience
DNA-Holes - C.S.Oy

Fold-In - Alex Rodriguez