Mad #135 (Albert Feldstein) - Sleazy Riders Issue - June 1970

The movie had no plot but Mad artists Jack Davis (cover) and Mort Drucker (inside) seemed to have fun drawing those motorcycles and hippie caricatures.  There is also a bit of political commentary by writer Larry Siegel who has his characters "make a turn to the extreme right" where they find "American Gothic," George Wallace, the KKK, neo-Nazis and various loonies who are much more dangerous than our free-wheeling protagonists.

This was a rather political issue reflecting the times as Mad writers attacked protesting students as well as corrupt politicos.  Dick DeBartolo wrote the "Folksy Income Tax Return" to ease the pain of the annual tax burden.  Dean Norman exposed the footprints of hawks, doves and Nazis.  Larry Siegel wrote new songs for rioting students.  Tom Koch updated the college entrance exam to account for anti-establishment views.  Larry Siegel and Max Brandel simplified the philosophy of President Richard Nixon with a primer parody and Spiro mask.  And, Al Jaffee confirmed what we all knew - mainly that Vice President Spiro T. Agnew was a comic character. [JAM 1/20/2010]

Look for Leonard Brenner, Bill Gaines and Alfred E. Neuman in "A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a Fancy Restaurant."  And, I think I saw Gaines, Agnew and Dave in Dave Berg's "The Lighter Side of Worry."

Departments: 
Riding High - Sleazy Riders
Don Martin - One Day Downtown; A Mad "Minute Nature Study"
The "Familiar" Form - U.S. Folksy Income Tax Return 1969
Femi-Nemi - Life From the Broadside
Hokey-Pocus - The Mad Book of Magic And Other Dirty Tricks
Inside-Ouch - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a Fancy Restaurant
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Worry
Body-in-Sole - A Mad Look at Footprints
Tunes of Gory - More Up-To-Date Safety Songs
Honda-Lust - Then Came Bombsome
Comes the Yawn - You Know You're Really a Bore When
Ask a Stupid Question - Mad's Modernized College Entrance Exam
Run, Dick, Run! - The Richard M. Nixon Presidential Primer

Fold-In - Spiro