Author:
Title: MAD No. 1
Place Published:
Publisher:EC [Indicia: Educational Comics Inc.]
Date Published: October-November, 1952
Description: CGC certified: Fine+ (6.5). Cream to off-white pages. Grader notes: Spine stress lines; stain left bottom of back cover; tear left center of back cover; tear top of back cover.

CGC Census: 610 graded copies (561 Universal, 3 Qualified, 3 Signature, 43 Restored).

GPAnalysis: A 6.5 sold for $3105 in 8/23; a 6.0 sold for $4750 in 9/23; a 5.5 sold for $2884 in 12/23.

Credits: Cover: Harvey Kurtzman. Scripts: Harvey Kurtzman. Art: Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, John Severin, Wally Wood, Bill Elder.Potrezebie is the Mother of Invention: Harvey Kurtzman was miffed that Al Feldstein made lots more loot than he did, despite the grueling effort Kurtzman put into writing and editing his two EC mags, compared to Feldstein's relative ease at cranking out stories for the seven titles he edited. Bill Gaines suggested a money-making solution: EC would launch a new title for Kurtzman to edit, thus boosting his pay by 50%. The result was sheer MADness.

"Kurtzman came back with a proposal for a satire magazine, one that would lampoon the comics themselves.... Kurtzman brought his small crew of artists, with whom he had been working on his war titles for a year and a half, to the project.... The look and writing were wild, a combination of the outrageousness and violence of Tex Avery's animated cartoons with the polyethnic dialogue and logic of George Herriman's Krazy Kat." – Maria Reidelbach, Completely MAD: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine. Little, Brown: 1991, pp. 20-21.______________________________________________________________

A limited edition of ten hardcover catalogues is available, in addition to a few dozen softcovers. Fun reference, great keepsake, fully illustrated, chockablock with obscure facts, gags, bon mots. Softcovers are $40, deluxe hardcovers with dust jackets and limitation plates are $200. These books always go fast so don't delay. To order, contact ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Consignments welcome for PBA's Summer 2024 Comic Book sale. Top prices for Pre-Code Horror, Golden Age, Silver Age, original art and ephemera. Find out why PBA is the new fan-fave of funnybook fiends. "This is some of the best commentary I've yet seen on the quality of the content of comic books... Priceless." – R. Crumb. Send inquiries to ivan@pbagalleries.com.

Coming Soon: The DC Universe Collection Part 3: The Golden Age (August 2024) and Weird Tales and Amazing Stories: The PBA Pulp Sale (September 2024). Contact ivan@pbagalleries.com to get on the notifications list.