Mad #479 (John Ficarra) - Pirate Issue - July 2007

Who doesn't love a pirate?  Owners of ships delivering luxury goods, perhaps.  The first pirate movie was The Pirate's Gold directed by David Llewelyn Wark Griffith (1875-1948) in 1908.  Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939) gained fame in The Black Pirate in 1926, and Errol Flynn (1909-1959) swashbuckled his way through Captain Blood in 1935.  There were 35 pirate movies released in the 1950s.  One would think that the world had seen enough pirate movies but then Walt Disney Pictures executives had the brilliant idea to develop blockbuster movies based on a theme park ride.  The rest is history.  Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow has overacted his way through four of these movies to date and there is no end in sight as number five is slated for release in 2017.  Mad editors largely ignored the first two Pirates of the Caribbean movies but were quick to react when the third of the supposed trilogy arrived in 2007.  Mark Fredrickson produced one of his best works of cover art with Alfred E. Neuman as Capt. Sparrow sporting ample amounts of pirate bling including the all-important deodorizer-tree.  Inside, Mad Artiste-deluxe Hermann Mejia created a double-splash for the pirate gang on the red carpet.  Jerry Seinfeld appears in his puffy shirt and SpongeBob is there wearing his square pants.  Also, Peter Kuper's "Spy vs. Spy" joined the pirate theme and there were the ever-present outtakes.  Pirate issue signed and sealed.  Now, let's check the trades for the holiday movies.  [JAM 11/9/2014]

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages
Sparrow-Minded Comments - Overheard at the Opening of Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Some Resembling Required - Startling Similarities Between Modern Celebrities & Ancient Artifacts
In Blog We Trust - Planet Tad!!!!!
Hair Club For McMahon - Mad's Touchy-Feely Wrestlemania 23 Outtakes
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Global Warming
Ho's Laughing Now? - iMus
See What All the Bus is About - Mad's Minute-by-Minute Breakdown of a School Field Trip
Philately Portman - Rejected Star Wars Stamps
That's False, Folks - More Facts That Sound for a Second Like They Might Be True ... But Aren't
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... Harry Potter
Turning Back the Cluck - What If Chickens Could Time Travel?  [fake department]
When the Ship Hits the Fans - Mad's Arrr-Rated Pirates Outtakes
Pen And Stink - The Mad Strip Club
Revoltage Meter - The Final Installment of the Gross and Beyond Gross
Neo-Con Job - FOX News Comedy Shows That Never Got Off the Ground
Observation Dreck - What the Heck is the Difference?

Fold-In - Sudoku