Mad #355 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - Maad Issue - March 1997

What other publication would intentionally misspell its name on the cover?  The cover of this issue by Richard Williams looks like a parody of Mad. 

Two articles in the issue tried to predict the future.  "Mad in the Year 2038" by Desmond Devlin and seven Mad artists is actually a Mad self-parody projecting some popular Mad features 40 years into the future.  Jaffee's "Snappy Answers ..." examines the depleted ozone layer and nuclear meltdown.  Volume 53 of Tom Koch's "Nasty File" finds 102 year-old Woody Allen's son "Woody-Yi" waiting for the start on a Knicks game, and the Olsen twins as co-POTUS.  The other portions of "2038" involve test-tube babies, Sergio Aragones with Alzheimer's Disease, Michael Jordan's funeral, geriatric spies, and Dave Berg's "Lighter Side ..." (not changed that much),  The second article ("Mad Weighs the Pros & Cons") by Barry Liebmann is much closer to home evaluating the death penalty, gun control, school prayer,  smoking in restaurant, gays in the military, drug legalization, term limits and immigration.  By 2038, Mad #600+ may look back at this issue and discover that most of these problems have been resolved. [JAM 5/9/2013]

Aragones drew one of his best marginals on page 44 showing himself laboriously completing his desert scene.

Departments:
Hold the Mayor - Spit City
Sticking Yourself with a Dumb-Tax - If the IRS Had to Ask for Voluntary Contributions for Everything in the Federal Budget
Dish is the Winner of our Discontent - How to Tell You've Bought the Wrong Digital Satellite System
Disc-Claimers - Even Still More Badly Needed Warning Labels for Rock Albums
Future Schlock - Mad in the Year 2038
Serge-In general - A Mad Look at Pregnancy
Bulletin Bored - Mad's Breaking News Coverage Checklist
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Two Snides to Every Story - Mad Weighs the Pros and Cons
Adams Ribbed - When the "Dilbert" Cast Invades Other Comic Strips
Meeting the Grin Reaper - When Physician-Assisted Suicide Becomes Specialized
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Must Flee TV - The Sinking Guy
Tales From the Duck Side - The Jerky Jurassic Junket

Fold-In - Bookie