Mad #448 (John Ficarra) - International Spider-Man Issue - December 2004

Five comic book artists (Tom Fowler, Marcos Martin, Ale Garza, Tom Raney and Kagan McLeod) drew another Spider-Man concept by former Mad staffer David Shayne.  This one considers "When Spider-Man Goes Completely International.  Shayne presents five stereotypes of the superhero if operating in different countries: Ireland, France, Bermuda, Netherlands and China.  It is all so predictable and ordinary but the drawings by these great artists are superb.  To his credit, Editor Ficarra has brought different talents into the publication to expand the appeal of the world's greatest humor magazine.  This diversity is also evident in "Specially Redeeming Features Added to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas" that featured the work of four video game artists, if you like that sort of thing.  I searched for humor in that four-page article but did not find much that appealed to me.  Although the comic book and video game artists are welcome, I could do without the four-page, centrally-located ad for an XBox video game (Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space).  With 15 pages of full-page advertisements, this issue was sure to send Bill Gaines spinning.  [JAM 7/16/2014]

Color Pages: 52 of 64 pages (81%)
Humorous Content: 49 of 64 pages (77%)

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages 
Pixar And Pans - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at The Incredibles Studio
She Banks - Official Contestant Application for America's Next Top Model
We Bring You Fleetings - 15 Minutes of Fame ... Mad's Latest Batch of Has-Beens
This Old Mouse - Michael Eisner's PowerPoint Presentation for Saving Disney
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Chicks with Hicks - A Second-Rate Etiquette Guide to Trailer Trash Dating
Angster's Paradise - Monroe and ... The Reunion
A Pain in the Class - The Mad World of School
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Fear Factor
Dude, Where's My Carb? - If Ashton Kutcher Went on The Atkins Diet  [fake department]
Placate Station - Socially Redeeming Features Added to Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
Invitation.con - Britney Spears' Wedding Evite
World Wide Web-Slinger - When Spider-Man Goes Completely International
Plastic Makes Perfect - Cosmetic Surgeons Without Borders

Fold-In - Lindsay Lohan