Mad #371 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - South Park Issue - July 1998

The South Park double cover by Sam Viviano was by far the best of these three [Nos. 371-373].

Issue #371 features the excellent parody of 99-cent stores written by newcomer Scott Maiko.  I love the clownbird that appears twice on page 25.  See also the editor's comments in Letters and Tomatoes for #372.  I think we have not seen the last of the clownbird.

 I was also very impressed by the debut of writer Eric Perlin in #372 with "Inspirational Divine Institute of Total Salvation" (IDIOTS).  "The Alrighty One will refrain from smiting you if you surrender your heart, soul and Walkman to Him.

The September (#373) issue was for the comets.  Bennett, Drucker and Bunk deliver three different parodies of the comet movies.  We did not really expect Mad to ignore these improbable disasters.

Viviano, Devlin, newcomer Scott Bricher, Drew Friedman, Schwartzberg and Jaffee do South Park.

Frank jacobs, Friedman, Charlie Kadau, Guy Blackwell and John Caldwell join the Clinton-bashing frenzy.  This target is too easy for Mad.

I guess we must expect at least two more years of Clinton jokes, but what about this Titanic thing.  DeBartolo, Timothy Shamey, Herman Mejia and Mike Snider continue the parodies.

Monroe goes to camp then back to school.  How many times must this protagonist be tortured in a repetitive strip that is drawn poorly?  We get eleven more ugly, depressing pages without Stimpy in the background.  It is appropriate that Charlie Brown should appear to share Monroe's pain.  (I do not like this one but some people do.)

M & J please take a hike.

Keith Seidel is the new artist: "Old-Timers" in #372 and "Sportsmanship" in #373.  His style (caricatures-in-action?) is quite different.  Time will tell if Mad has a new star.

I like to see the feminine touch of Shary Flenniken & Peggy Doody.  Flenniken is the National Lampoon veteran (Trots & Bonnie).  The humor is tame and the drawings are nice.  I would rather see good clean art than bad gross art.

The best drawings in the three issues [Nos. 371-373] were by Friedman ("X Files"), Bob Clarke (clownbirds), Angelo Torres (Charo floats), Tom Bunk (mall scene), Blackwell (Ken Starr), Mejia (Pamela Lee), Caldwell (Bunk-like crowds) and Rick Geary (Garth et al.).   [MADlog #12 - October 1998]

Departments:
Oh My God! They Sold Kenny! - South Park Toys and Products Coming to a Shelf Near You!
The Schmucks Stop Here - Melvin and Jenkins' Guide to Saving the Planet
Misfortune Tellers - Phrases You Never Want to Hear in News Reports About Yourself
Playing the Race Car - 200 Laps in the Life of a NASCAR Fan
Taking Attorney for the Worse - Surefire, Non-Litigable Signs You've Hired the Wrong Lawyer
Slime Travel - If Bill Clinton Had Been President Through History
Stats Entertainment! - When Non-Sports Shows Use the "FOX Box" Concept
Slam Junk - Merely 99c Store Circular
Tales From the Duck Side - The Daredevil's Advocate
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... The Summer Camp Job
In One Ear And Out Your Wallet - The Boose Wavy Radio
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
WWW.Insult.comedy - Cyber-Snaps: Yo' Mamma Jokes for Computer Nerds
Iceberg's-Eye View - Titanic Sequels We'll Soon See
Serge-In General - A Mad look at Road Rage
Grieving Las Vegas - Mad's Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds

Fold-In - South Park