Mad #61 (Albert Feldstein) - Upside-Down Issue - March 1961

The Upside-Down Issue was a classic in many ways.  In addition to the distinctive cover that celebrated the upside-down year 1961, the issue also contained two excellent parodies: The Wall Street Jungle (Hahn) and Playkid (Clarke & Siegel).  Look for "etaoin shrdlu" in the former.  But the ultimate article was Guest Shots which combined the artistic talents of Mort Drucker and Wally Wood.

In Guest Shots and The Man of Science, Drucker gave us on-the-money caricatures of Albert Einstein, Tony Curtis, Doris Day, Ed Wynn, Charlie Brown, Mary Martin, Dennis the Menace, William Bendix, William Frawley, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Richard Boone, James Arness, Robert Stack, Alfred Hitchcock and Shirley Temple.

In the article written by Tom Koch, Wood nailed the comic strips: Blondie, Donald Duck, Joe Palooka, Dick Tracy, Bringing Up Father, Little Orphan Annie, Li'l Abner, Mary Worth, Dennis the Menace and Superman.  I think I saw Hitler in one of the crowd scenes. 

Don Reilly made his debut as writer of Mad Salutes an Unsung Hero.  Reilly would continue as a semi-regular through issue number 90. After that he wrote an occasional article, the last being the four-page More "Modern" Fairy Tales in number 174. [MADlog #13]

Alley Oop, Frankenstein's Monster, Alfred Hitchcock, Eleanor Roosevelt and Richard Nixon are in the crowd for the Joe Palooka fight. (page 37)

Departments:
Punch in the I.Q. - The Man of Science, America's Future Hero
Don Martin - Early One Morning; Kitzel's Department Store; After the Rains
All the News That Hints of Mint - The Wall Street Jungle
Joke and Dagger - Spy Vs. Spy
Too True to be Good - Admissions of Dishonesty Don't Make It Right
Young Snob-Nose - Playkid Magazine
Microfolk - A Mad Peek Through the Microscope
The Clause That Refreshes - Mad's Comprehensive Small-Irritation Insurance
Extra Added Distraction - Guest Shots
Greasemonkey-Business - Mad's Do-It-Yourself Auto Repair Manual
Vidiot's Delight - Mad's 1961 TV Preview
Speaking of Pictures - Mad Salutes an Unsung Hero