MAD magazine to end publication after 67 years of illustrated humor

Burbank, California — The long-running satirical publication MAD magazine will be leaving newsstands this fall. The illustrated humor magazine will still be available in comic shops and through mail to subscribers — but after its fall issue it will just reprint previously published material. 

The only new material will come in special editions at the end of the year. DC, the division of Warner Brothers that publishes the magazine, said MAD will pull from nostalgic cartoons and parodies published over the magazine's 67-year run.

From its debut in 1952, Mad Magazine became an iconic pop cultural reference for generations of Americans, young and old alike. Its recurring illustrated features like Antonio Prohías' "Spy vs. Spy" and Dave Berg's "The Lighter Side of..." gave the magazine intellectual credibility while remaining comedic, as one played on Cold War tensions with Russia while the other looked at American culture through a sarcastic lens highlighting misunderstandings between the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers.

MAD's mascot, the gap-toothed, shaggy-haired Alfred E. Neuman, appeared on nearly every cover over the years beside satirical illustrations of prominent figures in entertainment, sports and politics.

Illustrators and comedians, including one-time guest editor "Weird Al" Yankovic, mourned the magazine's effective closure.

"I can't begin to describe the impact it had on me as a young kid — it's pretty much the reason I turned out weird," Yankovic said. "Goodbye to one of the all-time greatest American institutions."