Mad #553 (Bill Morrison) - Nick Meglin Obituary Issue - October 2018

The first issue of Mad that I purchased in 1957 at Al Andersen's liquor store in Norwalk, California was #37.  I was a comic book buyer but I had seen these magazines on a different rack and just had to had to have one.  The index page listed "Ideas: Nick Megliola."  I did not know what ideas Nick had, but I liked all of them.  As "Megliola" he listed as a staff member for issues 31 to 50 even though he was drafted after publication of Mad #41.  When Nick went into military service, his Ideas job was taken by Jerry DeFuccio (who apparently had bone spurs).  Editor Al Feldstein kept Megliola on the masthead with various titles: "War Correspondent," "A-Year-And-A-Half-To-Go," "War Surplus," "Brand New Daddy" and "Secret Weapon."  Nick finally returned for Mad #59 with a new last name (Meglin) and a new title ("After the Editor's Job").  Nick Meglin and Jerry DeFuccio continued as co-Associate Editors for many issues.  Although DeFusscio eventually departed and did other things, Nick Meglin stayed at for the long run and became Editor with John Ficarra to replace Al Feldstein.  After retiring in 2004, even though he continued to send ideas to the New York staff, Nick Meglin died suddenly on June 2, 2018.  The West Coast editorial staff graciously allotted two pages in Mad #003 for an excellent tribute former Mad staffers: Sam Viviano (art and text), John Ficarra, Charlie Kadau, Joe Raiola, Ryan Flanders, Dick DeBartolo, Al Jaffee, Sergio Aragones, Tom Richmond and Charles Kochman.

Old Nick would have loved "Messy Layered One," the featured movie parody by Desmond Devlin and Tom Richmond.  Although I have not seen the movie (Ready Player One), the double-splash-page and Devlin's text are as good as any art-text combination in the many years of classic Mad humor.  This article and "MAD REMEMBERS NICK MEGLIN 1935-2018" are the highlights for me in this best West Coast issue yet. [JAM 7/29/2018]

Contents:
02 Messy Layered One (See, Gee, Aye! Dept.)
10 Mad's Sneaky Tech Tips (Tech Blecch Dept.)
12 Fairy Tale Scenes We'd Like to See
14 Spy vs. Spy (Joke And Dagger Dept.)
17 Postcard from a State of Desperation (Laugh So We Don't Cry Dept.)
18 Roach Guy (Turn Your Head and Kafka Dept.)
19 Potrzebie Comics
20 Infant Terrible
23 Spidery-Man
26 Boonies, Burbs, and Burgs (Let the Fur Fly Department)
30 Let's Have Fun with the Stomach Bug (Spill Your Guts Dept.)
32 The Lighter Side of Self-Improvement (A Humorous Vain Dept.)
34 Under of Over Your Underpants? Mad's Guide to the Perfect T-Shirt Tuck [fake content]
36 Social Anxiety Bingo (Homebody Dept.}
37 The Wisenheim Museum: Mitch O'Connell (Tales from the Krypton Dept.)
38 Comedians in Cars Getting Arrested (In-Car-Serration Dept.)
41 A Mad Look at Picnics (The Serge-In General Dept.)
45 An Ad We'll Soon See - Bull's-Eye  [Not on "Back Cover" per Contents]
46 Mad Remembers Nick Meglin (Heartsick over Nick Dept.)
48 Shorts & Briefs
52 Incoming! (letters)
54 The MADifesto
56 Real, Dumb

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