Monday, June 16, 2008
Mad Style Guide
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Above is a logo by Harvey Kurtzman showing the mad pursuit of a herd of centaurs. "Peel me another grape, Pocahontong," and click on logo to see the details. [Obscure quote from Mad 11] Control click the Mad Style Guide heading to hear The Stan Freberg Show of October 20, 1957.
As I previously mentioned here, in 1994 I was the editor of the Mad Style Guide which featured various product designs for use in Mad licensing.
This project involved working with several Mad cartoonists to create new art, much of which has never been seen anywhere. So I'm going to post some of it here.
Note the Kurtzman-Elder signature in the lower left corner of this border design, created in the mid-1950s as Mad made the transition from comic book to magazine. However, this is not the same border design that first appeared on Mad #24. Possibly after this was done, Kurtzman decided the little cartoons were so tiny and detailed that he needed a border design less complicated. Certain picture ideas, such as "The Factory," were retained in the final version (yet totally redone by Elder). This was created at a time when the long-run radio programs had vanished as millions purchased television sets, so the picture for "Radio" shows attic mice tuning in a cobweb-covered radio.
Click to enlarge. I've scanned the b/w page extremely large so details will not get lost.
Above is a logo by Harvey Kurtzman showing the mad pursuit of a herd of centaurs. "Peel me another grape, Pocahontong," and click on logo to see the details. [Obscure quote from Mad 11] Control click the Mad Style Guide heading to hear The Stan Freberg Show of October 20, 1957.As I previously mentioned here, in 1994 I was the editor of the Mad Style Guide which featured various product designs for use in Mad licensing.
This project involved working with several Mad cartoonists to create new art, much of which has never been seen anywhere. So I'm going to post some of it here.
Note the Kurtzman-Elder signature in the lower left corner of this border design, created in the mid-1950s as Mad made the transition from comic book to magazine. However, this is not the same border design that first appeared on Mad #24. Possibly after this was done, Kurtzman decided the little cartoons were so tiny and detailed that he needed a border design less complicated. Certain picture ideas, such as "The Factory," were retained in the final version (yet totally redone by Elder). This was created at a time when the long-run radio programs had vanished as millions purchased television sets, so the picture for "Radio" shows attic mice tuning in a cobweb-covered radio.
Click to enlarge. I've scanned the b/w page extremely large so details will not get lost.
Labels: elder, kurtzman, logo, mad style guide
¶ 8:32 AM
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Love this guide. I still have my copy. Too bad DC wouldn't let us do as much MAD product as we would have liked when I worked at The WB Stores.
Plus WB didn't put Alfred E. Neuman in that bas relief that ran around the exterior of the Fifth Avenue store.
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