Mad #467 (John Ficarra) - Cars Issue - July 2006

What could be funnier than the personification of automobiles?  I am still waiting for animated movies about toasters, blenders and variable-speed power drills.  The movie, Cars and its sequel (wait for it) Cars 2 have grossed over $400 million.  This is the stuff that drives serious actors and directors crazy.  Mad writer Jacob Lambert thinks Pixar left a few "Rejected Characters from Cars" on the cutting-room floor and, writer Scott Maiko knows some "Little Known Facts, Rumors and Total Fabrications about Cars".  Better articles by Lambert in the issue are "Comparing the War in Iraq to Previous Wars", "Modern Hassles Superman Would Face if He Really Returned" and "Don't You Hate When Your Parents ..." [... take you to see Cars.].  I might have excused Mad for devoting so many pages to a lame movie concept except that the issue also served as an advertisement vehicle for Pontiac and Dodge.  The most significant aspect of this issue is the first appearance in Mad by future-president Barack Obama as drawn by Mort Drucker ("Resolutions in Congress You May Not Know About").  Other Drucker caricatures in the double splash-page are Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Ted Kennedy (1932-2009), Rick Santorum, Joe Biden, Tom Delay (with handful of money), Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Bill Frist, John McCain, Lindsay Graham, Ted Stevens (1923-2010) and Dennis Hastert.  [JAM 10/11/2014]

Can you find the 19 appearances by Superman (not counting Clark Kent)?

Color Pages: 58 of 60 pages (97%)
Humorous Content: 46 of 60 pages (77%)

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages
Return to Fender - Rejected Characters from Cars
Prose And Conflicts - Comparing the War in Iraq to Previous Wars
Derides And Attractions - Mad's Guide to Amusement Park Fun
The Folks on You - Don't You Hate When Your Parents ...
Can You Jeer Me Now? - Outrageously Stupid Cellphone Features and Accessories
Why Don't You Go to Health? - The FDA's Guide to the Best & Worst Choices in Fast Food
Jagged Little Bills - Resolutions in Congress You Might Not Know About
Truth, Justice and the American Oy Vey - Modern Hassles Superman Would Face If He Really Returned
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Fishing
Hive And Seek - Mad's Guide to Identifying Rashes and Other Skin Eruptions  [fake department]
In Blog We Trust - Planet Tad!!!!!
A-Hooooooooles! - The Sights and Sounds of the 2006 World Cup
The Weeks Shall Inherit the Mirth - How Does Jack Bauer Spend the Rest of the Month?
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Take This, Jobs, And Shove It - Little Known Facts, Rumors, and Total Fabrications about Cars
The Chat 'N Stat - Mad Deconstructs TV Talk Shows: This Month: The Daily With John Stewart
An Embarrassment of Richard's - A Message from the Naturally Oily American Gas Industry

Fold-In - Divorce Papers