Mad #138 (Albert Feldstein) - Peanuts Issue - October 1970

Jack Rickard drew five comic strips for Lou Silverstone's "If 'Peanuts' Were a Weekly TV Series" but he forgot to add the funny stuff.  This feature article was his chance to add his mark to the rich history of Mad-artist humor and he failed miserably.  Dear Mr. Rickard: Please review Wally Wood's drawings of Charlie Brown and company in Mad's numbered 39, 45, 46, 57, 77 and 81.  Rickard's drawings look like those of Charles Schulz but Mad readers expect more.

Mad's maddest (?) artist, Don Martin started a running joke in this issue that lasted for exactly one issue.  The name "Fred" appears in each of his pages: on a sign in the sand; on a sign on a wall; and on Eve's tree.  The artist who eventually left Mad for the competition never participated in Mad's running jokes.  There were no Arthurs, zeppelins or Flips in Martin's drawings.  In the early days, Mad editors would place running jokes in Martin's drawings for him.  I am sure that he did not appreciate the editing and he finally left the magazine over control of the art he sold to Mad.  Needless to say, the other Mad artists did not continue the running joke of Martin's "Fred".

This issue also included a lame parody of one of my favorite movies (M*A*S*H).  Angelo Torres is a competent artist but falls well short of the talented Mort Drucker.  Arnie Kogen's "M*I*S*H M*O*S*H" complained about the same type of humor that fills Mad's pages.  However, parodying this wonderful movie would be a tough assignment for any writer. [JAM 1/28/2010]

Look for Nikita Khrushchev on page 10.

NASA scientists are watching Mickey Mouse, Dark Shadows and a cooking show (page 7).  Doctor has a whiskey IV (page 44).

Departments:
Obituary - Moroned
Don Martin - One Day at the Ocean; Once Again Outside the Novelty Shop; One Day in the Garden of Eden
Athletic Pentameter - A Sports Fan's Garden of Verses
Fowl Play - Hawks And Doves
Vacational Guidance - How to Read a "Resort Ad"
Doing It Up "Brown" - If "Peanuts" Were a Weekly TV Series
Conglomerate - Mad's Do-It-Yourself "TV Premiere" Newspaper Story
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Transportation
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Sweet-Talk - The Mad Love Book
Decade-Dense - Those "Wonderful" Sixties
Humor in a Jugular Vein - M*I*S*H M*O*S*H

Fold-In - Baby