Mad #516 (John Ficarra) - What, Me Webby? Issue - August 2012

Spider-Man made parody appearances in Mads numbered 210, 280, 418 ("Spider-Sham") and 513, but the second generation of the Marvel movie super-hero got additional exposure in this issue before the fourth Spider-Man movie has been released.  Mark Fredrickson's Spider-Alf is stuck to the cover in an amazing three-dimensional drawing.  It looks like a photograph.  Writer Desmond Devlin wonders why Spider-Man was not invited to join The Avengers in their first movie ("Spider-Man Tweets While Watching 'The Avengers'").  He may have been on vacation when that giant space army came to destroy the Earth.  And, the Mad staff has great fun with "Mad's Less-Than-Amazing Outtakes from The Amazing Spider-Man."  I agree that Rue McClanahan (1934-2010) was the best of the Golden Girls.

The best articles in the issue were "Tip-Offs that a Civil War Re-Enactment Isn't Quite Accurate" by Matt Lassen and Rick Geary; "Chilling Thoughts 2012 Edition" by Desmond Devlin and Evan Dorkin; and "New Laws Under Consideration to Regulate Women's Bodies" by Teresa Burns Parkhurst.  Drawings by artist Dorkin remind me of those of the great Will Elder (1921-2008).  I thought the best joke in the issue was by John Caldwell with the seventh of "8 Practical Pointers for Doomsday Preppers" - "You've stored away an 18-month supply of dehydrated, freeze-dried lobsters.  But how are you fixed for bibs?"

Departments:
Random Acts of Mindless - The Fundalini Pages
Another Fine Meth - Fading Bad
The Emancipation Approximation - Tip-Offs that a Civil War Re-enactment Isn't Quite Accurate
World Wide Webslinger - Spider-Man Tweets While Watching The Avengers
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at Hospitals
Faking News - Cnn.com
The End is Jeer - 8 Practical Pointers for Doomsday Preppers
Do Not Go Gentle into that Dark Knight
The Fright Stuff - Chilling Thoughts: 2012 Edition
Dick De - Total Rip-Off Pillow
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Invasive Maneuvers - New Laws Under Consideration to Regulate Women's Bodies
Pen And Stink - The Mad Strip Club
Did He Leaf a Note? - Signs That Your Houseplant Has Committed Suicide  [Fake Department]
In Blog We Trust - Planet Tad!!!!!
With Great Powers Comes Great Rebootability - Mad's Less-Than-Amazing Outtakes from The Amazing Spider-Man
Rotten to the Encore - The Mad Vault
Get a Download of This! - 3 People in Search of an E-Reader

Fold-In - Snooki