MAD Magazine Vol 1 No 24 July 1955 First Magazine Format Issue

Description

Issue #24, July 1955, is the first magazine-format issue of MAD after the demise of EC’s comic line. Gone is the comic-book size; here begins the oversized satirical juggernaut that would define American humor for decades. Harvey Kurtzman still steering the ship. Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, Will Elder — all present and firing. The cover even shouts it: “FIRST ISSUE — THE NEW MAD.”

This is cultural history in paper form. Before Alfred E. Neuman became a dorm-room icon, before the TV specials, before the merchandising machine — this was the rebellious, smart, subversive magazine that parents didn’t quite understand and kids absolutely did.

An essential issue for any serious MAD collector — and a cornerstone piece of mid-century American satire.