Mad #258 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Special Computer Issue - October 1985

In 1985, the personal computer was starting to get some attention by consumers but we really did not know what we would do with them other than play the software games that were available.  I bought one of the Radio Shack computers and it worked great but was obsolete within a year because it did not have the memory to run new programs.  Eventually, the hardware caught up with the software and the rest is history.  The internet became our new library, newspaper and telephone book.  The new editors wasted little time to devote 20 pages to the subject, including some FORTRAN programs for Apple, Atari, Commodore and IBM.  Some program results (and some corrections) were printed in the letters section of Mad #260.  The best of the articles was "Casey at the Byte" by Frank Jacobs and Don Martin.  However, the truth is that there is just too little humor associated with the subject.

Kurtzman & Elder returned with their back page drawing of "The Weinburger" showing Ronald Reagan's secretary of defense offering an expensive missile sandwich to unsuspecting consumers.  The idea for the drawing was provided by the liberal Al Jaffee who was probably quite happy to have his art school buddies back on the Mad team.  Jaffee was the star of Mad #258 with "A Mad Look at Some Not-So-Famous First Attempts," "The Mad Computer Primer," the cover drawing, the fold-in and the back cover idea. [JAM 4/7/2011]

Look for Peppermint Patty in "Mad's Academy Awards for Teenage Films" and Tarzan in " ... First Attempts."

Departments:
Teen-Sell Town - Academy Awards for Teenage Movies
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Grimm Shot - A Fairy Tale We'd Like to See
Initial Retraction - A Mad Look at Some Not-So-Famous First Attempts
Hoax-A-Mania - Goons Get the Job Done
Bits And P.C.'s - The Mad Computer Primer
Dick - Practical Computer Programs for Normal Everyday Use
Don Martin - One Fine Morning at the Office
In the Chips - The Computer Company President of the Year
Designated Hacker - Casey at the Byte
Terminal Illness - If Computers Are So Brilliant
Taking a Term for the Worse - A Mad Guide to Computer Language
Data All, Folks! - The Mad Computer Program
Big-Name Brands - Mad's Celebrity Supermarket
Grinding out the Same Old Spiel-Berg - The Goofies
Sergio Aragones - Justice Once

Fold-In - Alcohol Bottle