Mad #418 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Spider-Man Issue - June 2002

Spider-Man starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe and James Franco was a blockbuster movie in 2002 grossing over $400 million.  Mad editors were right on top of this one with Mort Drucker Alf-Spidey on the cover and on the newsstands at the same time as the movie was receiving popular acclaim.  The seven-page movie parody ("Spider-Sham") by Dick DeBartolo is the best Mad movie parody of the millennium to date.  Artist Tom Richmond established himself as the super-hero king starting with a double splash-page that is loaded with Mad-style parody jokes as follows:

1. Editors Meglin and Ficarra are in the crowd scene with speaking roles.
2. Alfred E. Neuman is peeking from a window with his flyswatter at the ready.
3. The New York City taxi is on blocks with multiple scratches, bandages, bullet holes and, one terrified passenger.
4. "Batsman" (not Kilroy) left his mark on the building Spider-Sham is climbing.
5. Spidey has lost the button on his pajama-flap; has holes in his sock; and patches on his suit.
6. That web stuff is really Silly String.
7. Our hero uses suction cups on his knees and fingers to climb the building.
8. He dropped his sack lunch with the cheese-and-houseflies sandwich.
9. He has a "happy face" on his back and "objects in eyes are closer than they appear" on his visor.
10. A copy of Mad magazine is in the trash can.
11. Richard Simmons is in the crowd.
12. "Max Korn" is part of a telephone number.

There is more fun in the body of the parody with appearances by Stan Lee, Jesse Ventura, Marty Feldman (as Eyegor), Batman & Robin, Daredevil, Scrubs doctors Dorian & Turk, the Alf-parade-balloon, a spider that plays basketball, and the gravestone of Steve Ditko (who is not dead).  Spidey also gets the Sergio Aragones treatment with "A Mad Look at Spider-Man".

Another excellent article of note in this issue is "The 21 Hottest Internet Rumors Regarding Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" written by Arie Kaplan with the spectacular drawings of Hermann Mejia. [JAM 3/25/2014]

A significant number of moonings can be found on pages 6, 15, 19, 27 and 42. 

Look for Gumby in "Six Feet Blunder".

Departments:
Pained Webber - Spider-Sham
Tech-No Prisoners - 12 Signs You May Be Too Weird
The Wizard of Odd - Duke Bissell's Tales of Undisputed Interest
Red, White, And Boo-Boo's - Mad Examines Some Examples of Misdirected Patriotism
Car And Feathered - Drama on Page 20
A Jedi Towards the Future - The 21 Hottest Internet Rumors Regarding Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Angster's Paradise - Monroe and ... The Love Lesson
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
The Gays of Our Lives - 58 Reasons Why Rosie O'Donnell Should Go Back in the Closet  [fake department]
Separate But Evil - What Is a Terrorist?
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Spider-Man
The Brothers Grim - Six Feet Blunder
Ad Nauseum - The Mad Bulletin Board

Fold-In - Rodents