Starchie

[fasstrack]

Anyone remember Mad Magazine's parody of Archie? Bill Elder was the illustrator. Reggie (Wedgie, actually) would shake down kids in the cafeteria----just turn the MFs upside down for lunch money. He was a cottage industry and probably led to Colombine. Can't remember what his Jugness was into. Anyone? Dive right in. Naturally, Starchie's two girlfriends, Biddy and Salonica---had (you guessed it) serious acne.

But the funniest part for me was Starchie's alky gypsy father. They lived in a f-ed up fakaktah tenement with debris strewn over a funky courtyard. Starchie's mother had a gold earring and crystal ball, I think. But Starchie's dad, some other kind of sharpie hustler, got pissed and said something like:

"Why do you make noise and problem in my teenage house?"

Gold, Jerry. GOLD.......................

Edited March 14, 2009 by fasstrack

[Brownian Motion]

I remember. I guess that dates me.

[Jazzmoose]

I remember as well, though to be honest, it was in those reprints in the big Mad 'annuals' (that seemed to come out every other month) back in the seventies. But even the seventies was a long time ago for my brain. Particularly considering the mass quantities of weed I consumed in the seventies and eighties...

[BruceH]

I also remember it from some 70's Mad reprint (maybe one of those ubiquitous paperbacks) along with "Super-duperman" and many others. The early, and some would say 'best', stuff was eventually reprinted in a huge, hardcover box set that cost a small fortune, but was kinda worth it.

One of the things about the "Starchie" parody that stood out for me at the time (the early 70's) was that it pointed out that Betty and Veronica were physically identical except for their hair color. The fact that I'd failed to notice this up 'til then made me feel like a complete dimwit.

[fasstrack]

I also remember it from some 70's Mad reprint (maybe one of those ubiquitous paperbacks) along with "Super-duperman" and many others. The early, and some would say 'best', stuff was eventually reprinted in a huge, hardcover box set that cost a small fortune, but was kinda worth it.

One of the things about the "Starchie" parody that stood out for me at the time (the early 70's) was that it pointed out that Betty and Veronica were physically identical except for their hair color. The fact that I'd failed to notice this up 'til then made me feel like a complete dimwit.

If it were National Lampoon they would've had Starchie pimping them.....

I remember a few years back subscribing to Mad for a bit, hoping aginst hope they had something, anything left. 'Yes, I was wrong---again I was wrong', as Mr. Strayhorn might say. Anyway, they had some kind of computer-based thingie they were selling----relentlessly---that had a lot of the old classics, and some kind of interactive game. I didn't bite, as it seemed lame and desperate.

Yeah, Super-Duperman was great too, though I hardly remember it. I do remember Bill Elder getting his mom in a strip. "Billllll", she kept crying----like he he was friggin' Heathcliff. And his rendering of himself as a kid----priceless.

Anyone remember "A Mad Look at Dating"? East Side Story"? (One of the funniest ever, with Krustchev the head Shark, clad in a leather motorcycle jacket and his bald pate. Shaking down the 'neutral' Holland ambassador......).

[Uncle Skid]

My first MAD magazine:

And, if I remember correctly, my subscription started sometime in 1975. Probably still have every issue from '74 to about '81 or so in the basement somewhere. Those are probably worth more than my IRA right now...

I just watched "Serpico" (for the first time) about a week ago... Mrs. Skid kept getting irritated with me because I kept calling him "Serpicool"!

My son has had a subscription to MAD for about 4-5 years now, and it just isn't the same. It's still strange to me to see the paid advertisements, and while some of it is funny, most of the content seems to be lacking. Of course, it's not aimed at old farts like me.

I've been tempted to buy a Don Martin collection more than once. Friggin' hilarious!

[7/4]

Yeah, I remember Starchie. I haven't looked at Mad since I was a kid.

:rsmile:

[Larry Kart]

I was buying/reading MAD when it made the transition from comic book to magazine. It was like discovering you were a vampire, and that fresh blood was available at your local newsstand for 10 cents a pop.

I have the four-volume hardbound 1986 Russ Cochran color reprint of MAD issues 1-23. A friend -- and that's some friend! -- gave me the set for Xmas back then. He also got a set for himself.

[Free For All]

Like Skid said, Don Martin was the greatest. Best cartoon sounds effects ever.

I remember in 7th grade or so when the class would put in a group order for paperbacks. I would always go for the Don Martin compilations.

Now that I look back on that, it does explain a lot.

[Harold_Z]

I remember laughing like crazy when I saw Starchie - which is when it first appeared. YIKES!! That's a while back.

Somewhere around I have a few issues from when it was a comic book - and also the first issue when it went to magazine format. A price increase from a dime to a quarter.

[fasstrack]

Does anyone remember the original name of the sort of pulp book that preceded the final Mad incarnation? It was in some Web history of Mad (maybe it was commentary on the cover collection on the Web) and I've forgotten now.....

[Harold_Z]

Panic?

[fasstrack]

......'In Needle Park'........

[Jazzmoose]

I remember flipping through some old issues that a friend had that were the same ones I read as a kid (mid to late 60s or so was my 'prime Mad' time, although I remember it well into the mid70s) and seeing an illustration of a medicine chest that had condoms in it. I was amazed that there were actually things that I didn't catch at the time. Although ten year olds don't generally think about condoms, I guess...

[fasstrack]

(mid to late 60s or so was my 'prime Mad' time /quote]

It was prime Mad time, period IMO

[Harold_Z]

......'In Needle Park'........

Ahhh..stream of consciousness!

Does anyone remember the original name of the sort of pulp book that preceded the final Mad incarnation?

It went from comic book to a magazine that was bound like a comic book. Staples and folded pages. Then the kind of binding it is now.

I was out of context. Fitting for 11:25 pm on a Saturday. but I have a vague memory of Mad being called Panic originally.

[Larry Kart]

Prime MAD time essentially ended with the departure of Harvey Kurtzman in April 1956, though there were talented people who remained for a while and some talented people to come.

[fasstrack]

Prime MAD time essentially ended with the departure of Harvey Kurtzman in April 1956, though there were talented people who remained for a while and some talented people to come.

That's your opinion, and you are certainly entitled. Scan, if you would, the citations I, and others, made here of brilliant parodies of our society and especially the cold war by Mad----under Willaim Gaines' stewardship---in the 60s. If you still disagree-----then we will both agree to do that.

Perhaps I am wrong here, but I think part of this---and the criticism of Mad post-60s by myself, post 50s by yourself, and comments made here by more than one---may well be the age-old defensiveness of one's generation over the following one. Human nature.......

Anyway, why take Mad so damn seriously? Let's frickin' lighten up. I mean:

WHAT, ME WORRY?

[7/4]

(mid to late 60s or so was my 'prime Mad' time

It was prime Mad time, period IMO

That was when I read it.

[Larry Kart]

Prime MAD time essentially ended with the departure of Harvey Kurtzman in April 1956, though there were talented people who remained for a while and some talented people to come.

That's your opinion, and you are certainly entitled. Scan, if you would, the citations I, and others, made here of brilliant parodies of our society and especially the cold war by Mad----under Willaim Gaines' stewardship---in the 60s. If you still disagree-----then we will both agree to do that.

Perhaps I am wrong here, but I think part of this---and the criticism of Mad post-60s by myself, post 50s by yourself, and comments made here by more than one---may well be the age-old defensiveness of one's generation over the following one. Human nature.......

Anyway, why take Mad so damn seriously? Let's frickin' lighten up. I mean:

WHAT, ME WORRY?

I'm familiar with the later-day MAD up to a point. Nicely done as they were in many respects, the Mort Drucker, and Drucker-like, parodies of movies and TV shows exemplify the difference IMO. The impulse behind the Elder, Wood and Jack Davis stuff, with Kurtzman in each case as key behind-the-scenes collaborator, was ... well I don't know if "anarchic" even goes far enough. It was a matter of size and potentially wholesale substitution of assumptions; the given material -- Superman, Archie, Flash Gordon, Sherlock Holmes, The Lone Ranger, Blackhawks, Terry and The Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, et al. -- was merely the ground-base for extravagantly surreal riffing whose goal was not so much to parody the given universe but to flee it/replace it/blow it up.

Yes, the vintage MAD at best was insanely funny, but to be insanely funny in those ways at that time also seemed kind of serious to us kids on the receiving end. For one thing, it was just about the only thing of that sort that the culture was coming up with at that time on any level, let alone one that was available to and largely aimed at 10-year-olds. I mean, Lenny Bruce wouldn't be up and running for at least another FIVE years.

[carnivore]

Prime MAD time essentially ended with the departure of Harvey Kurtzman in April 1956, though there were talented people who remained for a while and some talented people to come.

I'm pretty certain that it was Kurtzman who went on to publish a new magazine - 'Help' which had some great stuff in it...'See the Merino With His Long Shaggy Hair' and parodies of 'Fumetti'

[TedR]

It's also interesting to note the influence Kurtzman, Elder, Wood, etc had on Robert Crumb and the underground comics of the 60's. Keep on Truckin'!

Kurtzman also started the shortlived satirical magazine Humbug and Playboy's Trump. Trump only lasted two issues.

Edited March 15, 2009 by TedR

[Jazzmoose]

I was out of context. Fitting for 11:25 pm on a Saturday. but I have a vague memory of Mad being called Panic originally.

No, Panic was a completely different comic book. If I remember correctly, it was edited by someone other than the great Harvey Kurtzman, who was responsible for Mad (and so much more over the years!).

[TedR]

Because Kurtzman's Mad was so popular, there were a lot of imitators. As a result William Gaines hired Al Feldstein to develop a second humor comic called Panic. Al Feldstein eventually replaced Kurtzman as editor of Mad.

[BruceH]

Prime MAD time essentially ended with the departure of Harvey Kurtzman in April 1956, though there were talented people who remained for a while and some talented people to come.

That's your opinion, and you are certainly entitled. Scan, if you would, the citations I, and others, made here of brilliant parodies of our society and especially the cold war by Mad----under Willaim Gaines' stewardship---in the 60s. If you still disagree-----then we will both agree to do that.

Perhaps I am wrong here, but I think part of this---and the criticism of Mad post-60s by myself, post 50s by yourself, and comments made here by more than one---may well be the age-old defensiveness of one's generation over the following one. Human nature.......

Anyway, why take Mad so damn seriously? Let's frickin' lighten up. I mean:

WHAT, ME WORRY?

I'm familiar with the later-day MAD up to a point. Nicely done as they were in many respects, the Mort Drucker, and Drucker-like, parodies of movies and TV shows exemplify the difference IMO. The impulse behind the Elder, Wood and Jack Davis stuff, with Kurtzman in each case as key behind-the-scenes collaborator, was ... well I don't know if "anarchic" even goes far enough. It was a matter of size and potentially wholesale substitution of assumptions; the given material -- Superman, Archie, Flash Gordon, Sherlock Holmes, The Lone Ranger, Blackhawks, Terry and The Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, et al. -- was merely the ground-base for extravagantly surreal riffing whose goal was not so much to parody the given universe but to flee it/replace it/blow it up.

Yes, the vintage MAD at best was insanely funny, but to be insanely funny in those ways at that time also seemed kind of serious to us kids on the receiving end. For one thing, it was just about the only thing of that sort that the culture was coming up with at that time on any level, let alone one that was available to and largely aimed at 10-year-olds. I mean, Lenny Bruce wouldn't be up and running for at least another FIVE years.

Yes, it must have been something to encounter in it's heyday of the early-to-mid-50's, back when satire/parody of earlier pop-culture wasn't so omnipresent. In fact, parody of just about everything seems to be the default mode in present-day pop culture. The early Mad stuff that I read as paperback reprints in the early 70's was STILL damn funny, not to mention anarchic, as Larry points out. Some of the references were older things that I had no prior knowledge of, like Mandrake the Magician, and it was odd to learn of something through its parody first. That's a syndrome that I think has become more and more common over time, as generations of kids have first encountered many things through parodic references on the Simpsons and the like. There should be a word for it, and probably is.

Speaking of Kurtzman, anyone else familiar with his other great work of the 50's, the editing of Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat for EC? He even did the art for some of the stories and had a hand in scripting a lot of them. Some of the best "war comics" of all time.