Mad #162 (Albert Feldstein's brother?) - Evil Twin Issue - October 1973

Occasionally, Mad publishes an issue that is so filled with mean-spirited, politically-incorrect and factually-wrong articles that I think it must have been edited by Feldstein's evil twin brother.  This was one of those issues.  It started with a parody ("The Heartburn Kid") about a guy who dumps his wife on their honeymoon.  What is there to parody?  I remember cringing through that movie when I saw it in 1973.  Things get worse with "The Mad Motorists Guide to American Wildlife" that shows us how to identify road-kill.  What is funny about a raccoon crying over her squashed brother?  Artist Jack Davis erred by showing pitcher Vida Blue (my grandmother's favorite baseball player) as a right-handed thrower at the carnival.  Three Mad writers (Don Edwing, Dave Berg and Tom Koch) chose to perpetuate racial stereotypes about black people.  And, finally, television sitcom parody ("Bawde") manages to offend everyone including those like me who were looking for some humor. [JAM 5/13/2010]

Look for Henry Kissinger in "The Heartburn Kid" and "Bawde."

Bawde is wearing Superman's cape on page  45.

Departments:
Love, Honor And Away! - The Heartburn Kid
Bumper Stickers - The Mad Motorists Guide to American Wild Life
Don Martin - One Morning in a Bus Depot; One Afternoon in the Northwest Territory; One Evening at Home
Chow Mein Liners - Fortune Cookies That Are Relevant
Hot Shots - You Know It's Really Summer When
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Crime in the Streets
Games of Nil - Magazines for Neglected Sports
Ms.-ical Comedy - Old Standards Re-Written for the Liberated Woman
Bunk Dealer - Mad's Summer Camp Owner of the Year
Thoroughfare-Play - A Mad City Street Scene We'd Like to See; A Mad Suburban Street Scene We'd Like to See
Liberal in the Family - Bawde

Fold-In - Smokers