Mad #252 (Albert Feldstein) - Statue of Liberty Issue - January 1985

This very clever cover was drawn by Doug Webb who signed his drawing as "Armanli."  This was the only contribution to Mad by Webb.  I have no idea why he used the name Armanli.  The drawing shows Alfred E. Neuman in a helicopter using a giant q-tip to clean the right ear of the Statue of Liberty.  This is a clever idea but not completely original.  Don Martin drew a similar scene in Mad #93 (March 1965).  In the Martin version, a barber jumps into a helicopter to trim the nose-tree that is growing out of Abraham Lincoln's nose on Mount Rushmore.  Was this just a coincidence or did the Mad editors borrow an idea from twenty years ago? 

There were excellent articles in this issue by John Ficarra ("The Mad Movie Rating System") and Frank Jacobs ("Poems to Inspire and Bring Hope to Your Heart and Make You Feel a Whole Lot Better").  Ficarra's article would have been a lot better with drawings by a Mad artist instead of photographs, but the concept still works.  The Ficarra rating system is much more helpful than the MPAA system that we all ignore.  Jacobs spins eight more excellent humorous poems but the ninth one is the best.  His poetic introduction to the article manages to to lampoon Mad and its typical reader.

Ficarra takes two jabs at Woody Allen and his movies in this issue.  He gives Woody's serious movies a "ZZ" rating for their "pseudo-intellectual" content in "The Mad Movie Rating System," and then reminds us that only "3.9% of America's movie-goers prefer Woody Allen's later pictures over his older ones" in "Mad Percentages."  Both of these comments echo the majority opinion of the day.  However, Mr. Allen has since established himself as one of the country's most accomplished and versatile directors.  How many movies have you made, Mr. Ficarra? [JAM 3/22/2010]

There is an apple core in the light fixture. ("Family Tides")

Departments:
Generation Pap - Family Tides
Don Martin - One Fine Morning at State Prison; One Fine Christmas in the Jungle; One Fine Afternoon Downtown
Darwinners And Losers - The Evolution of the Species - Updated
Oscillating Fans - After the Game Is Over
Letters Entertain - The Mad Movie Rating System
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Border Lines - Mad Turn-Arounds
Pill in the Blanks - Mad's All-Inclusive, Do-It-Yourself New Medical Breakthrough Newspaper Story
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Fractions Speak Louder Than Words - Mad Percentages
Drive Shafts - Snappy Answers to Stupid Bumper Stickers
Dupes And Don'ts - The Best ... and the Worst Things to Say for Every Occasion
Short-Sighted - The Passing Parade ... as Seen from Behind a Very Tall Crowd
Cheery-Odes - Poems to Inspire You and Bring Hope to Your Heart and Make You Feel a Whole Lot Better
Law And Ordure - Hardhassle And McCorny

Fold-In - Glove