Mad #82 (Albert Feldstein) - Volkswasser Issue - October 1963

Mort Drucker ran wild in this issue which was one of the best ever.  He opened with Stan Hart's classic "The Nurtzes" and closed with the classic "For the Birds."  Every frame of these eleven pages was crammed with Druckerisms.  I counted 275 birds in the Hitchcock parody.  In addition to the double-Drucker, Mad readers also found a great Mingo cover (Fidel), Martin, a Wood-Jacobs-Bridwell magazine parody, spies, Berg, pool jokes and a rare treat: Basil Wolverton.

This was only the seventh appearance of Wolverton drawings in Mad.  All are classics.  He would not be back until issue number 137.  Basil should have been a regular.

Women: mermaid (Drucker), swimmers & mermaids (Clarke), marginal island girl (Aragones), gray spy (Prohias); Men: man with torso and spinal injury (Drucker) [MADlog #13]

Patient has a rabbit's foot on his toe.  (page 10)

(From Reader Neil Wahlert) "... issue #82 marks ... the beginning of (Don) Martin's temporary inkwash periods: in 'The Masterpiece,' he has his own inkwash done for the backgrounds and for the character's clothes ... in this cartoon, as well as the next issue's 'Shipwrecked' and the '50-lb. Cannonball Throwing Contest,' and #84's 'The Epicure,' Martin even uses inkwash to highlight the character's skin ... Then, at the start of 1966, he'd only do it intermittently ... He wouldn't do it regularly again until 1970."

Reader Tony Perodeau's favorite is "The Masterpiece" with the drawing of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at the end; he has also suggested that the Don Martin/Cleopatra joke was Don Edwing's idea; back cover actors are Don Martin and Al Feldstein.

Departments:
The Blurbs Is Coming - Future Talking Ads
Ward Healers - The Nurtzes
Patent Planning - Mad's Report on Progress
Don Martin - The Masterpiece; On a Saturday Afternoon
Funnies Are People - Comicland Magazine
Joke and Dagger - Spy Vs. Spy; Spy Vs. Spy Vs. Spy
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Parents (of Little Kids)
Marquee De Sad - Long and Pretentious Titles for TV Dramas
Making a Big Splash - Swimming Pools - A New Status Symbol
Postal Introspection - Psychiatry by Mail
Auto-Suggestion - Wheelers and Dealers
Mind Your Own Business - New Opportunities for Recent Grads
Hitchcock-A-Doodle-Doo - For the Birds